DO'S AND DON'TS OF PERIOD HOMES PART 3

A SHORT CODE OF CONDUCT OF HANDLING OLD HOUSES

EVERYDAY JOY

THE TACTILE THINGS The tactile layer in the series The Do's and Don'ts of Period Homes, Part 3, deserves its own definition. These are the things you feel, touch, grip, lean on, pull, twist, sit on and walk across. They are the closest relationship you have with your house. The big things set the structure, the creative things set the mood, but the tactile things dictate how the house feels under your touch. They are the difference between a room looking pleasing in a photograph and a room feeling soft, rough or polished in real life. Older houses, in particular, respond so well to weight, texture and finish.  

1. Consider what you touch every day. Switches, door handles, cupboard knobs, desk drawer knobs, stair banisters, you name it. When it comes to the items you interact with on a daily basis, great pleasure can be had from using beautiful materials and unusual shapes. Heavy brasses, soft nickel metals, solid woods with pleasingly shiny varnishes, switches with a satisfying click. They will make a difference to how you feel about turning the light on or walking up the stairs to bring the laundry up to the bedroom.  They might even make you stop and think about your house in the midst of daily hustle and bustle. This is also where you notice authenticity most clearly. A cheap door handle might look fine from across the room, but the moment you grip it, you will know the difference. Weight, temperature, and movement: all communicate quality. Older houses love substantial hardware. Even a modest terrace can feel elevated through a well-chosen latch or switch. 

2. Fabrics in cushions and upholstery are an opportunity, both for a tactile experience and colour as well as patterns. If you love the loudly coloured sofa, be brave. If you buy a grey or beige one to be safe, you might find yourself being bored before too long. Equally, if you find yourself drawn to a particular kind of fabric or pattern only because it is ‘everywhere’, ask yourself if you are being swayed by a trend of if you really love it. If you love it, you will do so even after the trend has moved on. If you were tricked by ubiquity, you might regret it.  

   Texture is just as important as colour; fabrics are something we lean on, lie on, pull across windows, fall asleep on. Slubby linens, velvets, mohair, heavy cottons, tapestry fabrics, each creates a different emotional temperature in a room. Upholstery with depth are inviting; thin synthetic fabrics cannot compete. If the budget calls for more inexpensive materials, be clever with your choices, and get physical samples before purchasing.

3. Not all rugs must be cream, white, or grey, or with faked age. Age can be real and for not much more than big box store prices. Look to oriental rugs for fantastic patterns (you will be surprised at how sturdy many of them are) - Kilim, Quashqai, Ikat, Isfahan, but also Scandinavian designs with calmer patterns can all live happily next to each other with careful thought. Rugs are fantastic for zoning without walls, giving you an island to build an area of a room on, separating furniture without structural work. Flatweaves, hand knotted or tufted, wool, sisal, jute. The opportunities are endless. 

   Rugs also soften acoustics, especially in Victorian and Edwardian houses where high ceilings and wooden floor boards can create echo if floors are left bare. A well-chosen rug not only warms the room visually, but changes how sound is conveyed. A subtle but powerful form of comfort. 

4. Tactility isn’t only about touch; it’s also about sound, as with the rug example above. Old houses have characteristic noises, creaks, clicks, ticking clocks, doors having to be pushed shut. The slam of a hollow MDF door will feel so wrong in a Georgian hallway, while a solid timber door with good hinges will feel instantly right. Even the small choice of whether a cupboard closes with a magnet, a traditional catch or a soft-close hinge affects the atmosphere. Do not underestimate this subtler layer of design. 

   
   

5. Materials hold and release heat differently. A cool metal banister on a winter morning feels different from a polished wooden one. Brass warms under the hand; chrome feels perpetually cold. Stone floors are glorious in summer but may require rugs or runners in cold seasons. Paying attention to these thermal qualities makes everyday movement through the house far more pleasurable. 

   
   

6. Staircases are often the most tactile architectural element in an older home. A banister that is too thin, too sharp-edged or too modern in silhouette can break the spell of a period interior far more quickly than a mismatched cushion ever will. If you are repairing or replacing, choose shapes that feel comfortable to grip and that echo the time the house was built. Newel posts carry a surprising amount of personality. A beautiful one can turn a stairwell into a showstopping moment, and give you a suitable welcome when you open the door. Just make sure you have storage to hang your coat when coming home. It is so tempting to make the newel post the home of your outer wear.

   
   

7. Opening a drawer or a cupboard is a daily ritual and a habit that we take for granted. Lined drawers, felted shelves, smoothly running runners and the sound of closing cupboard doors, they all help to add presence. Even that drawer that constantly sticks but you have no wish to fix has a place in the menagerie of touch. The interior of a cupboard can be an opportunity: patterned paper, a contrasting paint colour, or a simple wooden oil finish, all elevate something only you ever see. A secret source of joy that is so simple to achieve. Not all statements need to be viewed by a large audience. Sometimes the small joys really are impactful because they happen again and again, day after day.

Bringing It All Together 

The tactile things are the closest-contact expression of your house’s character you will have. Long after the novelty of a paint colour has faded, and you have got used to having the sofa in a new spot, you will still be turning doorknobs, climbing stairs, touching fabrics and walking across floors. These small interactions make up your days and nights in your home without necessarily being the grand gestures of large castles or mansions. Your house takes part in the hundreds of tiny moments that make up daily life and you get to touch it. What a luxury. Treat the tactile layer with as much care as the visual one, even though it doesn't get as much screen time. 

Part 4 - The Modern Things will explore the modern layer: the cables, screens, systems and conveniences that must be integrated without disturbing everything you have so carefully achieved. 

If you wish to talk things over, consider booking a Parlour Consultation.