New Basement in Victorian Home

5 years ago

We just bought a 160 year old Victorian that came with a modern walk out basement. The house had numerous repairs and fixes done about 10 years ago, including new electrical, new plumbing, and of course they did this 10 foot walk out basement.

You cannot really see the foundation in the front of the house, so it doesn't impact the historic charm on the outside front of the house.

In the back (no one sees the back, as the house has 3 acres back there) the windows are more modern ( 6 ft x 6 ft casement windows+) and two walk out doors.

Here is my challenge - the main floor and upstairs of the home retained a lot of the charm of the house, including things like the fireplace mantle, wide plank hardwood floors, original stain glass door, and lovely staircase. They did replace all of the trim work with new fluted trim, but it's all wood (not MDF) . I have a lot to work with up there.

The basement is beautiful (by basement standards) and has a lot of natural light, very large windows, but it has zero anything - and I don't feel like forcing old into new is going to be the right thing to do.

But on the flip side having a very victorian styled upstairs and not so victorian basement space is going to mess with the flow of the home.

Do I try to make the flow happen, or do I decorate the space differently from the rest of the house. Where an antique table would look fantastic in my upstairs dining room, it would look really out of place in the walkout. I can pull the color pallet into the basement space, but I don't know if this is going to be enough.

What do I do!?

Featured Answer

deb s

5 years ago

If you try to follow Victorian in a new addition it may become Kitschy / fake-ish vs authentic since it is its own space I would do the basement with a bit of rustic charm but thats it -- ie stained and sealed concrete with nice area rugs etc

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Comments (10)

diabella
Original Author
5 years ago
This is how I was leaning and really wanted someone to confirm for me this was the right direction. Than you Deb!
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User
5 years ago
Typically the more public the room such as entry halls, dining & parlors had the most ornate trim, secondary rooms such as bedrooms had less ornate trim and non-public rooms such as kitchens and basements had very simple trim.
Sigrid
5 years ago
"Flow" is an overrated decorator term. Use your baement as a plaace to experiment with stuff that won't wwork upstairs. Admire the pictures in articles on wonderful flow,but don't waste your time on it.
antiquesilver
5 years ago
What Raye Smith said. Most of the Victorian basements I've been in were strictly utilitarian without any distinguishing characteristics. Trim & doors are usually just a plainer version of the bedrooms.
J Inhof
5 years ago
Personally, I would make it new and fresh and streamlined—a contrast to all the Victorian upstairs. IMO you can only take so much Victorian. 😊
diabella thanked J Inhof
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago
Victorian basements were neither bright or accessible to outside. IMO do the basement in keeping with how you use it not to be the "same " as the upper floors . It can ber a bit of fun without going totally over the top modern but I think a nice change from a much stuffier design upstairs .I also do not think deor on the interior needs to match the exterior of the house either . IMO your interior should reflect who you are so think long ang and hard before going down the Victorian rabbit hole anywhere.
diabella thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
Maureen
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I would work with/complement the style in basement. It’s common to inject a modern element(s) in Victorian and Edwardian homes (even on the same floor). My neice has an Edwardian home in London and they, like many others, have a modern kitchen while the rest of the main floor retains its charm.
diabella
Original Author
5 years ago
@Maureen Exactly what we're planning on doing - we are keeping the charm, but we're going for a "modern victorian" style upstairs. Blending new with old, but respecting the history as we go. Love that hallway image, makes my heart skip a beat!
Maureen
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Me too and it can begin before you even get inside! Walking neighbourhoods in London is a treat.