Modern homes confer many practical advantages over older ones. They tend to be designed with efficiency in mind from the ground up, meaning that you won’t need to worry about age-old building problems like damp when you’re installing new double-glazing, and you’re less likely to run into difficulty with the structural legacy of the property. Modern building regulations will have been adhered to, and walls are going to be insulated.
But of course, older homes provide a classic sense of style that’s difficult to replicate in a more modern one. But just because something is difficult doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. With just a few subtle touches here and there, you can evoke that classic style with minimal effort and minimal expenditure.
In the Kitchen
The kitchen is among the most important rooms in the home. You’ll be spending a lot of time here, and practicality is as important as looks. Classic kitchen styles provide a greater sense of craftmanship and practicality, whilst remaining simple in design. Additionally, customising the colour palette allows you to combine modern colours with classic designs and vice versa. Out of necessity, cabinets were kept open, and plates and cups were left on display in contemporary kitchens either stacked or hanging. This can be a good way to add a personal and touch and further
practicality to a kitchen.
On the Walls
Where homes are plagued with too much white and cream, the result can be sterility. This is particularly the case with large expanses of wall found on staircases. Cover these up with tastefully- chosen wallpaper. You don’t need much of it to inject a splash of personality. If you want to go for a more natural look, then you might opt instead to strip out the plaster and go for painted brickwork – or entirely exposed brickwork. If the brickwork has been channelled to make
way for pipes and electrical runs, then you might end up with unsightly breaks – but this isn’t something that homeowners had to worry too much about hundreds of years ago. Match your exposed bricks with exposed beams – with the right treatment, they can look the part.
Keeping it Social
The modern living room tends to be designed around the location of the television. All the seating is arranged so that everyone can see it. And this applies just as much in the age of Netflix and Youtube. Classic style, by contrast, harks back to a time when homeowners had to look to their guests and cohabitants for entertainment, and thus seats faced one another. By replicating this approach, you can not only make your living room look more classic; you can actually encourage conversation.