Making The Most Of Your Home’s Original Features

It’s wonderful to be able to walk into a house and spot little bits of its past here are there – it could be a bit of exposed brick, or maybe a tiled fireplaces, or it could be the original floorboards (even if they creak – in fact, creaking is a good thing in some places as it’s part of the history). The problem is that so many of these original features get stripped away during renovations, but the good news is that if your home still has some of its original quirks, they can absolutely be part of a fresh, comfortable space. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more. 

Let The Old Details Shine 

You don’t need to live in a five-hundred year old cottage or a grand Victorian home to make the most of the original features – even smaller things, like picture rails or ceiling roses, can offer an opportunity to keep the home’s personality intact. The trick is to let those elements be themselves and show off a bit, and that could mean choosing colours and furnishings that complement rather than complete with what’s already there, for example. Something that can often help when it comes to period features being seen is neutral tones, so that might be something to consider. 

Blending Old And New

One of the best things you can do is strike a balance between keeping the old but also making your home more comfortable – you can love traditional sash windows, for example, but you’ll probably still want double glazing because it’ll keep your home warmer, quieter, and save you money on your energy bills. 

And when it comes to heating, traditional radiators are a brilliant example of something that feels classic but works beautifully in the modern world. Cast iron styles with ornate finishes can be the perfect solution to making your home look and feel great. 

Working With What You Have

Sometimes it’s about uncovering what’s hidden – you might pull up a carpet to find timber floors underneath, or remove layers of gloss to reveal the original stair rail, and so on. Or you might even find an old feature that just needs a bit of repair rather than totally being replaced. 

If you do need to upgrade something, making sure it fits and works with what you’ve already got makes sense, so take your time thinking things through. 

It’s Your Home And Your Rules

Another thing to bear in mind is that original features don’t have to dictate the entire project or the way you have your home – it’s your home, so it needs to look how you want it. However, when you work with the original or older features rather than fighting against them, very often something just works and your home actually starts to feel and look better anyway. 

If you can also bring your own style to your design ideas that’s fantastic, and a lot of the time, older features can work in various ways, so it might just be a question of thinking things through properly rather than rushing into anything.