When you purchase a historic home, there are plenty of choices available to you about how to make improvements. In many cases, there are local, state and federal grants and tax credits available that can help you budget for various projects; however, this funding does usually come with strings attached regarding project requirements and the type of work being done.
Before you begin tackling any improvements, it’s important to decide whether your goal is to restore or rehabilitate your house. Today, we’re going to take a look at the difference between restoration and rehabilitation, and highlight some of the pros and cons of each.
What is Restoration?
Restoring a historic home involves returning the interior and exterior appearance to a point as close as possible to the home’s original look. Strict restoration is fairly rare, as many homeowners opt to upgrade certain integral components – plumbing and electrical systems, for example. That said, many historic homeowners take great pride in recreating the feeling of the period in which their home was constructed by restoring original paint colors, building materials, etc.
What is Rehabilitation?
Unlike restoration, rehabilitating a historic home is more about finding a balance between standards of contemporary living and preservation of key historical and architectural features. An example might be upgrading the kitchen of a historic home to include modern appliances and accents, while restoring or otherwise preserving an antique tin ceiling or crown molding.
Pros & Cons
Historic restoration is the preferred method of handling a historic home that’s in need of some care and attention. One major benefit of restoring a historic home is being able to take advantage of numerous sources of funding designed to help offset the cost of a more strict home restoration. The challenge is that these sources of funding exist primarily because preservation-minded restoration can be significantly more expensive than a rehab project. Compatible materials – including paint, lumber, windows, shingles, etc. – can be expensive and may significantly increase the overall cost of the rehabilitation.
On the flip side, rehabilitation is often a cheaper prospect than restoration. Modern construction materials and appliances tend to be less expensive than historic replicas. The downside to rehabilitation is that, depending on the scope of work being done some rehab projects may compromise certain historic features and the overall historic character of the home. These problems aren’t just aesthetic either – historic homes often hold their value better and command higher sales prices, as long as they are well maintained.
Making The Decision
The most important part of making the decision between restoring or rehabilitating a historic home involves identifying and understanding the most important factors of your home – the history, the architecture, and the present condition of the home. The biggest thing you can do, regardless of the path you choose, is to integrate modern touches with care and consideration for the history of the home.
In short, there are many benefits to restoring or rehabilitating a home. Regardless of what you choose, caring for, maintaining, and improving your house is critical to ensuring that it remains sound and an enjoyable place to live.