Ways to add character to a characterless house

[Sweetmelody72]

We are considering buying a 1970s house because it ticks so many of our boxes. It’s undergone significant extension work, but I think they ran out of money and the finish is poor (everything painted white/cheap carpets and wooden floors/underwhelming kitchen). I have never lived in a house newer than 1930s, and wondering if we might regret buying a property that has little if no character, even if it has all the space we need.

Anyone have any suggestions on how we can bring a modern house to life without making it look ‘faux’ period??

Scandi styles would probably work quite well?

A beautiful floor to ceiling wall bookcase

Lots of plants.

Well designed good quality door furniture and light switches.
Deep skirting boards.
Quality light fittings and lamps.
Use mirrors to add depth and interest,
Up date the kitchen if/when you can afford it.

You could watch ugly house to beautiful house which features a lot of 1970s houses for inspiration.

If you want to keep the feel of the period then mid century modern furniture, maybe some orla kiely textiles could be the way to go.

I was brought up in a new build house in the 70s on a council estate that won design awards. It was very minimalist. Open staircase, white walls with one feature papered wall in swirly brown/orange combo, habitat furniture with swivel chairs, all very plain and clean lined. White melamine round dining table with white plastic moulded chairs.
Just don't try to make your house into a house from a different era. The proportions will all be wrong.

Don’t try to add “traditional” character to a ‘70’s house - instead celebrate and accentuate its space and light. Do some research on a Scandi / mid century modern and stick with it - have a look at this award winning 70’s development for ideas:
www.themodernhouse.com/past-sales/langham-house-close-richmond-upon-thames/

I like 70s houses because the windows tend to be big and the rooms are square and spacious.

Yes @parrotfashionista. Definitely want to add a built in bookcase.

Anyone got any advice on colour? I have gone for neutral walls in the past but wondering whether bolder colours will add character? Also, what style of kitchen would you go for? Would knock through to the dining room.

I take on board what’s you are saying about Scandi style. Just need to do some research and get my head around whether it’s a style I’d want to live with.

Rightmove link here
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72824197.html

Built in shelves on each side of the fireplace

Faux cornicing/coving/picture rails/that circular detail you get round the ceiling light

Wood floors that have an aged look

1930s style internal doors

Front door with stained glass

Take a look on Houzz there are great interiors ideas on there

Go with the era it was built. 70's retro is fab done tastefully

After your link I don’t think that it has any real authentic ‘70’s architectural merit at all worth accentuating - that front door .... ? This company do traditional contemporary external makeovers - might be worth getting some ideas? www.backtofrontexteriordesign.com/before-after

The lay out looks tricky to me - I would knock the kitchen thru to the dining room and have a full width wall of glass to take advantage of those amazing views

I wouldn’t say that was a typical 70s house at all. Looks modern tbh I don’t know why you’re worrying. I was a bit disappointed tbh as I live everything 70s and by 2009 built house is adorned with 70s retro wallpaper and the like.

Medium dark wood, such as teak, for floors and furniture. Ideally 5 finger square parquet.

I like the house, and I like the current styling of the living room with the corner sofa and massive artwork. The white kitchen looks incongruous and I would maybe replace with a carefully chosen wooden one with a tiled floor. I wouldn't go all out on a bright orange melamine kitchen just because your perfectly pleasant house happened to be built when people had them.

We put a wood burner and good quality wooden doors put into our similar aged boxy house. I make no claim either are authentic to a 1980 build, but they did make it feel like more of a home.

You should play to the houses period and not try to decorate it like it's something older. Any house can look beautiful inside if you fill it tastefully with beautiful stuff. If you fill it with stuff from next home it's not going to be beautiful

So a beautiful sofa, tonal walls, unusual tables, rugs, plants, soft furnishings etc, is what will make it have a character all of its own.

I’d definitely change that front door.

Otherwise, to make it look more interesting, it’d benefit from more glazing and a better garden with some visual interest.

