Victorian Terrace House Meets IKEA

[catherine]

So, what do you think? (I know iris lilies will have an opinion)

Exhibit A: I had to look up what a Victorian terrace house is, but I think the photo in this article is a good example of one.
https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/whittaker-parsons-adds-a-storey-to-victorian-terraced-house

Exhibit B: An article about a family that redid their Victorian terrace house in a year using a lot of IKEA and bright paint (hope there's no paywall.)
https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/designer-profile-sarah-peake

What do you think?? I keep thinking of those adorable Victorian houses in Ocean Grove with preserved exteriors and butchered HGTV interiors. Do you see this cute terrace home the same way, or do you think it's tastefully done?

[iris lilies]

I’m OK with really good modern architectural design on the interior of a Victorian rowhouse. I don’t want to see architectural elements pulled out of a house so that it can be decorated in farmhouse crap for instance. That hurts my eyes and it’s not timeless design. But some architects can do really lovely, contemporary interiors in skinny Victorian houses and I’m here for it.

[sweetana3]

Love the renovation. Old terrace houses were often ugly cut up spaces inside a pretty exterior. Little storage, little light and a general need for full update of electrical and plumbing. Both of these open up the back of the houses to allow more light and open space. Remember that many old terrace houses had outdoor loos in their early history. Terrace houses are usually very small in width so with money people can go up or down or back into the garden if they have the space.

[Tybee]

I really like it. Especially the wall of light in the kitchen,which reminds me of my friend's old house in Park Slope, with the garden out back. My favorite is the wall of cabinets with the baskets on top. I'd like to do something similar whenever I land in my permanent house.

[chrisgermany]

Very nice, I like both.
We have a similar but simpler house, built around 1925, and have been living in it since 1984.
We have tried to protect the old features as much as possible (new windows but same layout as before, doors, wooden floors) and use a mix of new and old furniture, mostly pieces that have been in our family since ages.

[Tradd]

UK terraced houses are simply row houses like you might see in older American cities, but they're not as nice.

[iris lilies]

UK terraced houses are simply row houses like you might see in older American cities, but they're not as nice.
Depends on the rowhouse. You might be thinking of a beautiful big Manhattan brownstone, or the same things in Chicago.

My next-door neighbor in St. Louis lived in a 15 foot wide row house attached to two others just like it. They are as small as any of the worker cottages the UK.

the obvious building advantage of rowhouses is that they don’t have to build side walls for each property, just a front façade and a back façade.

my own house had four walls, but it lacks windows entirely on one side and there are two tiny windows on the other side wall. Light came in through the front windows and the back windows.

I’m marvel at all the light in my Hermann house. I can stand in one room and see out four different directions. That’s like a miracle!

[Tradd]

I'm thinking of the brick rowhouses in Baltimore or Chicago, not the brownstones. I used to know someone who lived in one of the Chicago ones in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in the early 2000s. It wasn't anything fancy, just 3 story and big. But nicer than the UK terraced houses, which tend to be smaller and more working class.

[IshbelRobertson]

Very few terraced houses in Edinburgh were ever working class! Designed by Playfair and the Adams, our ‘new town’ area was always for the wealthy. Ditto London, Bath, Tunbridge Wells, for example.

Granted, there are many smaller terraced homes in industrial areas of Scotland and the UK.

[littlebittybobby]

okay---here's a victorian house--IWAH style. but yeah----the guy who usta live in the Goat Hill House on hwy 71 in a very desolate part of nowhere land, lived there about all his life and farmed the place and raised goats. yup. (see photo) but yeah---somebody capped the roof over with tin, ta preseverve the home.6427