How do you choose overall decor/look?

[Hairyfriend]

We have completely stripped out a derelict, 1930's property. Other than the tall ceilings and aga- very little of the original remains. I'm thinking modern shaker kitchen (to blend with the aga) but would you have the bathrooms in an older style also, or go modern? I'm worried about a mix and matched looked, but equally, not keen on an actual 1930's style throughout. Any ideas?

Instagram is your friend

Type in
#1930renovation

And there will be hundreds of tagged posts!

I think it's better than Pinterest because these are peoples real houses!

Just go with what YOU like. That's honest.

Am a bit horrified at you 'gutting' a period house. It's your house, so you can obviously do what you like. But even so....

Also, if it matters, genuine original 1930s is very desirable. Big rooms, high ceilings, big windows, usually well-built. Nice original features. Solid wood rather than ticky-tacky laminate. No horrid clinical kitchens. But trashed 1930s - well, very, very much less so. But again, your house, your choice.

Are you planning to sell on? Or just finding your style? These are two different approaches.

I just put in what I like and decorate how I like. Sometimes I have an idea of the overall look or sometimes I see something like a bed or a sofa and work from that. Because I have a personal style it all goes together.

I get different feelings or ideas for different houses. Last one was Victorian all painted white like an art gallery, this one is Victorian with lots of colour. Formal rooms style comes first, informal comfort first.

Instagram is great, and I do like house magazines too. With 1930s it doesn't need to be faithfully reproduced - just take the essence like elegance in 1930s. Any style could fit or look nice. Or hire an interior designer (only a few hundred) to check your scheme or suggest one?

Does shaker go with aga?

I'm not sure.

Ime 1930s style is very in, but sounds like it is not to your taste.

I find a house tells you the style it needs. We've just moved into a 1950s house, so 1950s it will be. We just had a architect around and he agreed with us that it is not a high gloss kitchen kind of house.

@scottishnames

Just go with what YOU like. That's honest.

Am a bit horrified at you 'gutting' a period house. It's your house, so you can obviously do what you like. But even so....

Also, if it matters, genuine original 1930s is very desirable. Big rooms, high ceilings, big windows, usually well-built. Nice original features. Solid wood rather than ticky-tacky laminate. No horrid clinical kitchens. But trashed 1930s - well, very, very much less so. But again, your house, your choice.

The OP didn't say they gutted it. Ours is 1920s, a doer-upper, but almost every original feature was taken out by previous owners. We didn't take any of it out. Mind you, I might have taken some of it out, I hate a lot of the design from that period. We bought the space, not the decor. I might have been tempted to reinstate the panelled hall, but it would be too dark s the ceiling was lowered to put in a room above.

OP, if you won't need to sell it in the short term, do as you like, and mix and match as you like. If the original features are gone, I expect it's very like ours. We're going for plain in most rooms, to make the most of the light, but putting in nice cornicing, and I'm going all dark red walls and 'Victorian Gothic Library' in one of them. I'd never dare do it if it wasn't that this is our 'forever house' to retire to.

@dreammattemousse

Instagram is your friend

Type in
#1930renovation

And there will be hundreds of tagged posts!

I think it's better than Pinterest because these are peoples real houses!

I've fallen down the Instagram rabbit hole with this recommendation, already seen so many lovely rooms, I can't wait to get started on mine!

1930s suburban round here. I’ve found a traditional style for bathroom and kitchen works best and hopefully will last longer. Lots of houses round here go very contemporary but in my view they date quickly. I would go natural materials (wood etc) and keep whatever architectural features you have.
Pinterest etc is great, but you need to know what to search for.

Thanks so much for the replies.

@scottishnames- We didn't strip the house for the fun of it! This was a derelict property that was empty for 8yrs. Prior to that, the previous owner did absolutely no upkeep and mainly lived aboard. The garden had 20yrs of overgrown brambles and ivy for a start! We didn't live in the house beforehand then suddenly decide to strip it all out- it was uninhabitable when we bought it! Kitchen roof caving in due to a bathroom leak above, no running water, no boiler and multiple windows boarded up when they were smashed in etc. I didn't fancy living with asbestos that was peeling off the walls either!!!

