Getting it right Period Interior Design

I often have people come up to me and ask "how do you get it right" when it comes to the period look of your house? I think few actually want a "museum period" look for their home. In fact few would want to actually live in a museum period victorian era home because it isnt very practical. In this example this is the parlor to entry view in our home. Now this house was built in 1915 but largely based on shingle design circa 1895, the big difference being a "craftsman brick porch", however it could have just as easily been shingled columns. As part of the restoration, (this house has zero woodwork when we got it), the goal was to recreate the era. This home is what we might call more "transitional" in its interior design. It has many craftman elements but still has the room layout you would have seen in its 1896 design. Since this isnt a 'grand mansion" but a typical working class home the interior is treated more along the lines of how it might have looked. In the time of this house this would have been decorated in family hand me downs do the earlier victorian era pieces work fine with the later circa 1900's pieces.

The goal is if you are "stepping back in time" but not necessarily a "time warp". One trick I tell my clients if you really want to see if you have that "period look:" take a photo then convert it to black and white. If it looks like an old family photo then you've got it right!