Stephen Orr: Making Renovations Matter
On this episode of The Better Buy, BHG Editor in Chief Stephen Orr shares what went into renovating his forever home, a historical getaway on Cape Cod.
Carson Downing; Design: Better Homes & Gardens
The Better Buy, a podcast from Better Homes & Gardens, explores all things home—from decorating and DIY to renovating and budgeting. For season 2, we’ll delve into the full home buying process, from house hunting and moving to interior design and landscaping, with stories, practical tips, and advice from our guests each week. We’re on a mission to inspire and empower you to create your dream home. New episodes every Wednesday!
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On This Episode
Host Mélanie Berliet talks with Stephen Orr about how he tackled his recent home renovation project, how he struck a balance between establishing modern design elements and maintaining historical features, what he and his husband have done to make their new house their forever home, and the imperfection inherent in taking on a large-scale renovation.
Meet Stephen Orr
Stephen Orr is the editor in chief of Better Homes & Gardens and a Dotdash Meredith editorial content director overseeing the company’s food, home, and travel content. He’s an avid gardener and the author of two books on the subject: The New American Herbal and Tomorrow’s Garden. Previously, he served as executive editor at Condé Nast Traveler. He and his husband recently undertook the task of renovating their own home, an 18th-century house on Cape Cod.
Advice from the Episode
Stephen shares everything that went into creating his forever home, from renovation mishaps, to compromise, to unexpected discoveries.
Stephen Orr
The house itself, we want to keep it until we can’t have it anymore. So it’s not a house we want to flip and we’re not wanting to sell it in a few years. We want to be there until we can't be there anymore. It’s our forever home, which I’ve never had before.
Related: 7 Must-Follow Tips for Starting a House Renovation
Be Prepared for Imperfection
Don’t let the idea of perfection get in the way of your renovation project—older homes are bound to have some quirks.
So-called imperfections can easily be a home’s best assets, preserving history and adding character to a space.
Stephen Orr
Nothing’s perfect, and that’s something with these renovations you have to be aware where you're willing to be imperfect. And in this house, we’re celebrating the imperfections of everything. And I wanted to show the seams of where the 2023 house, which is the sunroom and the kitchen, meets the 1938 house meets the 1760 house. So those areas I want to not erase them, I want those to be levels that people see. I think celebrating all those imperfections is what I love the most and I think that’s what adds the romance more than trying to make everything modern and perfect.
Don’t Necessarily Follow the Easiest Path
People may try to convince you not to keep historical aspects of an older home around, but you shouldn’t let them dissuade you.
Full renovations can be cheaper than ones that attempt to preserve historical elements, but you’ll lose out on the house’s most interesting architecture and design in the process.
Stephen Orr
My husband and I were very clear that we didn’t want to do what I call a white box reno, which would kind of make it look like a condo where you just go in, rip everything old down, put up drywall, paint it white, have all of the joinery and all of the pieces be really perfect. We didn’t want that. And anyone who wants to own a historic home or wants to renovate a historic home, anytime you try to keep the history—first of all, there’ll be a lot of people that try to talk you out of it.
Related: 100-Year-Old Home’s Renovation Inspires DIY Ideas for Homeowners
Layering Time Periods and Design Styles
Just because you own a historical home doesn’t mean you’re stuck with old-timey design styles.
Mix and match modern design with antiques to create a home that’s equal parts then and now.
Stephen Orr
We wanted to imbue the place with history, but also we didn’t want to be too beholden to that. So, I feel like we’ve added a layer in the décor that is very appropriate to the 18th and 19th century and the sailor thing and you know, all the marine stuff. What I don't want to do is have it look like Colonial Williamsburg. So what we’re doing now is trying to mess that up by buying modern pieces or things that work very much with, but still against the colonial vibe.
Keeping Resale Value in Mind
Just in case you need to sell, add features that’ll make the house a resale winner.
Environmentally conscious design is an excellent way to lower your carbon footprint—and maybe even your electricity bill—while setting future owners up for success.
Stephen Orr
I look at the house through our lens first only, but then sometimes I kind of look at it and I’m like, “Well, if we had to sell later would we have done that differently?” And I don’t think we would. For instance, I’m trying to do things as green as possible even though that’s almost impossible.
Take Control of Your Finances
Don’t be afraid to take ownership of some renovation responsibilities: Your wallet may thank you for it.
Purchasing materials and arranging their delivery is a relatively low-lift way to ease the overall cost of the project.
Stephen Orr
We tried to save money and luckily our GC helped us. We took on a lot of the work that I imagine people with a much bigger budget outsource. So we ordered a lot of stuff ourselves. We organized all that. So, we were trying to save whatever money we could and she knew that, so she helped us.
Related: 14 Ways to Stretch Your Renovation Budget
Links and Resources
Editor’s note: Please note that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.
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