193: Ghost Stories From Reluctant Witnesses
True Tales From Old Houses
Season 14 of True Tales From Old Houses kicks off with our annual Spooky Season stories! What happens when you're a skeptic but the ghosts don't care? Four listeners share their encounters with the unexplained, including mysterious figures, strange voices, and a possible brush with time travel. Their stories might make even the most committed doubter question what they believe. Plus, Stacy shares a few summer updates and big news about the future of True Tales From Old Houses. Mentioned in This Episode: Caitlin - (Instagram) Caitlin - (Instagram) Aimée Struble - (Instagram) ...
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192: Robert Khederian & Old House Culture
True Tales From Old Houses
In this week's episode, the season finale of True Tales From Old Houses, Stacy welcomes Robert Khederian, a realtor, writer, and commentator on pre-war architecture, design, and old-house culture. Robert is known for his thoughtful observations about historic homes and the people who love them, making him the perfect guest to help close out the season. We discuss changing attitudes toward historic homes, what buyers are looking for today, timeless design, and how social media has influenced the way we think about owning old houses. Also in this episode, listener Peter Martin shares how he got...
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191: Dreams, Dust, & Due Diligence
True Tales From Old Houses
In this episode of True Tales From Old Houses, Stacy talks with Ariana Makau, principal conservator and founder of Nzilani Glass Conservation, about her decision to purchase a long-neglected industrial building in Oakland, California. After hearing from so many listeners interested in historic commercial buildings, Stacy invited Ariana to share her experience taking on an old industrial property and turning it into a space that works for both her business and her broader mission. Ariana explains what drew her to the building, how she determined whether the project was realistic, and the vision...
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190: Nova Scotia Solutions & New England Dreams
True Tales From Old Houses
In this episode, Stacy explores both sides of old house life: making the most of the house you have and taking a leap toward the house you want. First, returning guest Rod Whale checks back in from the 200-year-old Bailey House Inn in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Rod recently wrote in with several excellent passive cooling ideas in response to the Good, Better, Best segment about hot rooms, so Stacy invited him back to continue the conversation. Then, Bari Ackerman joins Stacy to share her story of making a major life change to pursue an old house dream. After years of imagining a different...
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189: What It Takes to Save a Building
True Tales From Old Houses
In this Memorial Day episode, Stacy wraps up Preservation Month with listener follow-ups, one final round of State of Restoration conversations from Pine Mountain, and a practical look into the complicated realities behind rehabbing historic commercial buildings. After touring a long-empty downtown building, Stacy started asking a much bigger question: What does it realistically take to save a building like that and turn it into a financially viable project? The answer involves far more than passion and vision. From tax credits and tenants to deferred maintenance and demolition by neglect,...
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188: Live, Laugh, Lose Your Patience
True Tales From Old Houses
In this episode, Preservation Month continues with another State of Restoration check-in, but this time, Stacy starts connecting some dots. After hearing more listener voicemails and Pine Mountain conversations, Stacy explores an idea she keeps coming back to: money, motive, and means. Could missing one of those help explain why some preservation communities seem to thrive while others struggle? Then, Stacy is joined by Carissa and Larry for a refreshingly honest conversation about old house life, DIY projects, and relationships. They talk about sharing a historic home when one person is a...
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187: Beyond Old Houses: Cemetery Preservation
True Tales From Old Houses
In this episode, Preservation Month continues with another State of Restoration check-in and a look at one of the most overlooked forms of historic preservation: historic cemetery and headstone care. First, Stacy checks back in with the State of Restoration project, where one theme starting to emerge is that preservation often follows money. Then, she is joined by Justin Frost from Past Preservation to talk about historic cemetery preservation, headstone cleaning, and headstone repair. They discuss proper gravestone cleaning methods, common preservation mistakes, and the difference between...
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186: Preservation Month & A Bungalow Story
True Tales From Old Houses
In this week's episode, Stacy kicks off Historic Preservation Month by revisiting the State of Restoration voicemail project, sharing updates from Utah and the Pacific Northwest. Then, she chats with Emma Shay about her 1924 Craftsman bungalow. They get into how Emma's first house, what she calls an “old house on easy mode," sparked a love and respect for old houses. That experience now shapes the thoughtful decisions she’s making to preserve charm and character without overcomplicating the process. Before wrapping up, Stacy shares listener feedback on last week's Good, Better, Best...
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185: Hot Rooms & Higher Standards
True Tales From Old Houses
In this week's episode, Stacy shares a few updates from Blake Hill House and finally settles the Minisode name question. Then, she works through a listener question using the Good, Better, Best format, tackling a common old house challenge: rooms that get too hot in the summer. From simple adjustments to more involved solutions, she breaks down practical ways to improve comfort without losing sight of how old houses are meant to function. At the end of the episode, Stacy reflects on a video that's been circulating online and why it didn't sit quite right. It's a conversation about the...
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184: A Grand Hotel in the Middle of Nowhere (Sun Valley Lodge)
True Tales From Old Houses
This week’s field trip episode started with a question Stacy couldn’t shake: Why is there a beautiful historic hotel in the middle of nowhere, Idaho? The Sun Valley Lodge isn't just any hotel. It's a grand, carefully designed resort surrounded by mountains and ranchland. When Stacy realized Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the architect behind many of the lodges in the National Parks, was involved, it explained the design—but not the decision to build it there. So Stacy sat down in person with historian John Lundin to learn how Sun Valley came to be. He shares how Union Pacific Railroad, led...
info_outlineIn this final minisode of the season (Don't worry; there's still one more full episode on the way!), Stacy returns from Japan with tales of train travel, city-hopping, and family time. Each region had its own personality, and seeing the country through her son's eyes made the trip even more memorable.
Meanwhile, Daniel's been deep in renovation mode, helping another friend prepare a nursery. The room's first iteration was a hands-on learning experience, complete with a slightly crooked level and a few design choices that didn't turn out quite as planned. Now it's time to undo, redo, and simplify, and let's just say Daniel's tolerance for anything finicky is… limited. He prefers tools that work straight out of the box, not ones that need calibration and coaxing.
He and Stacy also compare notes on gardening—what's working, what's not, and why the weeds always seem one step ahead.
Plus, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who tuned in this season. We appreciate your questions, comments, and continued support.
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Mentioned in this Episode
- Wood Window Workshop at Silver Lake - Join the waitlist
- Preen weed preventer
- Scott's Triple Action Turf Builder
- 80% Vinegar Concentrate (for killing weeds)