Not Quite Ready for a Historic Home Remodel? These Ideas Bridge the Gap Between Your Home’s Current State and a Full Renovation
As Mother Nature brings about new blooming flowers and fresh leaves on trees, it’s human nature to want to refresh our own nests, even in small ways.
Try these home renovation ideas you can do on your own while deciding on the level of historic home remodel your house needs.
Refinish Your Hardwood Floors
Spring is an ideal time to refinish your floors, now that your family is done tracking in rock salt and ice melt products. Refinishing your floors can repair the damage and leave them looking as good as new.
Although refinishing wood floors isn’t a quick project, it’s relatively easy for most homeowners to tackle on their own, especially if you’re confident in your abilities. If you’ve used a sander before and know how to stain and seal wood, then you’re just a few steps away from a revitalized floor in your historic home.
There are, however, two major downsides to the project: it’s a messy process, and it takes a few days to complete. This definitely isn’t a home renovation idea to tackle when you only have a few hours to make a transformation.
Learn more about refinishing hardwood floors in your historic home.
Paint Interior Walls a Traditional Color
For a fairly quick and easy update to your historic home’s interior, opt to paint a room or two in a color that traditionally would have been used when your home was built. Paint is an inexpensive first step toward a historic home remodel and can help give you an idea of what you might want your space to look like when you partner with a home renovation contractor.
If you live in a Victorian home, you should consider traditional colors, like rich, dark shades of red (burgundy or maroon, especially), chestnut, forest green, and deep blues. These moody and dramatic hues were popular in the Victorian era. If you live in a craftsmen home, you should consider shades that were popular during the arts and crafts movement – predominantly neutral colors or lighter hues, especially that contrast with the wood tones of your home’s handcrafted trim. Tudor style homes look best with warm, but light colors that highlight exposed wooden beams.
Reno Tip: If you aren’t skilled at “cutting” with a paint brush around trim and doorways, using painter’s tape can help the process go more smoothly. Or, you can hire a painting professional to do it all for you.
Do a Deep Clean This Spring
If you’ve fallen out of love with your historic home, one way you can revitalize your passion for it is to deep clean it. Go through every closet or cabinet to eliminate items you don’t need or want, which will immediately make more space available for the items you want to keep. Wipe down baseboards, scrub kitchen backsplashes, and re-caulk your bathtub.
Such a light refresh can make a big difference – and can even help you better understand the outcome you’d want from a historic home remodel. For example, if – even after cleaning – you’re finding there simply isn’t enough storage space, a home renovation contractor like Architectural Craftsmen can include storage solutions in their remodel design.
Plant Flowers in Your Front Garden
Planting spring- or summer-blooming flowers and decorative shrubs in your front garden boosts the curb appeal of your home, making it look inviting, cozy, and well-maintained. Pops of color from foundation plantings make your home look more cheery, and your neighbors will appreciate the improved view.
Choose plants that are easy to care for and that thrive in the Kansas City climate. Opting for native plants ensures your new garden beds are hardy and can withstand drought. They’ll also require less watering and other maintenance and are great for the environment.
Join Facebook Groups Dedicated to Home Renovation Ideas
For ideas for historic home remodeling, join special-interest groups on Facebook, especially those focused on homes like yours. In these groups, homeowners like you share their DIY home renovation ideas that might inspire you to take steps toward refreshing your own house until you’re ready to work with a historic home renovation contractor for big projects, like a new kitchen, bathroom, or addition.
If You Value Your Historic Home’s Story, Work with a Home Renovation Contractor Who Knows How to Tell It
One of the most joyful things about owning a historic home is that it comes with a story. If your walls could talk, your distinctive home would share tales of important moments in history and memorable occasions it hosted. You can preserve these stories and still remodel your historic home to improve its modern functionality – but it takes a skilled and experienced hand to do it.
To keep your historic home’s character intact and make the interior spaces work for you, partner with a home renovation contractor like Architectural Craftsmen – experts in historic home remodeling right here in the Kansas City area.
With decades of experience and a portfolio full of award-winning designs, Architectural Craftsmen can hand-hew replacement wood trim, update your kitchen with consideration to its original style, and give your house a makeover you’ll love, without compromising its historical appeal and importance.
When you’re ready for a historic home remodel, send us a message online to get the process started.