We are doing it up to live it. We have kept as many features as we could of the original house, but many of the original 30's features were already gone. They had been replaced by artex, 4 layers of tiles in the bathroom (all on top of each other), 3 layers of carpets and textured wall paper in bright purple, lime green and pink!

Never thought of instagram that for ideas! thanks

@whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhywhy- This is why I need help. I assumed an aga would go better with a more traditional style kitchen, rather than a super gloss, modern style?

You have a great opportunity to choose whatever you want, take time over decisions as choosing a paint scheme overall can be tricky. You can do colour consultations with the higher end paint manufacturers. Eg Little Greene. Their paint is fantastic and I’m sure the colour consultations are well worth the cost, if you can afford it.

Also - think about the details you can’t change when planning overall decor, or the e buts you want to keep (eg the aga). Perhaps there is a curtain fabric print or item of furniture that you want to anchor the room. You can use that to inform your paint / furnishings / flooring colours and textures.
Spend time (and money) choosing the fittings that are harder to change - eg flooring, for example. That will need to be the basis of other interior decisions so worth thinking about fairly early on. Even if it isn’t actually fitted until after decorating the rest.

Mix and match can work really well. We live in a Georgian house which was pimped in the Edwardian times and we have a mix of modern, mid century and "brown" Victorian furniture. If you always buy things you really like then it will work out. With the exception of the sofas I tend to have modern and mid century or old and mid century per room though as I think too much mixing would be a bit random. The kids rooms are an ikeafest.

I agree with the Instagram search, anything with 1930s in the title - you'll find lots of inspiration.

We're in a 30s house too - I think you can be sympathetic to the 30s style without overdoing it and keeping it modern / workable for today's family life. We've put picture rails back in, used a few period colours, 30s style mirrors - when we had some work done that meant we lost a gorgeous stained glass window in the hall, we got the builder to put it in the landing.

We have gone modern in the bathrooms etc and opened up the back of the house, but I think at the end of the day, its your home and you have to enjoy living there, so you can't decorate it in a particular way just because you think you should - you've got to like it!

Some great perspectives and idea, thanks so much.

I would love to know how the first comment on a thread this innocuous was deleted for breaking the rules! 😅

I always go modern with my bathrooms. Modern but white. Everything else, I love a bit of vintage. Shaker kitchen sounds like a lovely idea. Will you set the Aga into a surround? Am currently also loving black fireplaces. 😳

@PeeAche- I never got the read the very first thread that was deleted, so have have no idea what they said?

I too was thinking white bathrooms, and won't be re-instating the peach, pink and blue suites we had previously!

I'd echo Instagram. I love seeing renovations and decor ideas, there are some gorgeous places out there.

Instagram and Pinterest for ideas. Search things like renovation, 1930s and very specific things like “dark blue wall” or “tiled hallway floor” on Pinterest.
Will give you an idea of what you like and then you can search for more specific things.

Period isn't always the way to go. I don't like 30s myself, but if possible would save skirting boards and coving if there was any. I don't like old style bathrooms at all. But would use interesting tiles to add interest to a modern white suite. I've just put in a very modern flat matt black and white handless kitchen in my Victorian terrace, but in the living room is a 'Victorian' (not original) fireplace, plus tall skirtings snd original coving. It works as I've used interesting tiles, added brick slips to the extension and decorated it with lovely rugs and velvet furniture.
I once renovated a house and made it quite modern - a viewer complained I had stripped it of character. The only 'character' it had when I bought it was peeling wallpaper, pee impregnated vinyl flooring and mould.
Very few houses retain all their original details and many aren't worth keeping or aren't compatible with modern living. 30s wasn't top of the list in the architectural stakes, but do tend to be solidly built.