Advantages/Disadvantages of living in a Georgian House – Part 1
It’s estimated that around 75% of people think of a Georgian property when they imagine where they’d most like to live. The term covers the architectural styles that were in place between 1714 and 1830 when Georges I, II, III and IV reigned in uninterrupted succession. There was also a Georgian revivalist period in the early 20th century. It was a stylistically diverse period, incorporating a love of symmetry inspired by classical Greece and Rome but using more restraint. And even smaller, more modest buildings were graced with this love of the ancient classical period. But if you’re taking the plunge and moving to a Georgian house or flat, it’s worth being reasonably clued up in advance about what it will actually mean on a day-to-day basis. It’s not quite a simple as moving all your belongings there and then getting on with life.
Living in a Georgian house
Fortunately, the advantages are plentiful. Need more be said about the beauty of the architecture. The era was one of the most undisputedly glorious in UK history. There’s an understated grandeur and elegance to all things Georgian, especially the Palladian and Regency periods. Then there are the proportions. Lovely high ceilings, great shapes, and large windows letting in plenty of natural light. Some find the neo-classical Georgian phase a little too fussy, but it’s all a matter of taste. It’d be an oversight not to mention the durability of Georgian homes – the fact that they’ve lasted this long suggests that they’ll keep on lasting for some time to come.
However, for every advantage there’s often an equal and opposite disadvantage and Georgian homes are not with challenges and problems. Some Georgian terraces really were thrown up in a hurry and if you’re refurbishing, you may uncover some poor construction. The parapet roofs of Georgian buildings can also be tricky; from ground level it’s impossible to assess the kind of state they’re in. Furthermore, a parapet roof will have a lead gutter behind it. Slates can fall into it and block it, leading to damp problems.
