When considering home renovation ideas, staying faithful to the architectural style is important. Not only is it more attractive, it can affect your home's resale value. Does this mean you should keep the dark paneling in your 1970s home or the small closed-off kitchen in your Victorian Painted Lady? Not necessarily. The key is compromising with style.
Know Your Home's Architectural Style
While many homes built today are a mix of architectural styles, older homes reflect the popular architecture of that era. The first step in maintaining the authenticity of your home's architectural details is to research the era in which your home was built. This knowledge will go a long way toward maintaining the true integrity and value of your home.
In previous generations, families tended to stay in their homes for decades. Today the average American family moves every five to seven years, making it more important to keep resale value in mind. Home-buyers want both modern convenience and a tasteful home. If the home is older, especially if it is an architectural gem, poorly executed updates will detract from both the functionality and attractiveness of the house.
Replacing the multipaned wood and leaded glass windows on a classic Colonial-style home with plain vinyl windows, or attaching a vinyl-sided sunroom to the back of a brick Victorian home are huge remodeling mistakes. It can be prohibitively expensive to replicate 100-year-old building materials and styles, but updating in the spirit of the original architecture can be done for a reasonable cost.
Instead of plain vinyl windows, the Colonial home could have multipaned vinyl windows installed. The sunroom addition to the brick Victorian could have a lower skirting of brick below the windows with just a little extra work.
If you plan to have extensive remodeling work done, it is wise to consult with an architect or designer who can advise you. Many older homes were built with smaller rooms and lack the spaciousness of modern homes. It's quite possible to save some of the original character while updating. Having professional advice can help you work with the original structure while maintaining a natural flow in the space.
Adding Square Footage
Adding to the square footage of your home can present challenges. To keep an addition from eroding the value of your home, it's important to ensure that it doesn't look like an addition. Ideally, the style and design should blend seamlessly with the original structure.
Work with an experienced architect. Restore instead of replacing whenever possible. Use high-quality reproductions and materials. Keep the original architecture in mind when choosing fixed elements, such as roofing, flooring, trim and cabinets.
Don't hide or remove interesting architectural details. Don't add incongruent elements, like a metal six-panel front door with sidelights to an ornate Victorian home. Don't forget to match separate buildings, like a detached garage or garden shed, to the main house.
Restore Instead of Replacing
If you are thinking about replacing old wood floors, battered window and door trim or a crumbling brick chimney, ask yourself if it can be restored instead. Old wood floors often have a beautiful patina and thickness that can never be replicated by new wood floors. Refinishing original flooring will be less expensive than replacing it.
Vintage brickwork has character well earned with age, and old brick can usually be repointed and sealed to last for decades to come. What may look like tired woodwork to you could be an architectural gem to someone else.
Sometimes there is no point in trying to save what you have, but always consider the possibility if you have a period home. You don't want to regret throwing out hand-milled woodwork or vintage brick later on.
If you want to replace woodwork and the budget allows, consider having it custom built to match the original style. For unique touches, browse building salvage yards and antique stores for everything from doors to carriage lamps that can be used in your home.
Keep an Eye on Details
Small design elements like plumbing fixtures, lighting and door hardware should fit the era in which the home was built. Whenever possible, try to keep the originals. Authentic Victorian-era brass locksets and glass doorknobs are quite valuable today. If you must replace things like exterior lights, plumbing fixtures and hardware, find modern replicas. Most big-box hardware stores carry vintage-style fixtures, and there are several companies specializing in very authentic-looking retro-style fixtures.
If you are replacing switches and plate covers, upgrade to brass or wood, which is more in keeping with older homes. Other decorative details like heat registers, window coverings, lights and cabinets should be chosen with your home's period in mind. Sleek, white melamine cabinets and plastic switchplate covers will probably look out of place in a Victorian home, just as maplewood cabinets and brass fixtures would not be consistent with a 1970s ranch home.
Don't forget your mailbox, house number and even your front door knocker. These small details can make all the difference.
Don't overlook paint colors, either. Colonial style homes are traditionally white or a very pale color accented with green or black shutters and front door. Victorian homes, with all their "gingerbread" trim, can be painted a wild array of colors. Craftsman-style houses were usually Earth tones, while Cape Cod homes are typically seaside colors like muted blues, sand and gray.
 | Victorian style houses were built for the Victorian bourgeoisie and look like a pleasantly quirky jumble of design elements. |
 | Tudor houses, derived from 16th century English manors, allow you to live the high life on the cheap. |
Frank Lloyd Wright houses come in many varieties. |
Colonial houses vary from region to region, but they share many characteristics in common. |
The ranch house features a simple layout and the promise of suburban bliss. |
