The home you have

Lesson Summary

• Every architectural style is entirely different.
• Understand what you're working with and listening to the architecture of the building.
• Get away from changing for the sake of changing and make changes that work with the building.
• Find out enough that you can begin to understand the home you're living in.
• It's a good thing to understand the truth behind where your home came from came to disrupt it in the future.
• A house with little architectural merit could act as a blank canvas.
• The more you know about your home, the easier it is to make some bold decisions.

Learn About Your Home

• Find out enough that you can begin to understand the home you're living in.
• It's a good thing to understand the truth behind where your home came from came to disrupt it in the future.
• A house with little architectural merit could act as a blank canvas.
• The more you know about your home, the easier it is to make some bold decisions.

Budget

• Don't let the budget stifle the process
• The budget does not, in the first instance, help the logistical side.
• Thinking about the budget too early can stifle creativity.
• Let yourself have the freedom to dream, and then work out the budget later.
• Once you've done the creative side, there are so many different price points in different areas.

The High Low Method

• It's all about making your budget work for you.
• Pair pieces from the high street, vintage and luxury pieces together, so that they fit together with an overall theme.
• Mixing is an authentic way to create a design with both super expensive and super affordable pieces.

Your Assignment

Begin to research your home finding out the following key questions;

• When was it built?
• What was happening around the time it was built?
• What period features does it have?
• What period featured did it have that have since been removed?
• What materials were used at that time?
• Why are the windows that size and shape?

Architectural Styles Reference

Tudor

1485-1560

Key characteristics - Steeply pitched gable roofs.

Wooden beams on the outside of the house.

Tall and narrow casement windows.

Areas with significant Tudor architecture include: East Anglia, Dorchester on Thames and Chilham (Kent).

Georgian

1714-1790

Key characteristics - Terraced townhouses spanning two to four storeys.

Fanlight (window) above the ground floor door.

Built around garden squares.

Areas with significant Georgian architecture include: Bath, York, Edinburgh, Chichester, London.

Victorian

1839-1901

Key characteristics - High ceilings and large windows.

Fireplace in every room.

Coloured brickwork.

Areas with significant Victorian architecture include: London, Bristol, Winchester, Liverpool, Weston-Super Mare & Portsmouth.

Edwardian

1900-1918

Key characteristics - Red brickwork

Parquet wood floors

Ornate decorative details and high ceilings

Herringbone oak flooring

Areas with significant Edwardian architecture include: Surrey, Lewes, St Albans, Hampstead (London).

1930s Semi

1918-1939

Key characteristics - Red brick.

Mock Tudor gables.

The front room is of a hall and there is a second living room.

Areas with significant 1930s semis include: North London, Oxford, Surrey, Kent, West Yorkshire

Art Deco

1920-1940

Key characteristics - Flat roof.

Plain doors with a geometric fanlight (window above door) allowing light.

Smooth and sleek facade.

Areas with significant Art Deco architecture include: Manchester, Brighton, Leeds, Ascot, Hastings

1950's Post-War House

1950s

Key characteristics - Built from concrete.

Wide windows

A concrete tiled roof.

Areas with significant 1950s architecture include: Dagenham, Buckinghamshire, Sheffield

1970s Terrace

1970s

Key characteristics - Light-filled spaces.

Spacious gardens

Garages

Areas with significant 1970s architecture include: Somerset, Manchester, Lancashire

1990s New Build

1990s

Key characteristics - Modern twist on traditional English cottage features.

Largely semi-detached.

Lower ceilings

Driveway and garages.

Areas with significant 1990s architecture: Hampshire, London, Devon, West Sussex

How to Find Out How Old Your Home Is

United Kingdom

• Check the records of the HM Land registry.
• Take a look at the architectural style and characteristics of your properties.
• Hunt for records in your local library.
• Check Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
• Review the survey attached to your mortgage, as it may tell you the age of your home.
• Check the 1862 Act register as it contains a list of historic properties in England.
• For those based in Scotland, you can search CANMORE for the national records of Scotland.
• Ordnance Survey maps.

United States

• Visit your county's registrars office and ask for the tract index for your home.
• Check your local libraries and archives for census records.
• The Historic American Building Survey is a great resource for finding out when a home was built.