April 2014

by Amanda Davis For this week’s fixer-upper I thought we’d travel to Galveston, Texas (for one, it’s in the 70s there right now!). How cute is this house?! I’ve never been to this coastal city, but I recently discovered my great-grandfather arrived here when he immigrated to the United States over 100 years ago. Pretty neat! Galveston has a lot of great old homes, including this beauty at 1808...

Hey, Hometalk! We love you right back! We're thrilled to have been given a nice, big shout-out by the lovelies over at Hometalk, the "home & garden knowledge hub." Hometalk wrote a great piece on 10 incredible once-abandoned historic homes that were brought back to life in big and beautiful ways. As someone who can't get enough fixer-uppers in her life, this article my heart flutter!   You can read...

by Hänsel Hernández-Navarro (photo of Cupples House by Matthew Black) If there's one thing we love about CIRCA, it's the chance to "tour" the great vernacular architecture that makes America wonderful. Today Hänsel is teaching all about the Romanesque Revival style!   From the 1820s through the 1840s there was a vital new influence in American life coming from Germany. This interest in Germany...

by Amanda Davis Mad Men returns on Sunday! So why am I featuring a fixer-upper in Vermont, you may wonder? Fans of the show will know that one of Sterling Cooper & Partners’ top account executives is good ol’ Ken Cosgrove, native son of Burlington, Vermont. Poor Ken had a bit of a rough 1968, so I thought we’d go back to his roots today with a drive about 45 minutes southeast to the city of Barre....

by Elizabeth Finkelstein Tomorrow is my birthday. I told Ethan not to worry -- this year I'm not looking for an expensive gift, just something with lots of potential and character that will fill me with joy for all the days to come. Something like a fixer-upper! To help him out, I've compiled this week's list of 10 beautiful old houses for sale for under $50,000. Any and all will do!   Have a...

by Amanda Davis The weather has finally decided to warm up a little, so I thought we’d stay close to CIRCA headquarters today and celebrate with a great ol’ fixer upper right here in Brooklyn. Special thanks to Magazine reader, Maggie, for sending this great find our way!   This 5-bedroom, 3 ½ bath beauty is located in Bed-Stuy (Bedford-Stuyvesant), and comes with a whopping 4,000 square feet....

by Elizabeth Finkelstein I call this column "Before & After," but this particular piece should actually be called "Before and WAY BEFORE." Some of you may know Ken Roginski -- aka The Old House Guy -- from his fantastic website that offers an endless supply of information related to researching and renovating old houses. Oddly enough, before he reached out to me, my mom discovered his website and sent...

by Hänsel Hernández-Navarro If there's one thing we love about CIRCA, it's the chance to "tour" the great vernacular architecture that makes America wonderful. We're fascinated with the sweeping Southern porches, the Pueblo Revival homes of the Southwest, and the Craftsman bungalows dotting the Pacific Northwest. The midwest offers classic American Foursquares and majestic Queen Anne beauties, and New...