If you need advice and ideas to reform a house with hearth, we have the experience of two interior designers who will surely help you step by step in the task.
1. DO NOT COVER, RECOVER.
One of the tips to reform an old house is to “take advantage”. Nora, an interior designer for the Slow & Chic studio, explains it like this: “We tend to cover up the old to update it when surely the best solution is to recover it. An example may be to recover a wall and remove the exposed stone. The house, but it can give it a very special touch if you keep it on the wall of the headboard of the bedroom and the rest you paint. “
2. HOW DO I INTEGRATE THE RECOVERED ITEM?
Nora’s advice is to do it through color. “At the level of combination of colors and textures on the wall, my advice is to choose soft colors, pastels, or shades not too saturated for the wall, in such a way that they accompany and dress the space but without detracting from the importance of the original wall.” It is about creating a balanced and luminous base and playing with details to add color.
3. GAIN NATURAL LIGHT, KEY IN THE REFORM OF AN OLD HOUSE.
An idea that you should stay with when reforming or rehabilitating an old house is to achieve more light. They are generally dark and compartmentalized dwellings. Sandra Anton, ES, Interior Architecture, notes that “we must take into account the distribution of spaces to take advantage of the light, creating rooms as spacious as possible. The tendency is to create an open space that houses an orderly kitchen, dining room, and lounge. “
4. ENCLOSURES TO GAIN LIGHT.
Another of the ideas that stand out from ES, Interior Architecture to gain light when reforming an old house is that of, when possible, improving the façade closings. “The fewer subdivisions within the same window there are, the more light will enter. To achieve width in the windows it helps that they are tilt- and- turn since a single leaf can ‘sweep’ a lot when opening.”
5. COMBINE OLD AND NEW ELEMENTS.
“It is likely that when renovating an old house you will have to change the floor of almost the entire house and perhaps restoring it or looking for loose parts that fit the original is very complicated. In these cases, the ideal is to be able to maintain a space with the original floor – for example, the hall or the staircase- and combine it with other more current materials “, advises Nora Nubia. Thus the original spirit is maintained. Also, play with newer materials and restore a wooden door.
6. POWER THE ORIGINAL VERSUS THE NEW.
From Slow & Chic, the advice is that “as far as possible and the structure of the house allows it, it is always more personal and gives greater character to maintain elements of the original structure, such as wooden beams, moldings or pillars that are visible Maybe they need to be reinforced (they must be done aesthetically). If this is not possible, there is always the option of adding a new element and then giving it a treatment to make it appear original and aged. “
7. MOLDINGS ARE TREND.
So if you come across an original molding in an old house, enhance it. This season the walls and ceilings decorated with them are trends. And if you do not come across one, you can always incorporate them, more ornate for a classic style or rectilinear.
8. A GOOD DISTRIBUTION.
Essential in the reform of an old house is to adapt the distribution to the current way of life. ” It is essential to take into account the orientation of the house, to know each of its corners and what is around it, which areas of the house are noisier or which have better natural light”, expose from ES’s, Architecture de Interior. Only then can it be distributed correctly.
9. IMPROVES INSULATION.
Another tip that should top the list of tasks to do when renovating an old house is to improve insulation. “In general,” indicates Sandra Acton, “they are not usually well insulated, they are noisy and cold. To improve habitability, it depends on achieving good thermal and acoustic insulation through quality materials in horizontal and vertical facing; and incorporating windows and quality doors. “
10. WOODEN WINDOWS?
As it is essential to have good windows, with quality materials in profiles and glass, you may wonder if it is possible to keep the originals of the old wooden house. It all depends on your condition and whether you achieve the insulation you need. You should know that there are materials that imitate the wood finish with other benefits and that you can combine with the original wooden shutters.
11. VALUES THE RAW MATERIAL AND THE ORIGINAL STYLE OF THE AREA.
“I think it is also important to know the original materials where the old house to reform is located. Perhaps there is a type of stone typical of the area, which, in order to renovate floors, entrances, or even facades, may be interesting to prioritize over others who, although we may like, are out of tune with the environment, “says Nora. Same with the exposed beams, the vaults, etc.
12. RENOVATION OF THE ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION.
Fundamental advice when renovating an old house is to renew the electrical installation. First, because if it is very old it may be damaged or it may not adapt to current regulations. For safety, it should be done. But also to gain light in the interiors. Above all, plan well for the darkest rooms, either because they are interior or because they have small windows that open onto interior patios, which is common in older buildings.
13. TIPS FOR HITTING THE LIGHT.
As for this new approach to lighting the house, Sandra Antón explains that “creating perimeter strips or footlights projects homogeneous lighting similar to that of a sunrise”. It is an appropriate idea for passage areas, hallways, or creating environments in the same room. It also proposes to install led lights under furniture “and to install different lighting phases to capture scenes”.
14. FACILITIES: ALSO A REVIEW OF THE PIPES.
As with the electricity system, you should bear in mind that in the renovation of an old house, the plumbing installation will have to be reviewed. The pipes must be adequate in material to guarantee the healthiness of the water. As far as is visible, it is an aesthetic question to choose retro or current line faucets (all will incorporate water-saving systems almost certainly).
“The old houses usually hide authentic treasures that are discovered throughout the reform. Large moldings; carpentry friezes; fantastic trailed floors with marquetry; original hydraulic tiles sheltered under more current terrazzo floors; endless ceilings; beams or columns to the that you can get a lot out of them … Recycling these elements, reusing and restoring will make these jewels the protagonists and will give a unique character to our home, “sums up Sandra Acton from ES’s, Interior Architecture.
“In general, I think it is essential to prioritize the elements, materials, textures and even colors of the environment, to propose the reform of an old house,” says Slow & Chic’s Nora Nubia, “and based on these, choose the rest of the elements This way we will not break the essence of the house, and we will achieve a perfectly integrated result “. And she proposes is to focus on details such as “the color of the window or shutter frame. It may be important to choose the color of the walls. If they were originally green, it can be a good starting point to keep that color and.
BEFORE STARTING THE REFORM.
- You must check the structure of the house. Find out if any reform has been carried out less than ten years ago, if it has reinforced the structure or if it has any technical report. The architects will be the ones who can also inform you about the state.
- Ask for a detailed budget with the amount of each item and that includes an extra for extras that may arise, but that are contemplated or controlled. You must also indicate the dates.
WHAT PERMITS DOES THE REFORM OF AN OLD HOUSE NEED?
- You should know that it is necessary to apply for all building licenses for the reform. It is a procedure that the architect or company you hire can carry out, but the management must also be detailed in terms of the amount in the budget.
- For your part, you should ask the city council – before buying the house – if it is affected by any change in urban planning. Keep this in mind because if this is the case, you will not be able to obtain the license for major works (essential in rehabilitation because it is the one that allows you to modify the structure). Otherwise, you can only condition the interior.
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