How to get your furniture to fit a period property – words Alexa Wang
For all the charm and antiquity that period properties exude, they do come with their fair share of difficulties too. Namely, because period properties were built and purposed a certain way a long-time (not to mention aging considerably since then too), not all modern furniture can be seamlessly incorporated into this kind of home.
That said, this doesn’t mean it’s outright impossible to fit your furniture into a period property. Although moving home is becoming a rarity these days, it’s important that if you do move into a period property, you do so with a sharp and informed mindset.
Consequently, here’s how to get your furniture to fit a period property!
Sense of Scale
Before you can make any progress here, it’s important to recognise your limitations. For example, one or two smaller cupboards will categorically not work well in a large room with high ceilings. At the same time, large furniture will not fit into rooms with confined spaces and the especially slanted walls that period properties typically have. It’s important that you get that balance here in terms of a sense of scale.
Therefore, you need to do some sorting first, working out what items will fit in which rooms. Some furniture may also need to be repurposed in order to better belong in the space. For example, if you have a dresser of sorts that used to be featured in the dining room, you could strip it down and repaint it, and have it placed in the potentially bigger kitchen space instead to store all of your plates and mugs. Ultimately, don’t be afraid to mix, match and redefine your furniture if it needs to be placed elsewhere.
Measure Up
It might often be the case that not all your furniture will fit inside the period property on the first go. Therefore, you may find yourself selling some of your stuff and replacing it with more appropriate versions. Still, there’s no shame in this, it’s just a change in strategy so that everything you need can fit snugly inside the home.
If you’re going down this route, ensure that you measure everything acutely; whether it’s your own tape measure or a professional’s guidance. You could even make sure some furniture is custom made where appropriate so that its measurements work with any slanted walls and the like. In the end, if you bother to put the time in on all the details, less nasty surprises will pop up later.
Aesthetic Themes
Of course, it’s not all about shapes and sizes either. Style plays a part in whether furniture fits or not, meaning things need to blend in on an aesthetic level too. Consequently, you need a good eye in order to make sure that everything you feature in the property looks like it belongs.
For example, an especially large wardrobe would undoubtedly fit well; they’ll eat up much of the empty space caused by high ceilings, and generally perpetuate that ‘grand and old’ theme that period properties carry off so well. We’ve all seen those enormous and elaborate wardrobes in period films, so take inspiration there. You could even have little seated areas around fireplaces and window sills; furniture arrangements that were more commonplace back many years ago.
