2010 Reader Remodel Winner: From Blank Slate to Charming Cape

No sooner had we taken possession than the previous owner presented us with an amazing artifact: the original 1940 blueprints. There, in hand-lettered white on rich indigo, were all the details our house had lost, from a deep wood gutter across the front to copper flashing and wood shingles. It was like being handed a renovation game plan.

Shown: Now, warm cedar shingles, bright shutters, and crisp bands of horizontal trimwork reinject charm into a once-blank facade.