Charleston is full of beautifully historic homes that are a huge part of our city’s charm. It keeps our rich history alive, and you can see it as you walk the streets of downtown Charleston or in the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant. Home renovations look different when your house is historic. You can (and should!) make updates to your home as it ages, but historic homes often need to keep true to their age and style. Here are some things to take into consideration when renovating your historic home:
Be true to your home
Consider what updates you are wanting and needing to make to your home. Where do you have the opportunity to stay true to the history of your home’s age and style? A traditional home can certainly have some modern elements, but it is also very doable to add elements echoing the period of time your home was constructed. For example, you can put a bright, updated kitchen into a colonial style home. Think about selections such as cabinet door style and hardware as small ways you can stay true to the history of your home.
Keep it safe
When we think about upgrading historic homes, we often think about updating plumbing and electrical systems to be safe and meet modern codes. It is important that your builder have extensive knowledge of historic properties, know what to be looking out for, and have the right people on their team to get the job done correctly while keeping the charm of your home alive and well.
Make it efficient
Many times, we feel that older homes lack the warmth and comfort of newer homes. There are a few reasons for this feeling. One of the chief reasons is that a home isn’t well insulated from the outdoors. We’ve come a long way with standards for insulation, and increasing the insulation in your house will make an HVAC system run more efficiently. This saves you money, increases your comfort, and also increases your resale value. Replacing your water heater is another way to update your historic home to increase efficiency.
Remember that renovating your historic home is much different than renovating a home that was built recently. For these reasons, it is critical to enlist a builder who knows the care and detail that historic homes require. Your builder will walk alongside you from the first spark of an idea, knowing the details of what is happening in your walls and making sure your home is safe and efficient. Give us a call today and we can help you modernize your home while keeping it true to its history.