ABSTRACT
Restoration strategies anticipate the production of particular material qualities that put back the “original” form and character of the house, as best as can be determined. Idealized uses are fashioned around the house’s history to justify restoration strategies, but just as often they involve fitting selective historical facts to household members’ needs and wants. Actively restoring a home’s original properties requires attention to myriad minor decisions over years of sustained effort, but the production of a restored house also co-produces and integrates the homeowners’ identity and lifestyle into a concept of “history.” Rooms and room elements are conceived as parts of a whole, the collection of rooms comprising the stylistic totality of the house. The reconstructed view that integrates historical information about the style, period or other houses also serves preservation homeowners in articulating explanations for their restoration choices.
