A general psychiatrist for over 30 years, Elliot Gruen serves patients at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston, Maine. Enjoying many hobbies in his spare time, Elliot Gruen worked to renovate an early 20th-century home. Many factors determine the type of repairs to perform on a historic home. Historic homes present unique challenges, for more reasons than their age. Depending on the home’s location, it may suffer from issues like low-quality building materials. Builders utilized whatever was closest at hand, even if these materials lacked longevity. To ensure that your chosen home lasts while preserving its original design, find local historical societies and architects with experience restoring identical homes, so they can source identical building materials, and advise you on how to enforce its structural integrity. Though a historical home possesses certain charms, it also means sacrificing certain modern amenities. If a home is located in a historic district, local ordinances will dictate the types of restoration allowed on applicable properties. These ordinances may prohibit renovations like replacing old, inefficient windows with modern ones, for example. Therefore, not only should your chosen restorations follow local laws, but also consider your own willingness to live without modern comforts to preserve the home’s character. At the same time, the quirks of a historic home can act as strengths rather than flaws that need repairs. Make sparing modern additions distinct from the original architecture of the home to highlight it. Utilize preexisting spaces, in their current form, as often as possible, rather than altering them, to make them more modern. Prioritize which rooms you can improve the most, rather than splitting your attention across many rooms while only making minor upgrades.

1. Dr. Elliot Gruen

2. A general psychiatrist for over 30 years, Elliot Gruen serves
patients at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston, Maine. Enjoying many
hobbies in his spare time, Elliot Gruen worked to renovate an early
20th-century home. Many factors determine the type of repairs to
perform on a historic home.

3. Historic homes present unique challenges, for more reasons
than their age. Depending on the home’s location, it may suffer
from issues like low-quality building materials. Builders utilized
whatever was closest at hand, even if these materials lacked
longevity. To ensure that your chosen home lasts while
preserving its original design, find local historical societies and
architects with experience restoring identical homes, so they
can source identical building materials, and advise you on how
to enforce its structural integrity.

4. Though a historical home possesses certain charms, it also
means sacrificing certain modern amenities. If a home is
located in a historic district, local ordinances will dictate the
types of restoration allowed on applicable properties. These
ordinances may prohibit renovations like replacing old,
inefficient windows with modern ones, for example. Therefore,
not only should your chosen restorations follow local laws, but
also consider your own willingness to live without modern
comforts to preserve the home’s character.

5. At the same time, the quirks of a historic home can act as
strengths rather than flaws that need repairs. Make sparing
modern additions distinct from the original architecture of the
home to highlight it. Utilize preexisting spaces, in their current
form, as often as possible, rather than altering them, to make
them more modern. Prioritize which rooms you can improve
the most, rather than splitting your attention across many
rooms while only making minor upgrades.