Show us your vintage home!

[dhermann1]

One thing to note about that. Back in the day, that wood would have been stained pretty dark. That was the style then. And that's one reason so much old wood trim was painted white. Dark wallpaper, along with dark woodwork, along with dim lightbulbs can make a room rather depressingly dreary.

 

[analiebe]

Just some suggestions and ideas to ponder regarding your future undertakings in antique home refurbishment, good luck!

thank you so much for all your ideas... i would be MORE than happy to undertake the arduous paint stripping task of the trims & doors - love a good project - after all i'm a country lass at heart - definately have to slowly start working on the brother ... subliminal emails methinks

 

[Miss Sis]

Analiebe, your (your brother's!) house looks just lovely. What a sweet little spot to call home.

Paddy, I wondered what your house looked like, so now I know. Very nice. I particularly like the dogs. You, of course, have already seen our place....

We recently bought a late Victorian (1894) cottage which is surprisingly spacious and not quite what you might expect when you hear 'cottage' as it doesn't have a thatched roof or tiny rooms or exposed beams, etc. No money to do much to it at the moment, sadly!

The best bit is, officially, we reside at 2 Buchanan Cottages - immediately putting me in mind of the great British actor, Jack Buchanan, famous in the 20s and 30s as the epitome of British men's style and grace. (His collar is a bit mad in this pic, though!)

Our road didn't have house numbers until the mid 1970s when the council decided they must, so most houses down here still have their names out the front, which is cute and rather 'olde worlde'.

 

[Forgotten Man]

One thing to note about that. Back in the day, that wood would have been stained pretty dark. That was the style then. And that's one reason so much old wood trim was painted white. Dark wallpaper, along with dark woodwork, along with dim lightbulbs can make a room rather depressingly dreary.

Well, I delightfully disagree on this score! I was in an original Victorian, lots of dark East Lake trim and fashion all over the house, high ceilings, long dark drapes, dark wood, and beautiful period wallpaper… dim 40w Edison bulbs… perfect!

I find dim lighting, dark woods and rich wallpaper to be rather soothing, relaxing and unobtrusive. Lots of stark white and bright light hurts me eyes and it’s rather modern and sterile. I find much more comfort in soft light and rich interiors which I feel is the way to restore a home of that period.
Now, that’s my taste, also, the historical thing to do… now, most of the darkest wood we see in some original examples (which are few) is due to age, and depending on if the original family had any smokers living under that roof.

However, it isn’t our house, it’s her brother’s and it’s really up to her what feels she would want to do with it. I do have a friend who lives in a wonderful old craftsman from 1911 or so… has most of all dark wood unpainted… beautiful! It’s not ebony dark, but a nice walnut and has such richness and depth in the grain that it’s how an old home truly shines.

 

[Forgotten Man]

thank you so much for all your ideas... i would be MORE than happy to undertake the arduous paint stripping task of the trims & doors - love a good project - after all i'm a country lass at heart - definately have to slowly start working on the brother ... subliminal emails methinks

I'm glad to help and offer the original approach to any restoration project! I see so many old homes in my area that would have had lovely wood treatment, and most if not all is under layers of laytex paint Wood trim doesn't need to be depressing, with the right period stain, it could be very rich and ad warmth to a historical home.

See about sending the brother a photo of some period interiors of historic homes and see what he thinks... if it don't cost him or if he don't have to work on it, I don't see why he would have problem with it.

Best of luck to you in your projects!

 

[Dr Doran]

Well, I delightfully disagree on this score!

Rob, your disagreements are ALWAYS delightful ...

Now, that’s my taste, also, the historical thing to do…

What a coincidence!

(Just giving you a hard time, Rob -- you know I agree with you!)

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"analiebe, If you do decide to "Strip" its quicker and easier and around the same price, when you work it out, to have the skirting boards taken out stripped professionaly in an acid bath and replaced."

 

[Miss 1929]

I am officially inspired!

Bathroom before:

Bathroom during:

Bathroom after:

Especially by the bathroom, we also need to go down to the studs and redo it all, and it's a huge job. You did it beautifully, it looks like "Old House Interiors" magazine!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[David Conwill]

Stripping Wood Trim

If you wish to strip your wood trim, you should do so, but it's worth remembering that there was a period of time where wood trim was installed with the intent that it be painted, so stripping would in fact be less historically accurate.

This is the case with brick on certain buildings as well. With the demise of affordable real brick and dense-grained wood, people have regained their appreciation for those materials and wish to display them in a way that they did not back when they were more common.

