Tudor Home Update Ideas

Tudor Exteriors

• The Tudor style is easily recognized by its half timber and stucco walls, often combined with red brick. The roof form of a Tudor is variable and complex, and any addition or renovation needs to respond to the pitch and composition. This is not the place for the modern overhaul treatment often found in ranch house renovations. The exterior character should maintain its dignified poise.

  Standard colors are contrasting, usually light cream or white with dark brown or black. It is difficult to alter the relationship between timber and stucco without becoming irreverent. Though shades can vary, it is best to keep with the dark/light relationship. Finding inspiration in the local landscape, particularly tree bark and stone, allows for variation while maintaining a bucolic feeling.

Windows

• The windows of a Tudor-style home tend to be narrow and tall with small divided lights. This can lead to dark interiors that come perhaps too close to recalling life in medieval times. Adding windows can be costly, but worth it, if it is done correctly. A full bank can replace punched openings, but keep the proportions the same as the original. Window trim is occasionally a contrasting color, but more commonly matches or blends with the roof. Rustic shutters can add character to the outside, while grand curtains and dramatic rods can soften the interior but maintain a stately charm.

Interior Spaces

• The two most significant impacts to an interior space update are color and light. Colors should break with tradition and provide a more contemporary palette of lighter shades. If wall paper is desired, find light colors and bold shaped prints based on the arts and crafts patterns of the early 20th century. Beams in coffered ceilings can be painted light to match the ceiling if ceiling heights are low. Higher ceilings can maintain a wood or timber character without feeling slumped. A Tudor hearth should remain the focal point, and furnishings should stay away from slick and modern and turn instead toward vintage and contemporary. For example, a hand crafted four-poster bed would be a perfect center piece for the master bedroom.

Landscape

• Landscaping for a Tudor home tends toward the formal, but without the rigid geometries of the French garden. Cyprus trees and sculptured bushes are softened by gently meandering stone paths and rose bushes. While the English garden aesthetic should be avoided, heather and lavender would not be out of place.