How Professional Renovators Preserve A Home's Original Character
Practically every buyer in today’s market is looking for a home with “character.” What that means, exactly, is very much in the eyes of the beholder. But what they want, in general, is some artistic style that tells a story and preserves as many of the original features as possible. That means that it is actually a good thing to keep hold of wooden beams and fireplaces, even if they don’t come up to modern spec standards.
In this post, we take a look at how the pros preserve a home’s original character during renovations.
Start By Listing All The Character Features In Your Home
It’s a good idea to start doing your own research, talk to other homeowners who have done similar renovations, friends, family, or someone who knows what they are talking about to list all the character features in your home.
Typical items in this category include:
Plaster walls
Hardwood flooring
Built-ins
Crown molding
Pocket doors
Cedar siding
Original hardware
However, your list can extend well beyond this, depending on the style and nature of the property. For instance, you may have strange and wonderful features like turrets or observatories.
List The Character Features That Are In Poor Condition
The next step is to list the features that are in poor condition. Usually, you can tell just from a visual inspection. But if the damage is more subtle, you might have to as a surveyor.
There are many common issues with older homes. For instance, owners often need custom-made replacement windows to replace rotten originals. Sometimes, the condition of the windows is so bad that simply applying a new coating of paint won’t suffice.
Other modifications include redesigning the interior layout. In many cases, you’ll want to knock down interior walls to create a more open-plan space.
Foundations can also be a problem in older homes. However, rectifying these doesn’t usually involve making any changes to character elements in your home.
You might also want to replace plumbing fixtures and fittings, install new HVACs or new electrical systems. But, again, these should not fundamentally destroy the character of your home. They just require clever concealment and replacement of plaster walls in their original style.
Paint Over Original Trim
Many owners of character properties want to know if they should paint over original trim. They worry that it will change the character of the crown molding or skirting boards if they do.
The trick here is to imagine yourself as the original owner of the home and how it would have appeared when brand new. When you do this, you soon realize that it would have had fresh-painted character elements. So that’s why the pros always recommend painting over these to make them look new. Of course, if you’re aiming for a shabby chic interior, you’ll want some of your features to look distressed.
The home may have several coats of paint so if you’re thinking of removing old paint, be sure to test for lead-based paint. You may need to hire a professional to remove the old paint before putting on a new coat.
Mix Old With New
Finally, you can actually bring out the character of your home more by combining old with new. Every family is different. But things like modern coffee tables work exceptionally well with old furnishings, the fireplace, and crown molding elements.