Are you sick of the way your home looks? Your home may have felt perfect when you first moved in, or maybe you always knew you were going to make changes to its architectural style. Either way, there are some easy ways to update or perform house renovations to give it that edge you’ve been looking for. Let’s find out how.
Ceiling roses, cornices, and architraves
Even if you don’t look at it often, your ceiling makes an important impression when you enter your home. The good news is, it’s easy to transform an erstwhile plain-looking ceiling.
Ceiling roses: A ceiling rose is a decorative element, often fixed to a light fitting, made from plaster. They are often found in period style homes, and range from simple roses to ornate flowers ith decorative parts extending out from the main rose.
Cornices: In architecture, cornices are the mouldings found around the upper walls of a room, doors, or windows. By changing up your cornices, you can instantly change the feeling of a room in your home.
Architraves: An architrave is a moulding you can install around a window or door, or other openings inside your home. It’s a useful design device to hide joints or mask seams and cracks which may have formed in your home.
Add style to the external roof
The external roof of a home is one of the things that has differentiated architectural styles throughout the decades.
- Emulate Spanish mission homes by updating your roof with terracotta tiling in beautiful, eye-catching colours.
- If you loved the 70s style of home, consider changing the structural shape of your roof. Skillion roofs, or lean-tos, are a classic feature of any 70s Modern home.
- Alternately, if you prefer a contemporary modern look, change a traditional sloped roof into a flat one. It’s often easier (and cheaper) to install than a pitched or domed roof.
Staggered facades
Between 1945 and 1965, when the number of people living in Australia swelled, homes were built to accommodate family life. You can tell these homes immediately by their double and triple-fronted brick veneers.
If you love the look of these homes, but you’re own is single-fronted with a modern interior, consider hiring a professional to build an extension on the front facade of your home. It’ll change the overall architectural style of your home, without affecting the modernity found within.
Heritage overlays
Before beginning any extensions or renovations, you’ll need to ensure your home doesn’t fall under a heritage overlay. Every council in Victoria has its own restrictions when it comes to updating homes pre-dating WWII. Check with your local council, or ask the professionals helping you, to find out if your home is affected by these regulations.
Having said that, you can often make changes to the interior of your home, and some minor changes to the exterior facade, without breaking any rules.
Post-renovation
Once the renovations or extensions have concluded, you can add to the architectural updates. If you’ve gone for an Art Deco-themed update, consider adding geometric patterns and contrasting textures to your living spaces.
Meanwhile, if you decided on adding historical charm to your home, you can enhance your updates with vintage furniture and statement art pieces.
Best advice for renovations
While some house renovations and updates are easy to do on your own, it’s always a good idea to consult with a professional. Even if you don’t end up hiring the company in the end, they’ll be able to give you a comprehensive overview of what to expect with your updates, in terms of budget and timeframes.