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joannemb

Changed a house's period but not style? (pics)

joannemb
11 years ago

I fell in love with the layout of our 1969 colonial home, but not so much the details. I hated the wimpy molding---so after 8 years, we renovated the house, and my husband put in hard wood floors. He changed all of the existing molding and baseboards, added wainscotting to the hall and dining room, and got rid of the tiny spindly staircase and added something more substantial with a built in bench.

We did all of the work ourselves.

I hear so much on these forums about "keeping true to the period of your house." I suppose I did nothing of the sort, although I did stay true to the traditional colonial style. What are your thoughts? Is it acceptable to change the period if you stay true to the style?













Comments (7)

  • renovator8
    11 years ago

    Do whatever you want and call it a Colonial Revival.

  • joannemb
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Lol--- My feelings exactly! The more I read these forums though, the more I see how caught up people are in "staying true to the period of a house." And all I can think is, "What about those of us who have a house made in the late 60's/70's? Not exactly an era I'd like to 'stay true to'"

  • marcolo
    11 years ago

    No one is "caught up" in staying true to a house. They are simply being aware of their surroundings. Not all people are.

    I've never heard anybody say you have to decorate a 1969 house like it's 1969. What you can't do is have people time-warp every time they cross a doorway, going from a Gigdet blue and black bathroom to a 1990s Moroccan bedroom fantasy to a Tuscan kitchen that looks like it fell off a wine bottle. The most frequent way people are not being true to their house today is to take a midcentury or later home and tarting up their white kitchen like something out of Downton Abbey. These kitchens are already being ripped out of homes to be replaced by the next new thing, and they will continue to date quickly when they are wildly inappropriate.

    In the OPs case it looks like the entire house changed, so the point is rather moot. Most people do not do that--they muck up one room and then demand that all visitors pretend that they can't see the rest of the house.

  • pianolady007
    11 years ago

    I've got a '64 ranch, and staying true would be ridiculous at this point. Give me my casement windows and vinyl siding thank you. Although I did find my asbestos vinyl tile in my dining room, it had glitter sparkles in it, awesome. It's still there, we just covered it up and tiled.

    I grew up in this house, so I remember the orange and brown shag carpet, tiny kitchen that is now large (took out the wall), mint green walls that I think we had in the late 70's (which I also found beige, yellow, blue paint chip layers). Now we're covering our exterior lead paint with vinyl siding, which is actually 7" single in the same style as our original siding. We tore out all the carpet to reveal the original hard wood floors. I guess my point is, take the best of what the era your house was built in and keep it (like the wood floors) and update what wasn't the best. Only exception would be a National Historical Register house, that's a whole different ball game.

    Now if you want to have your house a period house for the fun of it, go for it. That can be fun too. Mixing a whole bunch of styles is what usually gets people in trouble, that can end up looking like a circus. Your house looks great, very tastefully done!

  • palimpsest
    11 years ago

    The house still reads essentially colonial revival to me in its details. Colonial Revival covered a lot of ground and a bunch of periods where the influences of the period were mixed in. The decor inside does not have to be period to the house, so much, just the details Attached to the house, as a part of the interior architecture.

    There is a consistency here which is very nice.

  • ijensen
    11 years ago

    Your home looks beautiful!!! Regardless of the period/style, it is yours and if you like it...it is the right period for you..:0) Very nice I must say!!!

  • polie
    11 years ago

    OP, your house is very attractive. I think the advice is basically to be aware of one's surroundings. A really ornate style could look weird in a modern house with low ceilings but that same look might be perfectly appropriate for a 19th century house with tall ceilings, mouldings everywhere, plaster walls, etc.