8 Tips for Remodeling an Older Home in Orange County without Losing Its Charm

Remodeling an older home in Orange County is a unique task that can often overwhelm homeowners who want to preserve their home’s vintage charm and integrity while updating it to match modern expectations and amenities. Many Orange County homes have immense historical appeal, with a mixture of Old World Spanish Mediterranean, craftsman, mid-century modern, and contemporary styles, and it can often be difficult to preserve a home’s unique architecture in a renovation. Below, we’ll give you eight tips to help you remodel your older Orange County home while maintaining its charm! 

1. Research the Home’s History and Structure

Before you start out with any renovation project, but especially one on an older home, you will benefit greatly from researching your home’s history, structure, and architecture. Purely practically, structural research helps you get a sense of your home’s layout and how it can be changed or altered without compromising the structure.

From a historical perspective, however, doing research matters because it will allow you to get a sense of the unique architectural properties of your house that should be preserved. These include architectural details such as entryways, columns, windows, and roof or ceiling styles, as well as building materials such as brick, stucco, and stone. To start out on your research, you can consult local historical archives or preservation societies to get a sense of your home’s history.

2. Develop a Restoration Plan

Once you know the history of your home, you can start developing a restoration plan that takes into account the unique charm of your home and your remodel goals. A good restoration plan will include a total maximum budget for your renovations, a projected timeline based upon expert consultations, and a list of project priorities indicating which parts of the renovation you want to tackle first. Your restoration plan should clearly delineate which of your projected remodel projects will involve structural repairs and which will involve cosmetic updates. Ideally, major structural changes and renovations should occur first, while cosmetic updates should be saved for the end of a project.

3. Hire Professionals Experienced with Older Homes

If you’re renovating an older home, it makes sense to consider hiring remodelers and renovators who are specifically licensed or experienced in remodeling vintage or historic buildings. These specialized contractors and architects can usually be found in any community that has a large number of historic homes, and Orange County is no exception. Selecting the right architect and contractor matters for an older home renovation because these professionals will be able to precisely match their renovations to your home’s unique style in their selection of building materials, structural changes, and cosmetic updates. Additionally, experienced renovators of older homes will have an intimate knowledge of Orange County’s unique regulations and requirements for home renovations in historic districts, allowing them to know well ahead of time what you can and cannot do in your remodel.

4. Preserve and Restore Original Features

A crucial part of renovating any older home with the intent of keeping its charm is preserving and restoring its original features. Most older homes have unique, handcrafted furnishings such as windows, doors, moldings, floors, and structural components. These features are the main source of a home’s charm, and preserving them is vital for authenticity and value retention. In addition to preserving undamaged features of your home, you should also set aside money to restore damaged historical architecture. Things like cracked doorframes, rotting floorboards, and crumbling stucco or masonry should be restored to peak quality to maximize the charm and sellability of your home.

5. Carefully Modernize for Comfort and Safety

Of course, every home remodel involves some aspect of modernization. However, the key element of modernizing your old-style Orange County home is caution and care. It is important to structure your remodel in a way that adds modern features without compromising comfort, safety, and charm. A good way to do this with an older home is by adding largely-invisible features such as upgraded electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC systems. These can add a contemporary luxury to your older home without much change in appearance. Additionally, when selecting upgrades such as new appliances, furniture, and amenities, consult a designer who can help you select options that complement your home’s interior and exterior design while providing modern comforts. This will help you balance modern needs with vintage aesthetics.

6. Choose the Right Materials and Finishes

Selecting the proper finishes and materials for your home remodel can help you keep the charm of your old property while updating it to modern standards. When making updates, try your best to find elements and materials that are period appropriate. This includes searching for matching structural materials such as brick and mortar, stucco, and stone, as well as looking for specific paint colors, interior wood, and other cosmetic fixtures. Look around online or in your local community for places in Orange County that sell reclaimed or vintage materials. These outlets, as well as antique stores, are often treasure troves of unexpected items that can give your remodel added charm.

7. Understand Local Codes and Permits

Even if you were pursuing a full-modern upgrade to an old home, you would need to keep local codes and permits in mind. That’s even truer with old home remodels that want to keep the vintage style of a house intact. Many older homes in Orange County require special permits for remodeling that limit the amount of renovations that can be done or require certain renovations to meet modern safety standards. Additionally, a home’s historic designation may affect your remodel if a significant portion of your home is deemed to be historically valuable and thus unalterable. Be sure to thoroughly check all local ordinances and codes, perhaps even by consulting a county inspector who can give you a full list of the codes you must follow.

8. Embrace the Process and Be Flexible

Renovating a home is a challenging and emotional process. Oftentimes, tough decisions have to be made and sacrifices are needed to make the project work. There’s almost always something that goes wrong with a renovation, whether it’s newly-discovered structural damage or expensive renovations of unsafe conditions. All of these factors may contribute to your renovation not exactly proceeding as you want, so remember to be flexible and roll with the punches of the process. Keep your budget close and don’t be afraid to table certain updates if their cost is taken up by more serious issues. In the end, safety is more important than appearance, and it will help you retain value in the long run.

Conclusion

There are countless benefits to remodeling an older home in Orange County. Such remodels not only make a home more livable, but often restore its unique charms and preserve its historical qualities for years to come. With a solid plan and expert help from companies like Revive, you can breathe new life into your old home and make it a perfect living place for yourself, your family, or a future buyer!