-Dave

 

[analiebe]

i think i might have to head to the brunswick (my suburb) town hall and look into their historical photographs collection to see if i can uncover the typical interior of a melbourne federation weatherboard home of the area... the original interior as well as of what was done later to these homes, say in the 30s & 40s... or perhaps just bail up some local old-timers on the street and ask lots more questions... oooh a delightful fact finding mission is ahead of me it appears

 

[tuppence]

i think i might have to head to the brunswick (my suburb) town hall and look into their historical photographs collection to see if i can uncover the typical interior of a melbourne federation weatherboard home of the area... the original interior as well as of what was done later to these homes, say in the 30s & 40s... or perhaps just bail up some local old-timers on the street and ask lots more questions... oooh a delightful fact finding mission is ahead of me it appears

Check your library. I know there are a few books about Australian houses, which include old colour charts. I just can't think of the names.

 

[analiebe]

i will indeed tuppence - thank you

 

[BinkieBaumont]

i think i might have to head to the brunswick (my suburb) town hall and look into their historical photographs collection to see if i can uncover the typical interior of a melbourne federation weatherboard home of the area... the original interior as well as of what was done later to these homes, say in the 30s & 40s... or perhaps just bail up some local old-timers on the street and ask lots more questions... oooh a delightful fact finding mission is ahead of me it appears

"Analiebe, you should ask The Brunswick council for an Achive search application, I dont know how it works in Victoriana, but here in the Swan River Colony, you pay the council $70.00, they do the research and retrieve the plans from storage, and you may view them and have reproductions made, it looks, rather splendid to have them framed on the wall!" (original plans for my 1947 house were lost in a fire at the storage facility in the 1970's:rage: )

 

[analiebe]

thanks binkie dear, i was hoping something like this would be possible as my street has some of the oldest houses in brunswick and is under a heritage overlay i assumed there would be such records & information available - i'll definately be taking a trip to the council chambers tomorrow! - i'll keep you posted

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"It would make a very special Christmas present for your Brother"

 

[Forgotten Man]

The time wood trim was really painted was post WWI. The homes that were built in the 20s (depending on the style of house) often did have wood cabinets, shelves, window trim and so forth. Painted wood surfaces were most common in the late 20s to the 40s. It was mostly the early 20th Century that you'd see dark woods... pre WWI would be the time that dark woods were most common.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"My 1947 home had floorboards that were "Meant" to be carpet over the top, when I tore up the carpet, 10 years ago the "Jarah" boards were flecked with lots of diferent colours "Seconds" the tradesman I hired to strip and polish the said the "Would have Character"lol they are rather interesting and its amusing to see that this type of multicoloured wood is rather fashionable in Modern Homes "just at the moment"

 

[David Conwill]

The time wood trim was really painted was post WWI. The homes that were built in the 20s (depending on the style of house) often did have wood cabinets, shelves, window trim and so forth. Painted wood surfaces were most common in the late 20s to the 40s. It was mostly the early 20th Century that you'd see dark woods... pre WWI would be the time that dark woods were most common.

Yes, I think of painted wood as a sort of machine-age aesthetic. People were very excited about industry and the consumer goods it produced, and organic materials like wood just seemed old fashioned. How best to modernize them? Paint ‘em so they look like plastic, steel, and ceramic - the materials of the future.

My grandparents were really into this even into the mid-century period. When everyone else had blonde, Scandinavian furniture, theirs was lacquered black. Part of that was that black lacquer better matched their Japanese decor (Grandpa was stationed in Japan in the latter half of the 1950s, so they have a lot of Japanese stuff), but I think part of it was a holdover from the art deco era.

Now we’ve become disillusioned with industrial consumer goods (probably in large part because our neighbors aren’t the ones making them anymore) and there’s a great nostalgia for hand-crafted goods produced by artisans, so wood is back in.

-Dave

 

[Dr Doran]

A highly plausible explanation.

 

[cookie]

One thing to note about that. Back in the day, that wood would have been stained pretty dark. That was the style then. And that's one reason so much old wood trim was painted white. Dark wallpaper, along with dark woodwork, along with dim lightbulbs can make a room rather depressingly dreary.

This 'rather depressingly dreary' thing mixed with Australia's late discovery of the Arts and Crafts Movement (c1920s) infused our version of the California Bungalow (to its detriment IMHO). The smoked oak etc (Dark wallpaper, along with dark woodwork) was supposedly a response to the massive losses and wounding of Aussie soldiers in WWI. People returned to hide from their shock and misery and the style allowed for this feeling of a need to "retreat from the world".

Apparently Australia had 80,000 killed and 160,000 woundered out of 360K actual soldiers...many of them still with limps and sundry problems that were only resolved by an early demise (eg gassing, grenade and shrapnel wounds).

My grandfather had an amputation in 1957 at age 87 (wounded at Gallipoli in 1915) when the shrapnel from Lone Pine turned out to have given him TB in the knee that took over his whole body.

Just a graphic example of why they called it (mistakenly) "the War to End all Wars"...and why the sombre style was popular in the Inter War years.