In terms of colour schemes and decoration, I’d probably stick to mid-century modern.

A unicorn horn on the roof..

Some examples of interiors with glazing

Our house is a 70s extended. We like the large rooms and large windows. The whole thing is generally fairly neutral, (beige's, white, etc) but I have light coloured flooring (wood effect sheet vinyl) on the whole downstairs. I think the dark flooring in your house to be 'soaks up the light' so to speak, but that's just my opinion of course. I love abstract art and have got a lot of it. I have tried to go for a modern vibe, but comfortable looking as well - nothing too stark. I also like to keep it uncluttered. Just because a room is big you don't have to fill it with 'stuff'. I have 70s retro wallpaper in the downstairs loo, as a nod to the house's age. I have a lot of colourful plants in the garden near the house, and I like the contrast of a blowsy garden viewed from a calm light coloured room.
My previous house was a little stone cottage and I had loads of cottagey things like baskets, brass and hunting prints. Absolutely none of them were right for this house, it would just have looked odd.
I think your new house is lovely btw.

Oh I love a decent 70’s house! Large square rooms, lots of light.

Don’t try and fake it, go with what you have - as other posters mention go for minimalist, white walls, plants, scandi or mcm furniture suits or some 70’s pieces. Keep it clean and modern.

Thanks everyone for your ideas and suggestions. We do love the space and the potential of the house but have been unsure whether it’s shortcomings are surmountable at a reasonable cost. Agree that layout is tricky with rooms off rooms, but not unworkable for us. Definitely would change the downstairs flooring but hadn’t really considered that something lighter would draw in more light (doh!) since living room is north facing, so that is a really helpful comment.

Re kitchen. Will definitely be knocking through to the dining room and adding a bigger wall of glazing. Living room would benefit from that too. Big decision but can’t visualise which kitchen style would work best. Kitchen in Last house before current one was a light grey shaker style with an island in downpipe, which now seems ubiquitous. Would shaker work? Handleless? I love a classic but statement kitchen.

Do people hate the front door? I have a thing about those modern front doors (hate them) but I think this one looks ok on a white box although it’s been really badly finished and would need stripping and re varnishing or painting

@blueskieslies this is how I’m feeling about 70s houses now! I’ve tried to be really open in this house search and they seem a good fit for our needs as a family. But I’m worried about clean lines etc etc. We can be an untidy bunch...

What do people think of an exposed brick wall? Looks great in that Langham house development but wonder if it is a bit fashionable now

If you wanted to try it, you can get wallpaper that looks like brick. Then, if you didn't like it, it's easy to strip off and re-paint, rather than re-plaster.
Although I really came back on to say 70s reception rooms lend themselves very well interesting /varied lighting. We have got a lot of individual lights and some up lighters (hardly ever use the ceiling lights), which can really change the mood of the room, depending which ones you've got on. You can't get the same effect in a small room. (Of course, this was once we had got round one of the main problems of unimproved 70s houses - the lack of sockets! Nobody had much to plug in in those days.)

oh I just saw the actual RM listing I really like that house! Lots of space for a family. Layout could be improved with some minor tweaks in the medium term.

Shame they didn't open out the Kitchen + diner together when they did the kitchen as that would cut the wasted double doorway space and make a more modern living arrangement.

Also I would get the wall back up between the family and diner.

What's with the 'studio' thing?

Thanks for the insight on lighting. Will give it some thought. And yes my husband is into his tech so sockets are a must.

@blueskieslies the current owner is an artist so that room was used by her and explains why it’s fitted out with a sink etc. We could use as a study. The family room currently has double doors through to the dining room so has THREE doorways. Great suggestion to block that up. Then get rid of the double doorway and one big rectangular kitchen diner.

I’m trying to think through any issues with only being able to access living room through the kitchen diner. Far from ideal but just don’t see it as a deal breaker unless there is something I’ve not thought of.

I’m in love with the styling, colours and decor in this house from link to site posted up thread. But I know, it’s a very different property

www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/chester-road/