Period Interiors: How To Renovate A Traditional Style Home
Restoring your home’s original style is a great look for any older home. Whether your property dates back to the Victorian or Edwardian eras, or it was built in the 1950s, you have some beautiful decor to choose from. Renovating your home in a traditional style is not too difficult, you just have to follow a few simple rules.
Bring Back Lost Features
Homes go through many changes through the years as they are passed between owners. Everyone wants to put their own stamp and style on their space, just as you do now. Your home’s original features may have been removed over the years and without these touches your property will struggle to have a look that suits its era. Fortunately, modern reproductions of traditional features are available and you can bring them back to the home.
Period Mouldings specialise in period timber mouldings and traditional skirting boards that will allow you to return your home to its original glory. They offer a wide range of styles to suit any time period, and you can complete the look with period correct doors and architraves. By installing fresh skirtings and mouldings your interior living spaces will look brand new but retain the original designs of the home.
The Heart Of The Traditional Home
If you have the money, renovating the kitchen can have a massive effect on the home’s overall decor. New kitchens are a worthwhile investment and can add a lot of property value to your home, so you should consider resale value when you are crunching the numbers. Turning the heart of your home into a traditional space is a big decision, but if you are committed to making your property look like it did when it was new you will not regret it.
Deep, vintage style kitchen sinks and taps create a traditional feature fit for any home from the 1850s to the 70s. Wooden, rustic, thick, farmhouse style countertops will help establish the traditional kitchen vibes. Fitting in modern appliances like dishwashers and fridges can be tricky. Covering them with cupboard doors is a quick fix to the problem but you should also consider getting vintage-styled appliances like an old 50s looking refrigerator.
Pick A Period Correct Palette
Interior design is about so much more than architectural features; colours and textures are just as important. To restore an original style to a home you need to go the whole hog and return the decor to its period correct appearance as well as the home’s features. If your home dates from the turn of the 20th Century up to the 1950s you are in luck as there are some beautiful designs and patterns in this era.
Patterned wallpaper is the perfect way to establish a period firmly, but it can be a bit much. Use it sparingly and instead rely on a period correct colour palette to paint the walls instead, as is the contemporary style of today. The older colours will maintain the traditional style in your interior spaces without the time period becoming overbearing and turning your home decor into a reproduction rather than a tribute.
Have Fun In The Bedroom
As far as interior design goes, the bedrooms should follow the cues of the main living spaces and match their features. You can have a lot of fun with the furniture you use though. If you want to stick with modern bedroom furniture go with wooden bedframes and wardrobes. Vintage furniture and antiques can play a part here though and give you a boudoir that looks in period.
If you are looking for a unique style for your bedroom, go all in on the vintage interior design. Bedrooms were the crown jewels of the home in past eras, and following their styles complete with suitable furniture can create an eye-catching space. You do have to be very committed to living in a vintage space, however, so weigh up this option carefully before buying supplies or bedroom furniture.
Completing The Look
Fixtures, fittings, and furniture can all be used to bring a traditional look together. There is plenty of reproduction lighting from all eras available in brick and mortar stores as well as online. For vintage furniture, you may have to search a little farther and wider. Keep an eye out on online marketplaces like eBay and Facebook for people selling on the old examples that fit your home’s time period.
Light switches, plug sockets, and other electrical items should all be modern and up to date examples for safety reasons. Old styles do get reproduced, and many will be available from mainstream suppliers like DIY stores. When you hire an electrician discuss your style choice with them and they should be able to give you some options to choose from that suit the traditional look.
If you live in a period property you should definitely consider renovating your home with its original styles. This look is timeless and can be a profitable way to redecorate a home when you factor in the resale value. You can make the changes room by room too, you do not have to renovate your whole home all at once.
