Stuff to Try: 5 Fun Interior Design Ideas in Historic Spaces
Modern takes in old spaces...contrast is fun!
Some of my favorite projects are inside historic structures, but where we’re doing modern interiors. We try to leave as much of the historic features in place, but whatever new stuff we add is unapologetically [and respectfully] contemporary….not trendy, but classic and of-the-moment, rather than mimicking old details.
Here are five cool moves to try:
Paint the baseboard a contrasting color. This is a detail I picked up working on renovations of historic homes, where I noticed a darker color at the baseboard and another color on the rest of the trim. Here, we did the baseboard as a deep, dark green, and the trim a golden yellow and a pink clay color.
The living room at the Stone House, with contrasting trim. More here.
Leave some old texture intact. Not everything has to be perfect - and it’s often not possible in old homes! Lean into it, and enjoy the patina of age and generations of people calling this house their home. Here, we left the one wall of the living room the historic raw plaster, which had remnants of other paint colors from over the years [milk paint, not lead!]
Embrace old stairs. In this project, the owners were interested in a very modern aesthetic, but also wanted to celebrate the existing elements in the home. So, we left the original banister and trim, but surrounded it with modern details: geometric wallpaper, cool modern light fixture, and modern furniture. The contrast lets the old and new dance together, rather than compete!
Lean into contrasting materials. Here, the owner wanted to preserve the 120 year old wood paneling in the dining room, but wanted to open the space up more to the kitchen. So, we carefully widened the door, and reused paneling material to recreate and modify the casing trim, allowing us to create this moment of contrast, color, and texture while also accommodating a more contemporary way of living.
Use accessories as references. In the same project as above, we created a relatively modern kitchen in this historic home, but wanted to make reference both to more historic elements and to the owner’s love of all things maritime. This faucet, in a living brass finish, will patina over time, and hearkens to ship-board brass, industrial fittings, and historic materials.
So there you have it - don’t be afraid to try more modern touches in historic homes, or to discover interesting textures and colors and integrate them into your project, or to reference back to historic shapes and textures in creative ways!
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