Six tips for renovating a heritage home

 

If you’ve ever been spellbound by the cosiness of a cottage dating back to the 1870s or by the elegant architecture of a one-hundred-year-old art deco terrace, you understand the charm and character that imbue buildings from a bygone era. 

In a thoughtfully restored older home, you can live alongside the beauty of the past amid the comforts of the 21st century. Renovating a historic home is not for the faint-hearted, but with the right team, the beautiful and rewarding outcome will comfort you and your family for the years ahead. You can enjoy knowing you’ve added another chapter to your property’s story, now set to endure for future generations.  

As specialists in heritage home design, Studio aem preserve a building's period character while gently and expertly reshaping it to harmonise with our client’s tastes and contemporary lifestyle needs. 

If you want to breathe new life into your heritage-listed property while honouring the original details, we would love to hear from you! In the meantime, enjoy our exploration of the top six things to consider when renovating a historic home. 

Renovating a historic home

Bespoke heritage interior design details give new life to a family home

Balancing old heritage designs with new modern interior designs.

How do you pick an interior design style that seamlessly blends your property's history with your tastes and modern living requirements? An ultra-contemporary extension can overpower the traditional beauty of a vintage home. Likewise, poorly executed reproductions of period details will distract from and devalue the home’s ingrained character. The key to a successful historic home renovation is a design that balances the contrasts and creates a pleasing harmony. Pay attention to the existing design details and proportions and use them as the anchor inspiration for the redesign. Employing timeless, natural finishes like stone, marble and brass will also help marry the past with the present. 

You can still modernise a kitchen in a heritage home and retain it's natural charm

Focus on restoring historic architecture and repurposing material.

Salvaging original architectural elements where possible will help retain your transformed home's historic integrity. Restore millwork, plasterwork, and flooring, and if you do need to remove something, consider how it could be repurposed elsewhere in the home. This approach has multiple benefits—not only does it maintain the home’s character, but it also minimises building waste, which is a sustainable approach with myriad eco-benefits.

Custom finishes can also imbue the spaces with character, but we advise against adding elements that are poor reproductions of the original. Faking the vintage look risks losing any sense of authenticity. 

Opening up kitchen and dining spaces in historic homes instantly maximises these often small spaces.

Reassess the floor layout to maximise functionality. 

Open-plan layouts and indoor-outdoor connections are standard features of new homes being built in Australia today, but this hasn’t always been the case. Before 1960s and 1970s design brought us conversation pits, expansive windows, and split levels, a home’s floorplan often incorporated a series of disconnected rooms, with a tiny kitchen tucked away at the rear. And let’s not forget built-in storage was as rare as hen’s teeth back then! 

Injecting a vintage home with modern-day functionality requires visualising the potential and reconfiguring the spaces to match the homeowner's specific needs. Custom joinery increases a home’s storage capacity and, with the right design and finish, can echo and enhance the home’s historic character, linking the old and new. 

These heritage stained windows are retained, while the interior is modernised, transforming the space.

Check your home’s heritage classification.

Before you scroll Pinterest for design inspiration or paw through paint samples, check with your local council about your home’s heritage classification. Local councils list individual properties and certain streets or areas whose historic character must be preserved. If you fall into any of these categories, restrictions are likely to apply to the scope of the internal and external changes made, right down to the colour scheme of your front facade design.

See the end of this article for links to your local Sydney Council websites.

Hiring the right people can make a massive improvement to your renovation, reduce costs and reduce stress.

Engage highly skilled interior designers and tradespeople.

Older homes that have been added to over the decades often feature wonky lines and quirky inconsistencies. A team of skilled contractors with a proven track record of historic home renovations is vital to re-establishing the structural integrity of a building. When you work with Studio aem, we bring our trusted tradespeople to the table and open up our black book of specialist craftspeople and artisans to ensure a smooth process and meticulous finish. 

Heritage home renovations are often restricted. Know what you can and cannot do to avoid disappointment or hidden expenses

Sydney councils and heritage homes

Here are some local Sydney Council sites that provide information on heritage home designs:

  1. City of Sydney: The City of Sydney Council has a dedicated page for heritage regarding policies, guidelines, and support for heritage-listed buildings.

  2. Inner West Council: This council provides information on local heritage plans, heritage assessments, and guidelines for heritage home designs.

  3. Bayside Council: Bayside Council offers resources related to heritage conservation and development control plans for heritage properties.

  4. Randwick City Council: Offers guidance and policies related to the conservation of heritage items and precincts.

  5. Waverley Council: Provides resources on local heritage and policies regarding conservation of heritage homes.

  6. Sydney Harbour Federation Trust: Focuses on the preservation and management of heritage sites within the Sydney Harbour area.

  7. North Sydney Council: Contains information regarding heritage listings and guidelines for heritage homes and conservation areas.
    Website: North Sydney Council Heritage

Start your heritage home renovation now!

If these ideas have inspired you to kickstart your house restoration, reach out to Studio aem today for a heritage home consultation. We would love to hear from you! 

 
Interior DesignDan HallInterior Design, Tips & Advice, Heritage Homes