Four over One Design

10/09/2026

A smattering of non-professional, just-finished projects from the past month or two. I am so delighted that we’re back in the land of color!

These houses are from the 1880s, 1920s, and 1930s, all in historic districts, and all receiving preservation tax credits.

Work by AG Builders and Architrave Construction

08/31/2026

Nerd Alert! Sara went to Monticello this weekend and only took pictures of details.

(It was pretty great - ol’ TJ was paying attention to his French architecture. And I’m deeply impressed by the craftsmanship the enslaved people pulled off in rural Virginia, 1798.)

10/10/2025

Went to Asheville for the annual conference. Saw beautiful architecture, ate good food, and fully geeked out. So good to talk nuts and bolts (and corbels and mortar) with other old house folks.

08/25/2025

Annual appreciation post for , a smidge after her birthday. I’m grateful for each year she helps keep the wheels on at 4/1!

06/02/2025

How’s about before-and-after bathroom story time for the foursquare glowup?

Just like the kitchen, the upstairs hall bath was basically perfect except…where it was showing its age. The didn’t go up high enough in the shower, the plumbing was a little leaky, and there wasn’t much storage. But instead of gutting it all, the homeowners opted to fix it. A new cap on the tile, a new vanity, and a gorgeous new hex tile floor make it just right.

In the downstairs, we enclosed a back porch space to create a mudroom and improve the circulation to the downstairs bath. Wallpaper, built-ins, and some good door hardware rounded it out. Amazingly, a window for the shower was just… inside the wall - much like many other details in this house, it just had to be uncovered.

Construction by , before photos by yours truly, afters by

05/07/2025

We just gave to our favorite local event, the Beaver Queen Pageant! Will we see you in the meadow on June 7th?

FOR SPONSORS ONLY

05/07/2025

I'll be presenting info about preservation tax credits for the city of Burlington in early June, along with Meghan Sullivan from SHPO, at a free workshop. Always happy to talk to people about the process!

Join the City of Burlington as we learn more about Historic Tax Credits from professionals in the Public & Private sectors!

04/24/2025

Three very different projects, three sneaky peaks through the doorway… full photos of these houses just came back to us, and I am so excited to show them off!

Selecting which of ’s photos to use is gonna take a while, so just a teaser for now, and a question:

Do you like to see the before and afters together, or only the glamor shots?

04/09/2025

The big gorgeous home on Roxboro is finally going! I swung through to see the demo today, and without all the crazy wallpaper, the house is showing her glory. I cannot wait to see this transformation!

01/30/2025

Non-professional photo before/after explainer post incoming!

It’s rare I start with a photo of the back side of a house, but in the case of this glorious bungalow, it’s the only place you can see the changes on the outside. Folks often ask us about , and the answer is truly “maybe?”

In this case, the second floor was already finished (helpful) and the homeowners didn’t want a first floor master. The lot size precluded any side additions, and they didn’t want to compromise their view of the backyard. In fact, they wanted more of it!

We designed two new dormer bumps to flank the existing, and created a lovely office out of a former junque room, and turned their former primary bedroom into the en suite bath and closet. Their new bedroom is pushed out to the windows and feels like being in the treetops.

We’ll get proper photos of this soon, but in the meantime you can flip through the pairs and see what transformed. Anchor your view on the existing windows in each before photo for orientation.

built it and made my crazy attic angles come out!