Five Steps to Renovation Design Success

ABOVE: Although it is important to maintain features such as timber panelling, there is nothing to say it cannot be updated. Here, oppressive dark wood has been given a clean, classic look with a lick of paint

What makes some renovations great and others not quite so good? Natasha Brinsmead presents the five steps to success

STEP ONE: Know what to save
When houses have been altered over the years, it can be hard to separate the original features from the later additions — so ensure you know what is worth saving.

It is unusual to find a period house which has not been altered over the years and so it can be hard to know what was added and when. One of the most desirable original features to find intact is the fireplace. They were once found in almost every room of period homes, but as these houses were modernised they became seen as redundant and were ripped out and replaced. During the 1980s, ‘old’ started to become chic once more — which ironically meant that more original fireplaces were torn out to be sold off at a high price.

The majority of period fireplaces and grates were made from cast iron, with either a stone or wooden surround. Tiled insert panels were another common feature, with 18th century homeowners favouring Dutch delftware tiles and 19th and early 20th century designs showing more decorative details, often making up a whole picture. There is a good choice of companies offering high-quality tile reproductions. On the downside, these can be very pricey and are usually thinner than the originals, meaning that if you are trying to fit them to an authentic surround you may have to make a few tweaks here and there.

If your fireplace has been boarded or blocked up, it should not be difficult to rediscover it — drill a few holes around the area first and have a feel of what lies beyond.

Another highly desirable feature of period homes is their mouldings. Where today’s contemporary homeowners aiming for a minimalist look do everything to eliminate the need for skirting boards and cornice, the Georgians, Victorians and Edwardians saw them as a means of turning practicalities into impressive decoration.

Period houses would almost always have featured coving and skirting. If you have original coving in place that is cracked or damaged, reproduction castings are available, and if for whatever reason you cannot get hold of them, individual moulds can be made to produce copies. If your mouldings have been covered with layers of paint, use caustic paint strippers to soften the paint before scraping by hand.

Standard coving can be bought, usually made from reinforced gypsum. This should be fitted by an expert who will be able to give better results when it comes to mitring internal and external corners — a tricky job for DIYers. Avoid polystyrene versions of coving — they rarely look authentic.

Original windows and doors are another feature which, if found intact, should be saved. When faced with rotten windows and ill-fitting or badly painted doors it can be sorely tempting to simply remove and replace them with modern alternatives, but in doing so you will be losing a big chunk of the property’s character.

WHAT NOT TO SAVE...

Dated wiring is one feature that it certainly does not pay to save — in fact it is a common cause of household fires. Before the 1960s, electrical cables were insulated with vulcanised Indian rubber (VIR).

Exposed cables were often covered with a sheath of woven cotton. Over time VIR becomes crumbly and perishes and if you find any wires in your house with this covering, the system will certainly need rewiring.

STEP TWO: Make the most of what you have
As well as coming with many beautiful features, there are certain elements of period homes that can present some challenges.

It can be hard to know what to do with some of the features that go hand-in-hand with many period properties.

Ramshackle outbuildings are a good example. Many Victorian and Georgian homes were built with an outside WC and coal store and these often abutted the rear of the main house. In this case a popular and simple solution is simply to incorporate them into the main body of the building by knocking through, creating an extension — most often used to make a small kitchen bigger, to include a downstairs cloakroom or else to provide a handy utility area.

Often this kind of work falls within your Permitted Development rights, although it will be subject to Building Regulations approval.

Separate outbuildings can be more tricky to find a use for, although as it becomes more common to work from home, many people are finding them useful locations for home offices — just bear in mind that this will require the provision of electrics and a heating source. Or you could restore the outside WC to its former glory. Recently H&R was asked to comment on the supposed comeback of the outside WC. We remain to be convinced…

Ceiling heights can present another dilemma. Whilst cottages are notorious for having low ceilings, it is sometimes high ceilings that can actually present a design dilemma to many owners of period homes. Soaring ceilings can leave a room feeling impersonal and bare, whilst at the same time dwarfing furniture. Painting walls a slightly different shade to skirting, coving and ceilings instantly reduces this problem — and highlights the mouldings at the same time. Choose dramatic central pendant lighting and insert spotlights into any alcoves to alter the dynamics of the room and detract attention away from a blank expanse of ceiling.

• Read part two