Our house, Oakview, is a 1920s house built in the Arts & Crafts style – handmade clay tiles cover the external first floor, panelled wooden doors with original Bakelite handles separate rooms, a terracotta-tiled storm porch is supported by an aged oak beam, the original leaded, timber windows give views over the seven apple trees in the mature country garden.
It was clear from the first time we saw Oakview that it was built with a care and an attention to detail typical of craftsman working in the early part of the 20th century.
How then to respect, conserve and enhance this craftsmanship, while bringing the house into the 21st century, both in terms of function and design?
This question has provoked many discussions between my husband and I, as well as many hours of deliberation and negotiation with the conservation officer in the planning department of our local authority.
Bringing Arts & Crafts into the 21st century
The debate is often driven by practicality and budget. To salvage and renovate the half-rotten, thermally-disastrous, original window frames would cost an eye-watering sum, and so we have made the decision to replace them with aluminium-framed double-glazing.
In the existing house the new windows will have the same frame measurements as the originals, whilst in the double-height side extension we’re adopting a more modern glazing look with some large feature picture windows.
I’ve written about choosing windows for a conservation area in my previous blog post.
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Article reference Home Renovation Blog: Conservation vs Update
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