I have learned a great deal about the Southeast U.S. from visiting house museums. After having read so much material on old houses, it is wonderful to visit the complete homes, most restored with the best preservation practices. Often they contain at least some original furniture & household goods. Generally you are provided with information about the family & their contributions to local history as well as a glimpse into their lives & the life & culture of the time.
I live in the Southeast, but I have toured house museums all over the U.S. & find each experience to be enlightening & entertaining. The videos are broken up by region so that you can hopefully, hop in your car & for a weekend getaway in time. This one, about the Southeast contains videos of many of the places I have been. Check back! I’m not done yet!
LET’S VISIT SOME OF THE HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUMS IN THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
FLORIDA
Cracker Country – A rural Florida living history museum (2:03)
The City of Tampa
This was my first taste of Florida history after having moved here from Los Angeles. I was rattled by the move & the 8 back-to-back hurricanes. Visiting these early homes served to ground me. My curiosity is always my best friend & Cracker Country opened wide the door to a whole segment of history & architecture with which I had no familiarity. Hm-m-m. Maybe
Truly one of the most stunning & creative houses in the world, the house is only one attraction in the Ringling complex in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to viewing the video, take a look at my post on the other attractions. If you visit Florida, you cannot miss experiencing The Ringling!
Heritage Village in Largo Fl. a trip back in time (15:03)
Dre & Lita’s Travel
This is the second place I visited when I came to Florida. I was beginning to feel more at home, in the company of these remnants of our past & the people who care for them.
Relocated to Heritage Village in Largo, Florida in 2014, now, nearly 10 years later, the restoration is complete & you can tour this bungalow, built in 1915. In the Village museum are displayed Turner family artifacts, covering every decade since the home was constructed in 1915.
KENTUCKY
Victorian House Lovers Tour of the Conrad Caldwell House Museum Louisville, Kentucky (3:22)
Victorian House Lovers
Constructed in 1895, the richly ornate Conrad-Caldwell House in one of America’s largest concentrations of Victorian homes, is a site of cultural & architectural significance to the city of Louisville.
I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit the historic house museums of the Southeast U.S. The rich history of the area is represented in these old houses & they contain much information about the development of the architecture, technology & culture that created our world today. They answer the question, WHY PRESERVE?
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What to do about your bungalow’s old wood windows can be confusing. I address this & offer several solutions in my article, WHY SHOULD YOU PRESERVE YOUR BUNGALOW WOOD WINDOWS, ANYWAY? which tackle the issue from both a preservation & practical viewpoint. (As well as from a human & a cat viewpoint.)
These videos too address the concerns of both species, & will give you more information to help you in dealing with the damage that has occurred to your windows as a result of decades of neglect due to the lack of education of previous homeowners.
The professionals I have included are at the top of their field & are very interested in helping. A great combination.
My site is not geared toward the DIY’er, but it’s your house so you should have some idea of how it works. I have used material from these fellows to teach a handyman how to restore a window so my fluffy kids could gaze out, & he probably enjoyed the opportunity to learn from somebody else instead of moi. We did 2 houses together & well before the end, I think he might have been weary of the sound of my voice.
5 Great Reasons to Keep Historic Wood Windows (15:32)
Brent Hull
Why we should restore our old bungalow wood windows instead of replacing them. It’s all about the $$$! Well not all, but, you know.
How to Restore a Historic Wooden Window- Step by Step (44:39)
Brent Hull
Detailed instruction on restoring windows.
DIY Window Screens (9:02)
The Craftsman Blog
Great instructions, but I recommend slowing down the playback speed!
I hope that these videos explain what you need to know to resolve your window problems!
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The best thing about a bungalow is its old neighborhood with row after row of historic Arts & Crafts homes, each one different from the other & the fellowship to be found there. Home tours, potlucks, monthly meetings- moving into a bungalow neighborhood gives you the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people, form strong friendships & have some great adventures.
Often, these associations have a preservation committee through from you can learn a great deal. I also urge you to participate in that committee for all the same reasons as those mentioned above. And, if they don’t have a historic preservation committee, you can start one one. Don’t know what to do? I’d be so happy to teach you! Here’s an article about some of the activities we hosted.
LET’S VIEW SOME GREAT BUNGALOW NEIGHBORHOODS!
