Heritage Restoration
Careful, respectful restoration of historic and character-filled homes. We work with patience and skill to preserve original beauty, revive lost detail, and honor the story of the home while preparing it for the next century.
The craft
James & Co. are specialists in heritage restoration, bringing a wealth of experience from Europe, where our founder honed his skills on centuries-old castles and heritage structures. Our team's knowledge of traditional methods in stonework, woodwork, and structural integrity breathes new life into historic buildings.
Faced with challenges others call insurmountable, we find practical ways to restore, revive, and preserve these homes. We are here to save them, not demolish them, and we work alongside homeowners' associations, architects, and engineers to navigate heritage requirements.
Most of this work is a series of decisions about what to keep. Original plaster crown molding preserved in place rather than pulled down and reproduced. Original white oak strip flooring brought back rather than covered over. Original brass door hardware and reeded glass cleaned and returned to use. A Victorian mantel kept with its carved decorative relief, fluted pilasters and period corbels intact. All of it is quick to replace and impossible to get back once it is gone.
Where new work is needed it is made to sit inside an old room without pretending to be older than it is: a bespoke arched fireplace in hand-textured plaster on a marble hearth, or a curved staircase built around a sweeping plaster core with white oak treads and an oak handrail shaped by hand along the whole run, finishing in a scroll where it meets the wall. We have also taken a Georgian-era home that spent decades divided into three apartments and put it back to a single house.
Traditional plaster, stonework and joinery techniques, matched to the era of the home.
Crown molding, white oak floors, mantels and corbels preserved and restored, not torn out.
Practical solutions for problems others call insurmountable, so the home is kept for the next century.
We work with associations, architects and engineers to navigate heritage legislation.
The straight answers
Dedicated to saving, not demolishing. Every project a testament to enduring craftsmanship and heritage.
James & Co. · Chattanooga, Tennessee
Selected work
Related projects
A full restoration of a stately historic residence carrying more than a century of architecture and story. Original plaster crown molding preserved, the exquisite original white oak strip flooring restored, and a fully bespoke arched fireplace in hand-textured plaster anchoring the formal living room.
See the projectA Georgian-era home that had spent decades divided into three apartments, returned to a single home and restored to what it was always meant to be. The custom Gaudí-inspired staircase with sweeping curved plaster walls and a hand-shaped oak handrail may be one of a kind in Tennessee.
See the projectA heritage-listed Victorian-era cottage in one of Chattanooga's most beloved historic neighbourhoods. Original Victorian mantel restored with carved decorative relief, fluted pilasters, and period corbels. A new two-tone furniture-grade kitchen in crisp white and deep charcoal with brushed brass hardware and Carrara marble.
See the projectWhere we do this work, from the mountain estates to the historic homes along the river.
Questions, answered
Our cabinetry and finish carpentry are built and installed by our own team. For specialist trades like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and stone, we work with a small group of trusted Chattanooga tradespeople we have known for years.
Every James & Co. project carries a 15-year workmanship warranty, on top of the standard manufacturer warranties on materials and appliances.
Yes, and it is some of our favourite work. James trained in Ireland on heritage-listed homes, stone churches, and 12th-century European castles before working on landmark restorations in Sydney. In Chattanooga, we have restored homes on East Martin Luther King Boulevard and in St. Elmo.
We start with a conversation. Tell us about your home, what you are imagining, and your rough timeline. From there, we book a site visit and a proper design consultation.
It always starts with a conversation. Tell us about your home and your timeline, and we will take it from there.
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