The Essential Guide To Making The Most Of Period Features

If you are eager to embark on a makeover mission for your home, think about restoring rather than redecorating your humble abode. All too often, homeowners rip out the old to replace with the new. There are alternative ways to recapture some exquisite decor for your home. If you are fortunate enough to live in a Victorian, Georgian, or pre-war residence, the chances are that some of your period features have been hidden away or covered up over the years. It’s time to unleash them to be enjoyed once again.

Follow this guide to help you make the most of your period features.

Fireplace

The ghastly 1960s fireplaces that bombarded homes across the nation are now being ripped out in favor of more modern and sleek designs. While these simple energy efficient fireplaces can look great in a minimalist setting, think about the older fireplace that your 1960s monstrosity may have been covering for decades. Victorian fireplaces can be buried behind the brickwork. Cast iron fireplaces with ornate tiles and beautiful marble hearths are waiting to be uncovered. Alternatively, you may find that you have enough space in your chimney breast to renew your flue and insert a gorgeous wood burning stove. These classic and more heritage-style designs of fireplace can add a unique period feel to your home.

Look Up

Many Victorian homes with high ceilings are fortunate enough to have coving and ornate ceiling roses. These are often covered up with so many layers of paint that the details and carvings can become lost. You need to peel back this paint to reveal the ornate details of these period features. If you have a ceiling rose, don’t couple it with a modern light fitting and instead keep the period and elegant theme going with a Sogni Di Cristallo glass chandelier. This central fixture will look incredible in a dining room or a living room. The cornice in your room can be painted a crisp white. This can contrast with a more bold color on your walls or it can merge into the white walls that you have chosen for your home. 

Flooring

Under your feet, you may have been enduring an old swirly vintage carpet or you might have been lucky enough to endure the modern laminate flooring. To go back to a more authentic look for your home, you need to lift this modern flooring up and explore what is underneath. With any luck, you will have some old oak wooden floorboards or some parquet that you can restore and bring back to life. With a sandblast and a varnish, you can enjoy some incredible elegant flooring in your living spaces where there is the most footfall. These floorboards will be hardwearing and can be the perfect blank canvas for a gorgeous plush shagpile rug or an ornate Persian rug. The flooring that you choose can set the vibe for your entire home decor and really bring out those period features.

Follow this guide and you can make the most of your period features within your humble abode.