Celebrating 100 Years of Chicago Bungalows
Chicago Bungalow Association
A delightful & warm video about Chicago bungalows.
Check out my article on these charming homes & the vibrant neighborhoods represented by the Association.
Painting your house, particularly the exterior, can be a daunting task. It seems pretty easy, until the paint starts peeling off in sheets, or fades after the first year or alligators worse than a reptile farm. Your hours of prep & application turrn into a fruitless exercise & all the $$$ that you spent evaporates.
Ben has it all figured out. You don’t have to go through the heartbreak. Ben will gladly teach you what you need to know before you pick up your brush.
This is not a DIY site, so, if you are hiring a painter, it’s good to know about the materials that they will use. It’s also good to know what the best practices are so that they will be used by your painter. One of their customer service guys diagnosed my failed paint job- after it had failed. Had we chatted prior to the bozo painter painting, I would have known what to be alert for, & saved myself much grief.
Ben has created an abundance of valuable videos. I have curated the ones most pertinent to old houses. Because of the quantity of the videos, I’m going to skip descriptions. The titles pretty much let you know what they’re about. I thought I knew everything about paint, but I have learned plenty from these videos.
HER-R-R-RE’S BENJAMIN!
How To Fix 5 Common Painting Mistakes (3:18)
Benjamin Moore
How to Choose the Best Paintbrush for Interior Projects (2:55)
Benjamin Moore
How to Touch Up Paint (2:32)
Benjamin Moore
Choosing the Right Paint for your Walls (3:03)
Benjamin Moore
How to Clean & Store Paint Rollers (2:22)
Benjamin Moore
I also suggest reading the series of articles that I wrote on appropriate paint colors.
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I’m not sure who loved our bungalow screen doors more, me or the pussycats. I was always ready to add or remove a layer of clothing for the opportunity to throw open the front door & get a whiff of my garden outside.
Having a deep porch protects you from the elements. In Florida, this meant being able to have the house open even when it was raining, letting in the breeze, the pitter patter & the rumbles. There were a few times that the wind would blow the mist in, but it was worth it to be able to hear & feel the storm.
Neither the Hare House nor my Tampa bungalow came equipped with screen doors but I wanted my kitties to be able to enjoy the world without having to experience it. When the doors were installed, both kits instantly found their places, shoulder to shoulder, tiny noses to screen, a pair of furry, sniffing sentries quivering with excitement as the occasional lizard scittered by.
I encourage you to experience the world outside, through your own screen door!
While this is not a DIY site, I occasionally slip in some how-to’s. Though I’m not a woman who enjoys getting her hands dirty, I trained my handy-man on many aspects of old house restoration with such videos. He enjoyed the education.
WATCH SOME VIDEOS ABOUT BUILDING SCREEN DOORS!
How to Make a DIY Screen Door (7:27)
Woodshop Mike
A lesson in making a simple screen door.
How to Build and Hang a Custom Screen Door (11:58)
This Old House
Some fine points of building & installing.
That Old Screen Door (3:50)
Mike Manuel
“Back when life was simple, just like that old screen door.”
You can read more about my doors & my kitties here!
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
I have learned a great deal about the Southeast U.S. from visiting house museums. After having read so much material on old houses, it is wonderful to visit the complete homes, most restored with the best preservation practices. Often they contain at least some original furniture & household goods. Generally you are provided with information about the family & their contributions to local history as well as a glimpse into their lives & the life & culture of the time.
What to do about your bungalow’s old wood windows can be confusing. I address this & offer several solutions in my article, 
The best thing about a bungalow is its old neighborhood with row after row of historic Arts & Crafts homes, each one different from the other & the fellowship to be found there. Home tours, potlucks, monthly meetings- moving into a bungalow neighborhood gives you the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people, form strong friendships & have some great adventures.
Painting your house, particularly the exterior, can be a daunting task. It seems pretty easy, until the paint starts peeling off in sheets, or fades after the first year or alligators worse than a reptile farm. Your hours of prep & application turrn into a fruitless exercise & all the $$$ that you spent evaporates.
I’m not sure who loved our bungalow screen doors more, me or the pussycats. I was always ready to add or remove a layer of clothing for the opportunity to throw open the front door & get a whiff of my garden outside.