Most of us do not live in a newly built home. Most of us live in an older house. Whether the house was built in 1990 or 1900, old houses need to be updated for modern life today. A great floor plan in 1900 might not have even included a bathroom! A great floor plan today would have a primary suite with it’s own bathroom and a separate kids bath, and a guest bathroom. And maybe a powder room too if there are multiple floors! Updating old houses for life today can be done while still respecting the building.
Respecting Architecture
When renovating any building, but especially one that’s over fifty years old, respecting the architecture is crucial. It looks very strange when a modern renovation has no ties or call backs to the rest of the structure. So if you have a 50’s ranch, that might mean renovating differently than a 1990s neo-colonial home.
Preserving the Past
When we’re updating older houses at Laurel Design Collective, we do a thorough analysis of everything that we can keep, even if we are doing a gut renovation! We want to preserve as much of the historic architecture and interiors as possible, without sacrificing modern functionality. This may mean a ceiling detail, built-ins, or trimwork remain, while we replace kitchens and bathrooms with ones that fulfill contemporary needs.
Creating Contrast & Juxtaposition
Often when we’re working with an older building, we create contrast by adding modern fixtures. This juxtaposition of the old and new creates interest in the space and invites the user to explore. In our NW Tudor primary suite, we kept traditional wainscotting and plumbing fixtures, but added a very modern, pill-shaped, double-sided vanity.
Carving Out Space for Modern Living
Older homes do not always have the space to fit contemporary amenities without significant sacrifice. When we come up against this, we weigh the different options for proceeding. We can either add an addition to the home to fit some of the needed program or we can do a more extensive renovation to change the floor plan significantly.
Building an Addition on to an Old House
Building an addition is often the easiest option for working with an older house. This new structure can include all the amenities we need and function on it’s own. Plumbing and structural requirements are easy to include since the space is new. We avoid modifying much of the original building with plumbing / electrical / HVAC chaises etc. The new addition can fit in with the original aesthetic of the home or be a more contemporary look or fit somewhere in between.
Renovating an Old House
A large scale renovation of an old house is sometimes the only option to accommodate modern living. When we work on these, we try to respect and preserve as much of the original architecture and details as possible. We may retain trim and molding profiles while changing the floor plan. We often will carve out a proper primary suite and add additional bathrooms.
Finding the Balance: Mixing Old & New in an Old Home
Just because a house is older does not mean it needs to look like a museum, in fact that would be rather boring! Our lives and way of living has changed dramatically over the last 200, 100, and even 50 years. Our needs have changed with this. Even an old house can have contemporary and modern furniture. In fact, that is what makes the design interesting!
Best and Appropriate Furniture for an Old House
You can absolutely utilizing furniture with traditional lines in an old house without creating that museum look. Traditional-look furniture made today will have different proportions than true antiques. Today we like our sofas lower, deeper, and more sink-in-able! By playing with furniture layouts and patterns, you can play with a space to create a contemporary feel that still looks appropriate for the older home.
Modern Furniture in an Old House
On the other side of things, you can absolutely utilize incredibly contemporary pieces in a traditional old home, creating again, that interesting juxtaposition of old and new. This can add a layer of complexity to a design that makes a space far more dynamic, because it is unexpected.
Updating Old Houses Respectfully
Updating old houses with respect to the original architecture and interiors is not difficult. You can absolutely achieve modern living within an old home with smart renovations, playful juxtaposition of old and new, and, when needed, additions.