DO'S AND DON'TS OF PERIOD HOMES PART 1

A SHORT CODE OF CONDUCT OF HANDLING OLD HOUSES

The do's and don'ts of period homes. Part 1 How many rules can there be when it comes to decorating an old house? Well, it depends. The main consideration is whether your home is listed or not. If it is, the answer is, there will be plenty of rules. You will need to jump through hoops you never even saw coming and, in some cases, you might feel they are silly and excessive. And perhaps sometimes they are. One must, however, keep in mind that these rules often help protect houses that otherwise would have no voice, and there are many people who feel that old equals frumpy, distasteful and modern is always better. My advice to such people would be to buy a newly built house and be done. If one finds oneself wanting to ‘simplify’ an older home and force it into a mould in which it sits uneasily, one should perhaps consider why one is buying a heritage-filled home in the first place. But that is the subject for another essay, so let’s get on with getting the best out of a house which has been around for a long time without ripping out its soul. 

THE BIG THINGS 

Before we begin, it helps to clarify what ‘the big things’ actually are. These are the slow, structural decisions: the bones of the house, the governing policies, the logic it inherited from its builders, and the boundaries within which everything else must sit. These are the choices that define the rest of the decisions, and getting them right will make all later work far simpler. 

1. Do not ignore the starting point. Look carefully at what is there already. Does it serve? Will you be allowed to remove it if you want to? Should you? Think and think again.  Determining what is original and what is an enthusiastic 1980s addition for instance is important. Small clues help: the join between skirting and floor, mismatched architrave profiles, patched plaster, timber that ages differently in adjoining rooms. These clues tell you what the house once was, and in a listed property they are exactly the clues a conservation officer will study. The more you notice, the fewer surprises later. It is like getting to know a person over time. Less cocktail party acquaintance, more long-term partner.  

   
   

2. Do not make hasty decisions. Do your research. Unless you have a roof that is falling down, a desperate leak or a floor that you risk stepping through, take your time. Live with the house. Get to know your house. Get to know your planning officer. It is the best relationship decision you will ever make.  

It is important to narrow the gap between what you think is allowed and what actually is allowed. Many homeowners assume listing means paralysis, or they might assume only the outside is listed.  Equally, in unlisted homes, people often push changes that simply don’t improve anything. Slowing down prevents both errors. 

3. Research your house, the period and the class. Understand what is suitable. The cornice that you love might look better in a Georgian mansion than your Victorian cottage. Determine suitability. And go back to number 2 on this list. If your house is listed, you will be locked into certain allowances and policies. Do not ignore them. 

Every era has its social history built into its architecture: Georgian rooms valued symmetry and hierarchy; Victorian rooms prized enclosure, ornament and display; Edwardian rooms relaxed into light and optimism. Understanding the ‘why’ behind each makes it far easier to choose what belongs and what jars. 

4. Consider the outside. What sits outside your door? Is it a busy street or a quiet garden? Do you wish to bring the outside in or keep it out? How will it work with the style of the house? Georgian houses have big windows with small panes but loved involving the outside whilst using shutters to keep cold and light out when needed, Victorian houses have larger panes starting mid-century but the sense of the century was very much a move towards home as shelter, looking inwards versus outwards, whilst the Edwardian er started to look to outwardly again.  

The orientation of the house clearly also matters as much as what sits outside: north-facing light flattens colour and sharpens detail; south-facing light warms everything and makes pattern sing; east–west rooms change mood dramatically across the day. Seasonal shifts matter too. A Georgian room facing west in summer is a different creature in winter, and design choices should acknowledge those rhythms.  

If you are interested in colours, please visit Colour for North-facing rooms, East-facing Rooms, South-facing rooms and West-facing rooms. 

5. Repair versus replacement: in general repair will be favoured, replacement considered only when needed. Take care when deciding the direction. In many cases, listing will ensure owners being beholden to policies one cannot bend, and the decision might be taken out of one’s hands. If replacing, like for like will be expected, and in some cases may be costly.  

Also consider the pragmatic side: long lead times for specialist trades, the cost of heritage materials, and the occasional need to prove that a repair is genuinely not viable before replacement is approved. Even in unlisted homes, repairing old fabric often results in a better long-term outcome than installing something new that ages badly beside original materials. 

6. Look at the layout you have inherited. Could it be original or has it been tampered with over the years? Again, the era and type of house will give you many clues. Look at the floor and search for marks that might show you where there once was a wall. Look for chimney breasts that have been boarded up or indeed doorways that have been closed up. Many older houses suffered from the 1990s (and later) mania for open-plan living, resulting in rooms that now feel oddly proportioned or acoustically harsh. Identifying these interventions helps you understand whether a space feels wrong because you dislike it or because the house needs it to be put right. Restoring a lost division can sometimes transform a room far more successfully than adding new furniture ever will. 

Bringing It All Together 

The big things are not about rules for the sake of rules; they are about learning the grain of the house and working with it rather than sanding it flat. Once you know what is fixed, what is flexible and what is historically logical, the whole project becomes calmer. Choices narrow in the best possible way: the house stops being an overwhelming puzzle and becomes a character with a past (even if it might be shady). This foundation allows the later parts: colour, pattern, texture, and technology to hopefully feel more certain. In short, the big things give you the map. The creative aspects come next.