5 Ways To Restore Traditional Period Features Back Into Your Home
If you have purchase a period home then the odds are that some or all of your traditional features may will have been stripped. There are some simple ways to put those architectural details back into your home, whether your tastes are very traditional or they have a more contemporary twist, there is something here for everybody living in a period home.
Let’s run through the top 5 options for you.
Fireplaces
Dependant on the time your period home was made, you may have fireplaces in almost every room. Some of the time this will have been boarded up, and you do have to be careful if you are on a budget and thinking about opening these back up again, as opening it up for aesthetics is one thing but opening it up for it to be a working fireplace is something else entirely.
You will want to seek professional help before you undertake anything too drastic as there could be all sorts of surprises waiting for you! However, the results could be amazing and such a great focal point for certain rooms in your period home.
Image Credit: Pinterest
Image Credit: Pinterest
2. Wood Floorings
In older homes, you tend to get a bit of a blend of floorings; they could be Minton tiles, planked wood floorings. I do think it is nice to have a consistent type of flooring downstairs area with the same floorings; this could be using engineered wood. If you're worried about it being cold, you can always add area rugs for warmth and texture.
Choosing a flooring that is traditional to the period isn’t always an easy thing. But parquet and herringbone will have been popular choices as they are both a classic way to add texture and depth to your floors as well as being incredibly hard-wearing in a period home.
Image Credit: Behance, ARCA Design, Photo By: Maxim Maximov
Image Credit: Shop LTK
3. Mouldings
Now for my favourite part! We are talking dado rails, picture rails, skirting boards, architraves, cornice and ceiling roses.
Elements such as skirting boards, architraves, and ceiling roses should relate to the rest of the interior architecture; it is a good idea to study the specific timeframe when your period home was built. That way you can really understand what sort of motifs were used in certain periods.
In my opinion, I would always be a little wary of websites just saying Victorian or Georgian, as some of those periods were vast, and a little research will go a long way.
Image Credit: The Nord Room
Sizing and Placements
Picture Rail
Traditionally this would sit between 30-50mm below your cornice, although this does depend on ceiling height, if you ceiling is lower opt for the lower end and if your ceiling is nice and tall you can afford to steal a little bit of height.
Top Tip: Don’t forget to take other things in the room into account, such as window and door height. You don’t want to chop the windows or doors in a strange place, always check these before install so you know. It’s always more fun to break rules, once you know them!
Ceiling Rose
The size of the ceiling rose should be proportional to the size of the room. A small ceiling rose may look out of place in a large room, while a large ceiling rose may overwhelm a small room. One way to establish a guide to the right ceiling rose sized for your room is to measure the size of your room - the ceiling height x the room length x the room width. This will give you a figure to work with.
· Up to 56m3 - You could use a ceiling rose around 300mm – 620mm in diameter.
· Around 57m3 - This is the average sized room and therefore your ceiling rose could be around 580mm-720mm.
· Above 58m3 - You could go for a larger ceiling rose around 700mm-920mm diameter.
Image Credit: Homes to Love
Dado Rail
This is a simple calculation for your Dado Rail. (These were originally installed to protect the bottom of your walls from chair damage).
Take your wall height, divide it by 5 and then double it.
For instance, if your wall height is 2400mm you would divide this by 5 to get 480mm.
Then you simply double 480mm to get 960mm.
You'd be safe to install the dado rail anywhere between 900mm and 1000mm above floor level.
Skirting Boards
There are no hard and fast rules or calculations with skirting boards, but be careful isn’t doesn’t overwhelmed the other pieces in the room.
4. Radiators
Now radiators we aren’t really adding back in, as a traditional period home wouldn’t have had them. They are a great way to heat your home, obviously, and there are lots of traditional style radiators out there, such as cast iron.
Alternatively, you could go with a contemporary style as they can look attractive in a more traditional space, there is a slight juxtaposition of the stylings that really work together.
If your budget is tight, I often think there are better ways to spurge than on more expensive radiators. A great way to go, is a bog-standard panelled radiator, colour drenched in the same colour as your walls with some traditional valves, this will really take it up a notch.
Image Credit: Your Home Style UK
5. Fixtures and Fittings
Often to be said to be the jewellery of your home, you can’t under estimate the power of updating your fixtures and fittings.
I’m talking about door handles, light switches, cupboard door handles and maybe even hinges if you are into being a little bit extra! 😊
To help make your period home feel cohesive I would stick with a maximum of 3 metals finishes at the most.
Image Credit: Devol Kitchens
Image Credit: Etsy UK
Small changes can make a really great impact to your home! Remember to take you time and enjoy the process and don’t forget, I am always here to help and I have a wide variety of different services.
Jessica x