Windows Woodwork

What to do with a 1930s semi-detached house that displays the diluted vernacular characteristics - fake beams, beaten copper features, art nouveau tiles, dados and doors with elongated panels - of the Arts and Crafts formula?

The answer: emphasise what few features the builder chose to adopt and keep the rest very simple.

Leaded windows are always seductive: frequently replaced by later generations, they need not be unduly expensive to restore. When ordering, make sure to specify that the lead be left uncoated and natural in colour. As it oxidises it will patinate in an attractive manner.

The metal frames of the lead lights should be painted in an exterior eggshell "Off Black" Farrow & Ball No 57. If the window frames are Crittal metal casements with or without leaded lights, they can be painted a brilliant white gloss.

This white can then be applied to all exterior woodwork - its very brilliance underlining the freshness of the style. However, some American Arts and Crafts houses have made good use of darker shades of green/blue which is attractive. Farrow & Ball No 86 "Stone Blue" or No 29 "Sugar Bag Light" are not too solemn and add a touch of the countryside.

Furnishings

Looking through Lawrence Weaver's 1913 monograph on Lutyens, grainy black and white photographs show rooms sparsely furnished in an elegant manner, emphasising the strength of his designs. Bold timber joists, huge flat arched fireplaces and noble oak staircases dominate the rooms. Turkish rugs lie scattered on bare floorboards and rugged English oak or plain mahogany furniture stands stiffly in attendance.

The want of comfort is a characteristic of Arts and Crafts principles but is scarcely tolerable today. However modern seating with plain cotton covers, as sold by Habitat, solves that problem and is entirely compatible with the look. English oak furniture, affordable in the Edwardian period, is scarce and expensive today. However good period reproductions are still are to be found: "Queen Anne"' dining chairs, ladder-back country occasional seats and "Jacobean" side tables, if stripped of their treacly varnish, can be induced to have a rough hewn appearance.

Old Turkish rugs, even threadbare ones, are also something of an investment, but modern reproductions and kilims are getting better as the demand for vegetable dyes and natural fibres grows stronger.

To avoid rugs sliding on smooth floors, underlays are necessary. Use old fashioned felt: it is effective and helps preserve the rug.

Floors

Stripped floors were virtually universal in arts and crafts livingrooms. The ideal is scrubbed oak, but pine can be stained in a neutral walnut with a touch of grey undercoat added to the varnish. Always experiment with colours on spare pieces of floorboard before applying to the floor.

If wear from feet is not excessive, use one coat of matt varnish and finish off with clear wax. Areas with heavier use need a conventional floor varnish but keep the sheen as low as possible. If you are fortunate enough to have stone floors, then bound mats of sisal or sea grass will make the seating areas less austere. Where the existing floor is unuseable, parquet is an accurate option provided that the colour is pale.

Timber Beams

Tongue and groove panelling can transform a room. Always specify tongue and groove that has a bullnose moulding on one side of each plank. Virtually all old panelling was of this type and it adds distinction. Either treat it as a dado or panel the entire room: tiny cloakrooms can even have their ceilings panelled.

Preferably it should be painted in an eggshell or even better, half eggshell/half undercoat. If it is used as a dado in a hall, consider painting it the same shade as the wall; in bathrooms, the walls can be cream and the timbering the only source of colour in the room. Old timber beams have often been painted in gloss black or dark stain: if so, they must either be painted out with the walls or ceiling colour or they must be stripped.

Source book of Conservators and Specialised Skills - contact Irish Georgian Society 01 6767053

Christopher Moore is currently preparing a range of Irish historic colours which will shortly be available at MRCB, Dublin 8