Home buyers often toss around the term “Old World,” but what, exactly, does it mean?
It’s not an architectural style like Craftsman or Colonial. Rather, it is a “look or a feeling” that applies to a home’s interior and exterior, says architect Julie Hacker of Cohen Hacker Architects in Evanston.
“Old World says ‘this house is safe and permanent,'” says Hacker. “This especially appeals to buyers now because the world is so chaotic. We want to go home to a secure haven.”
While many home buyers want Old World charm, adds Hacker, they also want modern conveniences and an open floor plan. “It’s about details, scale and materials,” says Hacker. “If you just add a turret and a gable, that’s not Old World. To be believable, they should be designed in proportion to the rest of the house. It can’t be too monolithic. It should be built to human scale.”
While reclaimed materials definitely put the “old” in Old World, Hacker says home buyers who can’t afford them can find decent reproductions.
The exterior includes outdoor rooms and landscaping, which are integral to the well-executed home design. “‘Old World’ can mean English-country-informal or geometric-formal,” says landscape designer Mike Sander from Everything Under the Sun in East Dundee. “But typically the client wants a mix. That can include natural stone in the garden, tumbled brick or recycled pavers in the driveway, annuals and perennials, and some wrought-iron accents.”
