Create Your Historically Inspired Home
Create Your Historically Inspired Home using my top five ways ! Today’s post is a true create your historic inspired home how-to! It may be easier than you think actually.
Having my own “historically inspired home” is a truly dream come true and helping others replicate the look is more than I could have ever hoped. Truthfully, I am just so darn thankful for my home, this little space on the internet and most of all, you! Thorn Cove Abode would not be what it is {or nearly as much fun} without your love and support!
My vision to restore an older home started young. For those of you who have been here awhile, you know Mark and I fell in love as teenagers. He has always known how much I love old architecture. We used to drive around old neighborhoods to OoOOoOo & Ahhhhh over the architecture of historical homes. Well, maybe that was mostly me and he was just a sweet boy in love courting me. 😉
Some of our sweetest dates have been driving around just dreaming of “home” together. The fact that my incredible husband made my dreams come true with Thorn Cove Abode AND our home was featured in a magazine is beyond anything my little self could have dreamt.
Our house is actually a new build, so I knew adding in historic elements would be on of the key way to really create our historically inspired home. {My husband is smart and avoided the headaches of true restoration on our primary home}. After hours of research and trial and error, I came to realize the following five ways are the real game changers when it comes to making a home look and feel “historically inspired”.
Creating Your Historically Inspired Home Starts with Entryways
Doors are said to be the “gateway to your home.” A beautiful door is a true statement piece and sets the tone for the rest of your historically inspired home. Starting a new build with restored, authentic doors or replacing builder grade doors with pretty paneled doors creates a more custom look. Don’t forget how important those door knobs are! They are the finishing touch. Just like jewelry to finish off the perfect outfit.
I updated some of our interior doors that I wasn’t too crazy about. I used this beautiful glass door in my pantry that we saved from a salvage yard. Its over 100 years old. I even added authentically vintage screen doors with reproduction hardware and of course our front doors were a true labor of love! The doors on our front porch are actually over 100 years old too! They were originally the front doors to one of the oldest pharmacies in North Carolina. I hand scraped them for months to get all the layers of paint off, but it was worth it!
Using Historically Inspired (or actually historic)Lighting
Lighting makes a huge difference in any room! Don’t be afraid to add old light fixtures. Old fixtures are easy to have rewired and surprisingly cost effective if you’re willing to take the extra time with them. I love the authentic schoolhouse pendant in our Nook! That one was originally from an actual schoolhouse. Before we started our build, I would spend a lot of time on Ebay, Marketplace and in local thrift and antique shops sourcing lighting and preparing ahead of time.
Materials
One of my top tips is to add wood wherever you can! I love to use reclaimed materials like vintage bead board in our bathrooms.
I was so happy when I found perfectly vintage wallpaper to add above bead board too. Sadly, the one I was was discontinued shortly after putting it up, but you can find a similar pattern here! You could try this paintable bead board wallpaper if you don’t want to install the full thing. {Pretty amazing find!} P.S. I even used faux bead board in our RV!
Interior Shutters
I have an entire blog post dedicated to the incredible custom interior shutters my dad made for me. Honestly, the shutters are one of my favorite parts of our dining room and add so much charm!
Before our new build even broke ground, I spent a lot of time researching trim styles. As we were moving in, I realized we needed privacy on our downstairs windows, but didn’t want to cover up the beautiful trim work I worked so hard on.
One day, I was browsing the internet and came across a historic home with interior shutters. I thought, “THAT’S PERFECT”! They are truly a labor of love by my Dad and they are absolutely perfect. Here is a step by step on how he made these in case you want to try yourself!
Trim Work is Key to Producing a Historically Inspired Home
I am sure you have noticed that the details are really what sets your home apart as “historically inspired”. Adding wide base boards and corner guards like the ones on my staircase truly bring it all together.
I sourced the giant newel post on Ebay before our build! It’s from the 1800’s if you can believe it! The balusters and everything else are new, but I tried to match the style of the newel post as best as possible. The stairs are 100+ year old white oak that was reclaimed (talk about dreamy.) We sourced the lumber for the staircase from a place fairly local to us, Old American Lumber located in Union, SC. The shop has warehouses full of old lumber and they cut our step treads and finishing pieces to match the 100+ year old flooring in our home. Truly amazing! You can read more about our Staircase and Entry here.
Hi Brittany – This is great, thank you! I have always wondered, was your home plan completely custom, or did you get the plan from one of those places where you can purchase plans on-line? Thank you