Historic Home Renovation Services in Denver

Historic homes were built with a logic of their own. The proportions, room layouts, windows, millwork, floors and architectural details all contribute to how the house feels. Renovating one well means understanding what is worth preserving, what can change, and how to make the home work beautifully for the people living there now.

Through our historic home renovation services, Studio Olio serves as the design lead for whole-home historic renovations, as well as kitchens, bathrooms and individual rooms. We combine interior design with hands-on construction knowledge, bring in the architects, engineers and specialists each house requires, and stay involved from the first plan through construction, creating homes that feel considered, personal and connected to their architecture without turning them into museums.

Planning a renovation of an older Denver home?

Preserve What Belongs, Change What Doesn’t Work

Every historic home is different, which is why there isn’t a universal list of what must stay and what must go.

Whenever possible, we look carefully at original windows, doors, millwork, built-ins, fireplaces, hardwood floors, plaster and architectural proportions before recommending their removal or replacement. These elements are often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to authentically recreate once they’re gone.

Other parts of an old house were never particularly functional, have reached the end of their useful life, or are themselves the result of an unfortunate renovation decades later. Kitchens can move, bathrooms can get better, storage can be added, electrical and mechanical systems can be modernized, and missing millwork can be recreated.

A poorly conceived alteration doesn’t become historically significant simply because it’s old, and the skill lies in knowing the difference.

Designing Denver’s Older Homes for Modern Life

Denver has a wide range of older homes, from late-19th-century Victorians and Denver Squares to Craftsman bungalows, Tudor Revival homes, Colonial Revivals and other architecturally distinctive houses, and they aren’t interchangeable. A renovation that belongs in a Victorian isn’t necessarily right for a Tudor. The proportions, materials, millwork, windows, fireplaces and original layout all provide clues about what belongs in that particular house.

Studio Olio designs and leads whole-home renovations, kitchens, bathrooms, primary suites, and individual rooms from initial planning through construction. We develop the design of the space itself—including floor plans, circulation, room relationships, cabinetry, millwork, built-ins, and door and window changes—and produce the drawings and documentation needed to carry the design through construction.

Depending on the project, our work includes permit drawings and permit coordination, Denver Landmark Preservation review, and coordination with contractors, architects, engineers, and other specialists. We remain involved throughout construction, working with the contractor and trades to answer design questions, address conditions uncovered during renovation, review the work for consistency with the design intent, and make design decisions as the project progresses.

We also specify the lighting, plumbing, tile, stone, flooring, wallpaper, color, furnishings, and architectural finishes that bring the completed spaces together.

We work in historic neighborhoods across Denver, including the Country Club Historic District, Curtis Park, Capitol Hill, Congress Park, Potter Highlands and Washington Park.

Studio Olio is based in the Denver area, with projects throughout Colorado and across the United States, Canada and abroad.

What Thoughtful Historic Renovation Looks Like

Sometimes respecting a historic home means keeping something exactly where it is.

Sometimes it means changing it.

In an 1889 Victorian renovation, we relocated a poorly positioned kitchen while preserving the home’s original heart pine floors, recreating historic trim profiles and incorporating existing fireplace millwork into the new design. The kitchen became significantly more functional without losing its relationship to the rest of the house.

The new cabinetry and range hood were custom built by a local fabrication shop, and the home’s existing fireplace millwork now frames the range. Rather than reading as a new kitchen inserted into an old house, the room feels as though it has always belonged there.

Relocating a kitchen in a house this age is never only a design decision. Plumbing, venting, electrical capacity and the framing beneath the floor all shape what’s possible, so we worked through those questions early, before the layout was finalized.

Renovating a Historic Home in Denver

Working on an older Denver home can introduce another layer of considerations beyond the design itself.

Some properties are individually landmarked or located within historic districts, which can affect proposed exterior alterations. Depending on the project, permitting, structural work and updates to older electrical, plumbing or mechanical systems may also need to be coordinated as part of the renovation.

Not every old house is landmarked, and not every renovation requires historic review.

We consider those requirements early in the design process when they apply so that the design can respond to the home’s architecture, the realities of its existing construction and any applicable review or permitting requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions About Historic Home Renovation

Can you modernize a historic home without losing its character?

Absolutely. Modernizing how a house functions doesn’t require making it look contemporary. Kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, electrical systems, storage and mechanical systems can all be updated while preserving the architectural elements that give the house its identity.

Should I replace the original windows in my historic home?

Whenever possible, we want to keep them. Original windows are an important part of a historic home’s architecture and are often better candidates for repair or restoration than homeowners realize. We investigate whether they can reasonably be preserved before recommending replacement, and the right answer depends on their condition, the house and the goals of the renovation.

Can you make a historic kitchen more functional?

Yes. Historic kitchens often need better storage, lighting, electrical capacity, cabinetry and workflow. Sometimes the existing footprint can be improved; in other homes, relocating or reconfiguring the kitchen makes more sense. The goal is a kitchen that functions for modern life while still feeling connected to the architecture around it.

What types of historic homes do you work with?

Studio Olio works with historic and architecturally distinctive homes of many periods and styles, including Victorian homes, Denver Squares and Foursquares, Craftsman bungalows, Tudor and Tudor Revival homes, Colonial Revivals and others. We don’t apply a generic “historic” look to every project; the architecture of the individual home guides what we preserve, restore, introduce and change.

Do you work with general contractors and architects during a historic renovation?

Yes. On whole-home renovations, Studio Olio serves as the design lead: we establish the design direction, bring in architects, structural engineers and specialists when the scope calls for them, prepare the contractor RFP and stay involved through construction. We work best with collaborative architects and general contractors who understand the importance of carrying the design intent through construction.

Do you work on homes in Denver historic districts?

Yes. We design renovations for homes within Denver’s historic districts, including the Country Club, Potter Highlands and Curtis Park historic districts, as well as older neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Congress Park and Washington Park. When Landmark Preservation review or other approvals apply to the scope of work, those requirements are considered as part of the design and project planning.

What is the first step?

Start with a brief discovery call. We’ll talk about your house, what’s prompting the project and what you’re hoping to change, so we can both decide whether it’s a good fit. From there, the next step is a paid in-home consultation: we walk the house together, talk through how you live and what isn’t working, and discuss what the renovation is likely to involve.

Your Historic Home Doesn’t Need to Become Someone Else’s House

The best historic renovations don’t erase the past, and they don’t recreate it room by room. They allow the architecture of the house and the lives of the people living there now to coexist.

If you’re renovating a historic home in Denver and want to preserve what makes it special while creating something personal, functional and distinctly yours, we’d love to hear about it.