Living in a heritage home can be an exciting prospect for many. Heritage homes often have unique design features that cannot be found elsewhere. However, many such properties are often old and homeowners who own such properties may sometimes find that they encounter issues with the limited functionalities of such properties.
Thus, when living in a heritage home, it’s important to balance preservation with functionality. This ensures that you have a pleasant living experience while still preserving the unique and rich character of the home. In this post, we examine how you can balance preservation with functionality in a heritage home.
Tips for Preserving Heritage Features
Here are some tips to help you preserve heritage features in your home:
Choosing the Features to Preserve
When restoring or renovating a heritage home, it’s important to be selective in choosing the features you want to preserve. Not all features may have the same historical significance and preserving those that are most important to the history of the home can enable you install new features that might provide more functionality.
Using the Appropriate Materials
Using the appropriate materials can also help you preserve the heritage status of your home while incorporating features that provide new functionalities. When choosing the materials that you want to use, it can be helpful to choose those that are from the same time period as your home. You can also choose materials that are of the same theme or design style as your home.
Working with Heritage Organisations
You can also consider reaching out to your local heritage organisation to see if they have any advice or may be able to provide any assistance with your home restoration or preservation. These organisations often have resident experts or may have contacts in the building and construction industry that they might be able to link you up with.
Incorporating Modern Functionality into Heritage Home Design
It is undoubtedly challenging to incorporate modern functionality into heritage home design given the clash between the two themes and ideas. Nonetheless, it’s important to modernise certain aspects of your heritage home if you want to make it liveable.
For example, your heritage home may not have adequate heating or cooling systems and this might make it uncomfortable for you to live in it. A possible way to preserve the character of your home while making it more modern might be to install a discreet air conditioning system with concealed vents. This can help you achieve a balance between functionality and preservation in your heritage home.
Working with Professional Building Contractors in Melbourne
When it comes to preserving or restoring heritage homes in Melbourne, it’s especially important to work with professional building contractors who have the necessary experience to provide guidance and advice. Australian Heritage Homes are Melbourne’s leading custom home builders with decades of experience in the industry. Contact us today for a free discussion on your home building and design needs and let us turn your dream home into a reality.