Period Features

Our Fabulous Free Shopping Guide!

We thought you might like a free copy of our very own guide to the 101 best quirky, independent shops in the UK. Called The Get Real Guide, it has something for everyone (from food shops and pottery to salvage yards) and will certainly help when it comes to doing the Christmas shopping!

Our fabulous FREE shopping guide! Read The Get Real Guide now:
http://www.periodfeatures.net/newsletters/TheGetRealGuide.pdf   

We really hope you enjoy it; if you do, please pass it on to anyone who may be interested. Any feedback would be gratefully received, too.

Restoration Details

What areas should you consider when it comes to restoring your house? The things that you need to pay attention to include some of the following: the design of the front fence, garden design and planting, interior and exterior hardware and light fittings, windows, doors and other joinery, exterior decorative features such as cast ironwork or fretwork, exterior colour schemes and interior decoration, including colour schemes, stencilling and wall and ceiling papers, soft furnishings and fabrics. And, of course, you can furnish some or all of the house with the appropriate period furniture.

Isn't Restoration Expensive?

Not necessarily. It won't cost any more to use the appropriate materials in the appropriate way than it does to use the wrong materials in the wrong way. Sometimes second-hand materials, such as doors, windows and bathroom fittings are not only much cheaper than their new equivalents but are also of better quality and more suitable. Hiring tradespeople yourself and supervising them is another way to economise, although many people prefer to engage a builder or architect to take charge of the whole job.

Patching Things Up

The mortar is crumbling and falling out from between the stonework (or brickwork) of my old house. Is it OK to patch it up with cement?

No! If the mortar's crumbling it's because it's doing its job. It sounds crazy but that's what it's there for! Old houses were constructed with soft lime mortars which tend to crumble in time. Mortar should always be softer than the brick or stone of a wall in order to allow the building to absorb movement, and to carry away any moisture that finds its way into the walls. Damp will always follow the path of least resistance as it evaporates. Damp from the ground carries harmful salts which crystalise as they reach the air. These crystals expand as they form and can flake away the surface of brick or stonework. But they do very much less harm if they cause mortar to crumble. Replace it with soft lime mortar, using a traditional recipe, and your old house will be much better off than if you were to use a modern, hard cement mortar.

Win A £50 Period Features Voucher!

This month, we've got a £50 Period Features voucher to give away. The voucher can either be redeemed online or in our lovely shop on the edge of the Peak District. Just answer one simple question, and after the closing date of 30 September 2006 we will pick one winner at random from all the correct entries received.

To enter, please visit our website www.periodfeatures.net where you can see all our lovely products. Then just answer the following question: what is the price of a Regency iron rim latch from Period Features (you'll need to look in the period hardware section to find out!) and then email the answer to us at [email protected]. Good luck!

The lucky winners of our June/July competition, each receiving a copy of the Victorian House Book, were Lin Page and Gemma Nightingale. Happy reading! Many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter.