Add Old Charm to New Homes With Classic Trims and Tricks
Looking old is rock bottom on our wish lists, but homes with vintage styling turn ageing gracefully into an art form
Many 200-year-old buildings have an old-world charm that two-year-old homes lack. But with a little work (or in some cases a major facelift) new homes can be redesigned to evoke the character of yesteryear.
Adopt a period paint palette
To set the scene from the street, take inspiration from traditional paint palettes. On the facade of this Sydney-based Victorian terrace, contrasting colours highlight the decorative details. Ornamental arches above the front door and windows are emphasised with an earthy grey, while black paint offsets the metal fence, glass-panelled doors, cast-iron lace balcony and the filigree frieze above it.
Tip: If you are keen to incorporate decorative lacework, many companies offer panels in cast iron and lighter weight aluminium, in both traditional and contemporary motifs.
To set the scene from the street, take inspiration from traditional paint palettes. On the facade of this Sydney-based Victorian terrace, contrasting colours highlight the decorative details. Ornamental arches above the front door and windows are emphasised with an earthy grey, while black paint offsets the metal fence, glass-panelled doors, cast-iron lace balcony and the filigree frieze above it.
Tip: If you are keen to incorporate decorative lacework, many companies offer panels in cast iron and lighter weight aluminium, in both traditional and contemporary motifs.
Add old-fashioned fittings
Incorporating old-fashioned fittings at your entrance gives the sense that you’ve stepped back in time from the moment you cross the threshold.
This London terrace boasts a glossy four-panelled front door finished with a traditional knocker, handle and mail slot. A cottage-style flower box adorns the window sill, and a wall-mounted light fitting offers a contemporary take on the time-honoured porch lantern. These little details make a big impact and are easy to replicate.
Less easy to reproduce (but just as effective) are the black-and-white floor tiles, which were the height of fashion in mid-Victorian times. If you plan on re-laying your front path or porch, heritage-inspired tiles framed with a border make a grand entrance.
Incorporating old-fashioned fittings at your entrance gives the sense that you’ve stepped back in time from the moment you cross the threshold.
This London terrace boasts a glossy four-panelled front door finished with a traditional knocker, handle and mail slot. A cottage-style flower box adorns the window sill, and a wall-mounted light fitting offers a contemporary take on the time-honoured porch lantern. These little details make a big impact and are easy to replicate.
Less easy to reproduce (but just as effective) are the black-and-white floor tiles, which were the height of fashion in mid-Victorian times. If you plan on re-laying your front path or porch, heritage-inspired tiles framed with a border make a grand entrance.
Give your entrance a makeover
Don’t fancy retiling? Consider using a floor runner instead, such as the striking black-and-white one in this Melbourne home. Simply choose your design and unroll to give your hall an instant makeover.
This home also features classic Art Nouveau timber fretwork above the hall, which was popular in Federation architecture. Fretwork is relatively easy to add to existing interiors.
Tip: Try including decorative fretwork near your entrance to create classic appeal from the moment you open the front door.
Browse traditional entrances
Don’t fancy retiling? Consider using a floor runner instead, such as the striking black-and-white one in this Melbourne home. Simply choose your design and unroll to give your hall an instant makeover.
This home also features classic Art Nouveau timber fretwork above the hall, which was popular in Federation architecture. Fretwork is relatively easy to add to existing interiors.
Tip: Try including decorative fretwork near your entrance to create classic appeal from the moment you open the front door.
Browse traditional entrances
Mould your walls
The stately mouldings in this Sydney home give it an air of classic sophistication, while Decus Interiors’ contemporary furniture choices update the interior with fresh style. Mouldings can be smooth, sculpted, stuccoed, stylised… the list is endless. Most are easy to install and are available in timber and lightweight foams or polymers.
Tip: Wall mouldings can be practical too: use picture rails to hang your art or wainscotting to protect your walls by cladding them from the waist down.
Add instant architecture with trims and mouldings
The stately mouldings in this Sydney home give it an air of classic sophistication, while Decus Interiors’ contemporary furniture choices update the interior with fresh style. Mouldings can be smooth, sculpted, stuccoed, stylised… the list is endless. Most are easy to install and are available in timber and lightweight foams or polymers.
Tip: Wall mouldings can be practical too: use picture rails to hang your art or wainscotting to protect your walls by cladding them from the waist down.
Add instant architecture with trims and mouldings
Mirror mouldings on cabinetry
To evoke more classic times, swap smooth cabinets for their panelled cousins, as Liebke Projects and Minosa have done in this ‘hidden kitchen’ in Woollahra, Sydney. These clever custom-built cupboards mirror the wainscot and look like wall mouldings at first glance, though when opened they reveal a modern kitchen.
To evoke more classic times, swap smooth cabinets for their panelled cousins, as Liebke Projects and Minosa have done in this ‘hidden kitchen’ in Woollahra, Sydney. These clever custom-built cupboards mirror the wainscot and look like wall mouldings at first glance, though when opened they reveal a modern kitchen.
Opt for panelled and French doors
While you’re choosing panelled cabinetry, remember to do the same for your doors. These elegant French doors in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill are crowned with decorative timber fretwork, which enriches the home with timeless charm. Decus Interiors’ clever use of glass (as opposed to solid panelled doors) divides the rooms while letting natural light pour through.
While you’re choosing panelled cabinetry, remember to do the same for your doors. These elegant French doors in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill are crowned with decorative timber fretwork, which enriches the home with timeless charm. Decus Interiors’ clever use of glass (as opposed to solid panelled doors) divides the rooms while letting natural light pour through.
Skirt the issue
Tall skirting boards and elaborate cornices are hallmark features of period architecture. The higher the ceiling, the taller the skirting boards and cornices were. An old rule of thumb suggests that classical cornices should be between one-fifteenth and one-nineteenth of the ceiling height.
Classic Architraves and Skirting offers a guide for finding the right skirting board height: for ceilings up to 2400 millimetres opt for skirting boards between 90 and 140 millimetres, while rooms with soaring 3600 millimetres ceilings can increase skirting boards to 180 to 450 millimetres.
Tall skirting boards and elaborate cornices are hallmark features of period architecture. The higher the ceiling, the taller the skirting boards and cornices were. An old rule of thumb suggests that classical cornices should be between one-fifteenth and one-nineteenth of the ceiling height.
Classic Architraves and Skirting offers a guide for finding the right skirting board height: for ceilings up to 2400 millimetres opt for skirting boards between 90 and 140 millimetres, while rooms with soaring 3600 millimetres ceilings can increase skirting boards to 180 to 450 millimetres.
Paper your walls
Wallpaper came into being in the mid- to late-1700s and has waxed and waned in popularity ever since. Originally, it was considered to be a background decoration, but in recent times it has evolved into a foreground feature. Whatever your preferences, this time-honoured material offers a pattern for every palette.
Tip: Still trying to add age-old glamour to your home? Decorate a console table with a lamp and hang a dramatic mirror behind it for instant effect. A chandelier such as the one here adds a finishing touch.
Wallpaper came into being in the mid- to late-1700s and has waxed and waned in popularity ever since. Originally, it was considered to be a background decoration, but in recent times it has evolved into a foreground feature. Whatever your preferences, this time-honoured material offers a pattern for every palette.
Tip: Still trying to add age-old glamour to your home? Decorate a console table with a lamp and hang a dramatic mirror behind it for instant effect. A chandelier such as the one here adds a finishing touch.
Consider pressed metal
Don’t fancy wallpapering your rooms? You may enjoy pressed metal instead. Traditionally it was applied to walls, ceilings and sometimes wainscotting, though regardless of where you use it, the material references times now passed. Because it is flexible, pressed metal sheeting can be fitted to angled surfaces, such as this custom-made range hood canopy, which was colour matched to the kitchen cabinets.
Don’t fancy wallpapering your rooms? You may enjoy pressed metal instead. Traditionally it was applied to walls, ceilings and sometimes wainscotting, though regardless of where you use it, the material references times now passed. Because it is flexible, pressed metal sheeting can be fitted to angled surfaces, such as this custom-made range hood canopy, which was colour matched to the kitchen cabinets.
Top it off with a ceiling rose
Ceiling roses (or ceiling rosettes or medallions as they are also called) are like a cherry on the cake of traditional trimmings. Once made from heavy plaster, lightweight polystyrene versions are now available as well in modern designs and the old favourites.
