Erin Napier's Best Tips For Keeping A Home Historically Accurate During A Reno

Historic homes exude an aesthetic appeal that often attracts slews of interested buyers, as they call attention to specific art styles from the past and inspire an emotional connection in the process. But there comes a time in a house's life when it needs remodeling, whether that involves minor fixes, like repainting the home's exterior, or more thorough rehabilitations, like replacing floors, light fixtures, and other fundamental aspects of its functionality and design. When renovating such a home, it can be difficult to teeter the narrow line between ushering it into the 21st century and holding onto its natural vintage charm. However, one home improvement guru listed some of the sources she turns to for new ways to transform the houses she decorates as an artist of multiple mediums. In an exclusive interview with Realtor, Erin Napier from HGTV's "Home Town" offered her expertise on ensuring historical accuracy when decorating an old home, which, for her, involves turning to selections of print media, educational books, and Google Images for inspiration.

On the show, Napier and her husband Ben trek across their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, renovating homes for new buyers that have fallen into disarray. Combining their skills in woodworking and graphic design, the two revitalize previously neglected houses while honoring their distinctive characteristics. Whether you're considering property restoration as a career or simply looking for ways to breathe new life into your own historic home, Napier's advice may serve as a place to start your next renovation project.

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, researching interior and exterior home designs from the past is now easier and faster than ever — and it doesn't have to cost a dime. Napier said she turns to architecture-themed books and photos online to get an idea of how to design a home according to its time period. "I like to buy books about architecture, and I like to Google historic images," the HGTV star said during the interview with Realtor. Google Images simplifies the brainstorming process for its millions of users, with the search engine pulling up hundreds of pictures within tenths of a second.

While Napier doesn't list any specific readings that have inspired her previous works, architecture books of all lengths, layouts, and time periods are available for browsing inside public libraries, online, and for purchase inside most chain and independent bookstores. If e-books are more your speed, many libraries let you borrow books virtually with the assistance of third-party apps like Libby, so long as you have an active library card. The Internet is also home to many convenient sources for users to locate and read thousands of books free of charge. Google Books, to name one, is an online resource that allows the general public to digitally access excerpts and full copies of many books and magazines that the site's developers have scanned and compiled into a database. Currently, over 10 million titles are available for browsing, translating, and downloading.

If you've searched for historical renovation inspiration in traditional books with little luck, it may be time to turn to primary sources. Napier also said that she browses Sears catalogs from the past century or so for a straightforward glimpse at how homes were built and styled throughout specific eras. "Catalogs from the past can tell you so much about the way people decorated their houses, and the color palettes, especially," said Napier. "So old Sears and Roebuck catalogs from the 1920s and '30s and '40s can reveal a lot about how to be historically appropriate for a very old house."

Sears, Roebuck, and Co. polished and popularized the large-scale direct-to-consumer business model during the 20th century and, in doing so, is often credited with changing the face of American retail. Distributing their iconic seasonal catalogs from the late 1800s until 1993, the company introduced the country's shoppers to a world of shippable merchandise through hundreds of pages of sales advertisements, even going as far as selling mail-order kit houses from 1908 until 1942. Catalogs from this time period and others may feature home accessories ranging from furniture to hardware. You may be able to access old copies of Sears catalogs digitally by visiting a public library with microfilm collections of the books or by browsing websites like the Internet Archive. To purchase physical copies of the catalogs that might even be in mint condition, visit specialty bookstores, antique shops, and auction marketplaces like eBay.