Cottage renovation - HELP

[marcoddy]

Hi, i'm just about to renovate a shell of a cottage in a quiet North Yorkshire village, and i need some advice!!

 

I want to make the finish and the feel as excellent as possible... rustic and real. Can anyone give me any advice on sourcing materials? I am looking for authentic "old" fittings. taps, sinks, chesterfield sofas...  Anyone have any tips on where to find some cheap yet amazing materials to build this effect? any advice on anything related to this would be much appreciated!!

[jake-the-peg]

If this truely is a shell my advice is to not even think about taps and sofas until you've got the structure sorted.

Firstly is it listed? if so you'll do yourself a lot of favours by building a relationship with the local historic building officer in the council and as a bonus you may avoid going to court!

If you want it to feel original don't rush in with plasterboard and gypsum plaster, lime plaster takes longer but it lets your walls breathe and helps stop damp and gives a room an original feel - Use breathable paints too like distempers try farrow and ball ( http://www.farrow-ball.com/ )

Try web sites such as these for further advice:

http://www.spab.org.uk/

http://www.periodproperty.co.uk

Personally I'd avoid genuine old plumbing, although there's a lot of people on the net doing reconditioned antique lighting which is pretty good

try: http://www.antiquelights.co.uk/

Also get to know salvage yards and keep an eye on this site

http://www.salvo.co.uk/forsale.html 

I bought a 17th centuary thatched cottage about 5 years ago my experience is that it's great but not for the faint hearted. The problems are always twice as bad as you think and when you move floorboards and panels half the time you'll end up redoing a whole room. If you're not already handy with a saw and a hammer do an evening class or you'll need deep pockets.

Having said that I wouldn't change it for the world - welcome on board - hold tight and enjoy the ride.

[nfn]

just to add to Jake's advice, reclamation yards are fantastic, if they haven't got it they'll know where to find it! Look in yellow pages