Tips and Tricks for Bringing Your Traditional Home into the 21st Century
There is something utterly enchanting about a period property. Sometimes, it feels as though the echoes of the past remain, lending a lost elegance and grandeur to the weathered stones and rain-dashed windows.
Yet as charming as this effect can be, it often proves impractical for those that call an antiquated house their home. Winter days are gloomy and cold, and the wind whistles down the chimneys and under your doors, shaking the windows in their peeling sills. As haunting and romantic as it sounds, it can leave your aged pile feeling damp and chilly, and make spending your days there hellish.
Luckily, there are lots of tricks to bring it up to speed and modernise your property in the ways that matter. Most of them won’t take anything away from its archaic charm, but they will make living there a lot more bearable. Here are three ideas to get you started…
#1: Replace or Renovate Your Windows
One of the most common issues for those that own period properties is thin glass, rotting window frames, and damp sills. The wind whistles through the cracks on stormy days, and rain pools on the windowsill every time that the clouds gather.
Fortunately, this is easy to remedy. There are lots of companies that produce and fit period-appropriate window designs, and these new innovations from companies like Barrier Components usually feature simple luxuries like double-glazing.
For those who prefer to hang onto their original features, a quick search on Google should turn up some renovation specialists, who can provide an honest opinion on whether or not your windows are salvageable, and what they can do to improve their functionality.
#2: Repaint or Repaper
Another problem commonly found in old homes is peeling paintwork and wallpaper. It is little wonder that these features have failed to stand up to decades of habitation, but some simple measures can do a lot to spruce things up. A coat of white or cream paint will do wonders for enlarging rooms and letting in more light, whilst some vintage style wallpaper will help to restore your home to its former glory. Remember to be very careful whilst you’re removing existing layers of paint or paper, as you may sometimes find original designs underneath, which a talented restorer may well be able to salvage.
#3: Reinsulate
One of the least appealing aspects of moving into a period property is that they’re so often cold. In days gone by, rooms were often constructed in a manner that contributed nothing to keeping them warm, yet today’s homeowners are a lot less willing to watch their breath frost the air once winter falls. The best way to remedy this problem is to bring in the specialists. Although warming up a home can prove costly and complex, reinsulating is a relatively simple first step towards heating up your period home.
Bring your home into the 21st century today with these three top tips