This ornate snowflake-shaped ceiling rose matches the elaborate Victorian cornices, while the pendant light adds a contemporary yet complementary touch.
Ceiling roses (or ceiling rosettes or medallions as they are also called) are like a cherry on the cake of traditional trimmings. Once made from heavy plaster, lightweight polystyrene versions are now available as well in modern designs and the old favourites.
This ornate snowflake-shaped ceiling rose matches the elaborate Victorian cornices, while the pendant light adds a contemporary yet complementary touch.
Embrace parquet flooring
Parquet floors hail from the 1600s when they became all the rage in French courts and aristocrats’ homes. These days, you can build your own Palace of Versailles at a fraction of the cost with clever tongue-and-groove flooring systems and laser-cut, pre-assembled panels made from timber veneer. Your imagination is the only limit to parquet patterns and, as a bonus, you can select your colour and finish.
Tip: Use wall treatments to accentuate your floors. Here, the hue and pattern of the herringbone parquet is subtly reflected in the horizontally hung wallpaper.
10 reasons to love parquet flooring
Parquet floors hail from the 1600s when they became all the rage in French courts and aristocrats’ homes. These days, you can build your own Palace of Versailles at a fraction of the cost with clever tongue-and-groove flooring systems and laser-cut, pre-assembled panels made from timber veneer. Your imagination is the only limit to parquet patterns and, as a bonus, you can select your colour and finish.
Tip: Use wall treatments to accentuate your floors. Here, the hue and pattern of the herringbone parquet is subtly reflected in the horizontally hung wallpaper.
10 reasons to love parquet flooring
Go old school with fixtures
Glance at this Art Deco bathroom in Auckland, New Zealand, and you would never guess it was recently renovated. The fixtures and fittings from The English Tapware Company remain faithful to the age – even the electric towel warmer complements the Art Deco-inspired pedestal basins. Add a background of small black-and-white floor tiles and we have ourselves a traditional bathroom, ladies and gentlemen.
Glance at this Art Deco bathroom in Auckland, New Zealand, and you would never guess it was recently renovated. The fixtures and fittings from The English Tapware Company remain faithful to the age – even the electric towel warmer complements the Art Deco-inspired pedestal basins. Add a background of small black-and-white floor tiles and we have ourselves a traditional bathroom, ladies and gentlemen.
See a vintage point of view
Sash windows are treasured relics from period architecture and add instant old-world charm. Different styles and dimensions are available as well as custom options. Most windows with multiple panes and timber framing create a similar effect.
Tip: You don’t have to wind back the clock for every bit of your home to create a traditional look. The sash window in this bathroom forms a classic backdrop for contemporary fixtures.
Sash windows are treasured relics from period architecture and add instant old-world charm. Different styles and dimensions are available as well as custom options. Most windows with multiple panes and timber framing create a similar effect.
Tip: You don’t have to wind back the clock for every bit of your home to create a traditional look. The sash window in this bathroom forms a classic backdrop for contemporary fixtures.
Add a hearth to your home
If home is where the hearth is, what better way to give your house a cosy feel than by adding a flickering fireplace?
Fireplaces have come a long way since the days of open wood hearths, so you can combine the best of both worlds and enjoy a classic design fired by the latest technology thanks to gas, electric and ethanol burners. If only we could all age so gracefully…
Tell us
How have you added old-world charm to your home? Like, share or bookmark this story, and share your thoughts in the Comments.
More
Browse more traditional-style homes
If home is where the hearth is, what better way to give your house a cosy feel than by adding a flickering fireplace?
Fireplaces have come a long way since the days of open wood hearths, so you can combine the best of both worlds and enjoy a classic design fired by the latest technology thanks to gas, electric and ethanol burners. If only we could all age so gracefully…
Tell us
How have you added old-world charm to your home? Like, share or bookmark this story, and share your thoughts in the Comments.
More
Browse more traditional-style homes
The first step is to consider which architectural era you want to evoke, then research key features and characteristics that you can replicate. Do you like these stained-glass windows found in Federation homes from the early 1900s? Or do you prefer the cast-iron lacework in Victorian terraces from the mid- to late-1800s?
Different architectural periods have distinct styles, which often clash when mixed, so try to pinpoint the era you love and stay true to it.
How did your Australian home get its look?