Designing a historic or stone home means making it current and livable without flattening the character. JG Interior Design specializes in Chester County's stone farmhouses, colonials, and historic homes, honoring the architecture while updating the function. Start with a Fresh Eyes Visit: a plan in 48 hours, one room $350 to $500.
Chester County is full of homes most designers get wrong: stone farmhouses, colonial revivals, restored barns, and centuries-old houses with deep sills, low beams, and rooms that were never meant for modern life. The character is the whole reason you bought here, and it is exactly what a heavy-handed redesign strips out. But leave it untouched and the home feels stuck in another era. That tension, current versus character, is the real design challenge in these homes.
Resolving it is Julia Ginzburg's specialty. Twenty-six years of making Chester County's historic and stone homes feel fresh, warm, and livable now, while honoring the architecture that makes them irreplaceable.
Designing with the history
In an old stone home, the architecture is the asset. Good design frames it; bad design fights it.
- Let the bones lead. Stone, beams, and original detail are the feature; furniture and palette should serve them.
- Modern comfort, old soul. Update the function, lighting, layout, and livability, without erasing the age.
- Work with quirks. Low ceilings, odd rooms, and tight stairs need a designer's eye to finally function.
Current without flattening
The mistake most owners fear, and most designers make, is modernizing a historic home into blandness. Julia's hand is the opposite: current and calm, but unmistakably rooted in the house's history. The result feels like the home you fell for, finally finished.
What it costs
| Service | Cost range | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Eyes Visit (walkthrough + written plan) | $350 to $500 | 90 min + 48 hr plan |
| Per-room design (fee only, no furnishings) | $1,500 to $5,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Full room delivery (fee + sourcing + install) | $5,000 to $25,000 per room | 6 to 16 weeks |
For the full breakdown, see what an interior designer costs.
Start with a Fresh Eyes Visit: 90 minutes in your home, a written, prioritized plan in 48 hours, one room $350 to $500. If you do not leave with clarity, you do not pay.
Areas served
Frequently asked questions
Yes, they are a specialty. Julia has spent 26 years designing for Chester County's stone farmhouses, colonials, and historic homes, making them current and livable while honoring the original character.
Yes. Julia works throughout Chester County and the West Chester area, including Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Malvern, and the Brandywine Valley, with same-week in-home walkthroughs.
Design fees run $1,500 to $5,000 per room before furnishings. The Fresh Eyes Visit is a fixed $350 to $500 for one room, with a written plan in 48 hours.
No. The whole point is current without flattening. Julia keeps the stone, beams, and character that make a historic home special, and updates the function, light, and livability around them.