Tips On Renovating A Period Home

 The first time I clapped



our 1930s detached house for the first time, I was immediately certain that this was the perfect



choice for myself and my family.



I was so enthusiastic about the possibilities that the property offered that I



was absolutely desperate to make sure we secured it.  It



was obvious from the outset that the property was full of potential and with a



little care and planning could soon work out to be the ideal location for us.



I was pregnant with my second son at the time and I soon realised that all the



stairs in a three-storey house would become an issue with two young children.


 When we eventually got the keys



and completed the sale the house was empty – a completely blank canvas if you



like. We  were therefore able to start



entirely from scratch when it came to the interior design and layout we were



looking for and  despite the fact we had lots of ideas initially,



we  decided it would make sense to live with the house as it was,


and



get familiar with it before we made any major changes .  In



actual fact it was almost four years before we embarked on our major renovation



and decorating project. The planning stage was incredibly straightforward



because we had a clear vision of what we wanted.  One of the best things we did was to hire



an architect who quickly put down our ideas in the shape of some detailed


drawings.



We employed a local building firm to do the work and the project management was



shared between the builder and the architect.







 Of


all



the rooms in my new look home the one I like best is the kitchen and dining



area. I enjoy cooking for family and friends and  could not be simpler to keep clean tidy and organized. There was a



traditional kitchen in place when we bought the property but we were keen to



have something more contemporary. We already had the range cooker and we



decided matt black kitchen units would go really with it! We picked



out  several accessories to give it



a lived-in appeal, including  fragrant  candles our favourite


makes, such as Yankee


candles and  True Grace


candles.  Other great ideas for the kitchen included one of those retro style French inspired railway clocks for the wall. They are quite large but fortunately the kitchen itself was sufficiently big that it did not look out of place. Another great idea which we used from an Irish company was some wall art which was made entirely out of coloured glass. The pieces were expensive, but we only needed one or two to really make the place stand out.







 The biggest problem – and certainly the



major inconvenience was living in the property



during the time when the renovations were taking place. At one stage



we  did without a kitchen and bathroom for  almost



two months. The project took eight months to complete! At the end of the day you just have to get on with things and make the best of it. As the saying goes, you can't make an omellette without breaking eggs! Instead of getting downhearted by the constant mess all around us, I tried to focus on what we were trying to achieve. When I thought about how our home would look after the work had been finished and all the builders materials and equipment had been packed up and moved on, I did not feel quite so bad. It was really just a case of trying to accentuate the positives and ignore all the other stuff that was going on all around us. That, and the mud!




















The  author is the owner of The Scented Candle Store where you will find many different home fragrances choices including  candles and  reed diffuser