Preserving Legacy When Renovating Character Homes

Thanks to shows such as The Block and House Rules, it’s no secret that the Western Australian property market has fallen in love with renovations. Whether its adding a fresh modern extension or second storey to your property, or renovating character homes to bring your heritage into the 21st century, we understand the importance of selecting the right team for the job. As a boutique building company focused on home renovations, additions and luxury homes, it always gives us great joy to see our clients get the results they’re after.

Given the rising number of properties entering the market, renovating character homes in Perth have exploded, becoming one of our most demanded home renovation project types, with clients looking to add value and functionality to their homes without losing the “legacy” of the property’s extensive history. Easier said than done, especially when it comes to tight deadlines and specific budgets.

As we’ve seen time and time again, choosing the right team for the job becomes a critical step in achieving the final result, and when it comes to character homes, maintaining the authenticity of the property can be a huge challenge, but a highly rewarding one when executed properly. Whilst renovating character homes can be more complicated, this style of renovation can significantly increase the value of your home when done right.

Staying True To Your Home’s Roots

There is something magical about preserving the roots and linking to the past history of a property whilst continuing it’s ongoing legacy. Whilst this can increase the complexity of renovations, the challenge of retaining the authenticity of a property can go a long way towards the value of the property, as well as your feeling of being a part of something bigger.

We’ve taken on countless character home renovations with our clients, which means we understand how best to approach this process, with keeping the “feel” and aura of your property, whilst adding to its functionality and comfort. Maintaining the same materials and finishes as the families and individuals before you, puts the “character” when renovating your character home and will help to preserve the memories and legacy of your property for future generations after you.

It’s something we’re particularly passionate about.

Nexus Character Home Renovation – Highgate, Perth

Imperfections Tell Stories

Elizabeth Finkelstein is a self-proclaimed old house addict from Circa Old Houses and we love her refreshing take on the ownership of houses, where she explains,“I don’t consider myself to be the owner of my house; I consider myself to be a steward of my house, and I’m keeping it in good shape for the next generation.”  

We strongly agree with Elizabeth on this, as well as her belief that this approach should also be applied outside of home renovations to ensure the world is a much more sustainable place.

When renovating characters homes, the very best ensure the charm of the property is maintained, with signs of the wear and tear acting as evidence of an extensive history of generations before it. Imperfections should be welcomed as opposed to being covered up, as these unique aspects of the property breath authenticity and personality into the walls.

Welcome The Quirks

Throughout the years we’ve been presented with a variety of challenges with property owners wanting to change, gut or mould uniquely shaped rooms, walls or corners to introduce more functionality to their character home. However, of our team of experienced builders and contractors allows us to be highly flexible in working to your exact specifications, helping you to survive your home renovation with minimal impact and disruption.

We are constantly encouraging our clients to embrace and cherish the quirks of their character home, as these are unique imperfections that are difficult to replicate from scratch. Some of the best memories in old homes revolve around oddly shaped spaces which have been centre stage to childhood games, comfort corners or entertainment outcrops and we often advise our clients to embrace the future potential of these spaces. After all, a house with personality and character evokes a much warmer appeal to not only home owners, but to visiting guests, friends and family.

We Understand Renovating Character Homes

Throughout our years of boutique renovations, extensions and additions, we’ve acquired a track record in helping our clients maintain the history and legacy when renovating their character home. Whilst this style of renovation (and property) isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, our previous blog article on Doing Up A Piece Of History: Character Home Renovations explains our proficiency in this space. We are a builder who gets it and we are passionate about maintaining the character and history of property throughout Perth

Looking to take on a character home renovation? We welcome you to contact us for a free design consultation with our director Matt, who will take the time to discuss and plan your next character home transformation.