INSIGHTS

Our Heritage Home Restoration Checklist

INSIGHTS

Restoring a home is no easy feat and requires a strong understanding of heritage architecture, legal requirements, and restoration best-practice. And most importantly, a restored home must reflect what you, the client, have envisioned. At SECON, our knowledgeable team has developed a Heritage Home Restoration Checklist, covering all bases before polishing a single surface! 

This feature explores our industry-leading checklist, and some of the important factors it covers.

Heritage Overlays, and Council Approval

A Heritage Overlay is a protective tool for landmark locations of heritage significance in Victoria. A Heritage Overlay in your household means any restorative works must not detract from its historical heritage. Moreover, you are legally obligated to obtain a planning permit for any restorative works to be performed on your property.

You’ll also need to keep in mind council guidelines that restrict potential modifications that can and cannot be carried out on your property. Similarly, all homeowners must obtain the necessary permits before engaging in household alterations.

Failure to abide by these laws may incur heavy fines and other legal repercussions.

With our legal building know-how, our highly skilled SECON team will assist you in the acquisition of all required legal permits and ensure restorative works are fully compliant with Household Overlay and local council laws. You can rest easy, knowing that you’re in SECON’s safe hands.

Blending Old and New

It is a common misconception that restorations and renovations are of a similar nature. The main difference is that restoring a home is a meticulous process requiring higher attention to detail. Modern restoration works must not diminish or suppress heritage charm. Rather, they simply enhance the home for the enjoyment of generations to come. At SECON, we carefully leverage modern practices to preserve the old-world character of your home in a sustainable manner to restore it to its former glory.

Furthermore, restoring a home is more of an art and less so a science. All heritage homes are not made equal, each one requiring different treatments to the next. With 15 years of industry experience, our restorative solutions are exclusively tailored to match your needs and wants. And unlike other builders, each of our proposed solutions adheres to your vision while being guided by your expectations.

Colour schemes

Colour plays a definitive role in the aesthetic of your home. More traditional colour palettes tend to lean towards softer, pastel tones while bohemian-style homes or cottages tend to embrace colour schemes that create a gentle atmosphere.

Fast forward to today, and interior design has taken a bold, new direction. Modern design emphasises stark contrast between saturated colours, such as granite and pearly-white. This means attempting to integrate modern colour palettes into heritage homes is difficult because timeless design does not necessarily blend well with modern colour choices.

To avoid deviating from tradition, most builders discourage clients from selecting modern colours.  But at SECON, our team believes modern colour schemes have the potential to enhance household stylings of the past. Speak with us today, and we can work together to determine the best colour scheme for your home.

Choosing an expert team

Traversing the restoration landscape with its numerous legal and construction hurdles can be difficult. That’s why it is critical that you hire the right builder to help you navigate any potential bottlenecks.

SECON is your builder with unrivalled architecture restoration knowledge and understanding of the heritage laws that protect it.  Our extensive portfolio of successful restoration and renovation projects is a testament to our unyielding spirit and passion for preserving and protecting heritage design principles. Our team of expert design professionals have you covered throughout the entire restoration process. To ensure your peace of mind, let’s have a chat and discuss what you’d like to restore in your home!

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Ready to renovate or build new?

We are an award-winning specialist in architectural heritage renovations and new custom builds in Melbourne’s prestigious inner-south and bayside suburbs.
For anyone considering putting their own personal touches on a piece of local architectural history, we’ve drawn from years of industry experience to compile a conclusive guide to renovating a heritage home.