The materials of traditional New England
Old Canaan is the definitive guide to the materials of traditional New England architecture, landscape, and design. What they are, what they look like, and how to get them right.
The knowledge that makes a traditional New England property feel exactly right has always existed. It lives in the heads of old builders, in the sample rooms of good suppliers, in the specifications of architects who have been doing this work for decades. It has never been in one place, findable, until now.
Old Canaan identifies materials with precision. Grade, origin, finish, behavior over time. We show them dry and wet, raw and aged, installed in real buildings and landscapes. We give you enough to walk into a supplier and ask for the right thing with confidence.
Old Canaan is written by a working architect and designer based in Connecticut, with years of experience specifying traditional materials on real New England projects. The authority here comes from practice, not research. These are the materials we specify. This is what we know.
We do not sell products. We identify them. We never recommend something we would not specify ourselves. We never guess. If we do not know something precisely, we say so and we find out.
For project consultation or material selection support, reach out directly.