Renovation Diary: How Do We Create a Snug (We’ll Actually Use)?
In this instalment, our real-time renovator, Clare Zerny, focuses on creating a “slightly pretentious” adults-only space
The formal, front room of a Victorian house is the one I’m most familiar with. It’s the room that, as children, we referred to as the “boring room”, as there was no TV and we only really went in there at Christmas.
Fast-forward 25 years and here I am, planning the design of my very own boring room. While there will be a much bigger living space in the new side extension (check out the floorplans here), this traditional Victorian front room will become the snug, or ‘smug’, as a slip of the tongue renamed it recently – quite fitting perhaps for what will be a slightly pretentious room, designed specifically for after-hours – adults-only, no TV, just a record player and drinks cabinet for post-dining nightcaps at hopefully more than just Christmas. Can’t wait!
More in this series Renovation Diary: A Victorian Semi Full of Potential
Renovation Diary: How Do We Create a Style for the Kitchen?
Renovation Diary: How Do We Create an Entrance With Impact?
Fast-forward 25 years and here I am, planning the design of my very own boring room. While there will be a much bigger living space in the new side extension (check out the floorplans here), this traditional Victorian front room will become the snug, or ‘smug’, as a slip of the tongue renamed it recently – quite fitting perhaps for what will be a slightly pretentious room, designed specifically for after-hours – adults-only, no TV, just a record player and drinks cabinet for post-dining nightcaps at hopefully more than just Christmas. Can’t wait!
More in this series Renovation Diary: A Victorian Semi Full of Potential
Renovation Diary: How Do We Create a Style for the Kitchen?
Renovation Diary: How Do We Create an Entrance With Impact?
I’m drawn to this room for its ‘feels’. While it’s quite far from how I envisage our own snug, it’s a brilliant example of a design that gives off a sense of a room that has a story to tell; memories have been made here and, for me, it achieves a combination of both being grand yet accessible at the same time. And that is something we aim to achieve.
The colour green seems to be cropping up in an awful lot of my ideabooks, too. While it might be a bit much to paint the whole house green, the great thing about the colour is that not only can you mix numerous shades of it together, it also makes a great backdrop for other colours, too – you only have to look outside the window at nature for evidence of that.
The colour green seems to be cropping up in an awful lot of my ideabooks, too. While it might be a bit much to paint the whole house green, the great thing about the colour is that not only can you mix numerous shades of it together, it also makes a great backdrop for other colours, too – you only have to look outside the window at nature for evidence of that.
And here’s the perfect example of that. This beautiful and ancient copper beech tree lives at the bottom of our garden and these are its shades as seen last autumn.
The traffic light palette of reds, oranges and greens is incredible – you can’t argue with nature. So I’m taking inspiration from this handsome specimen and bringing its shades inside, too. It’s the ultimate in indoor-outdoor design.
5 covetable kitchen extensions that work the indoor/outdoor trend
The traffic light palette of reds, oranges and greens is incredible – you can’t argue with nature. So I’m taking inspiration from this handsome specimen and bringing its shades inside, too. It’s the ultimate in indoor-outdoor design.
5 covetable kitchen extensions that work the indoor/outdoor trend
So back indoors and here’s the front room that faced us on our first viewing. Sadly, most of the original Victorian features have been removed or damaged over the years, including the fireplace, hearth and ceiling rose, but thankfully they can – and will – be reinstated.
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10 ways good lighting can transform your living room
There were a couple of happy finds, though. When we lifted the grimy carpet, hiding underneath were the beautiful original pine floorboards in great condition – much better than the ones in our last home in Hackney, which had been chopped up and suffered from woodworm.
They’ll be left exposed in the new snug and, despite their surprisingly good state, will get a sanding and staining to replace the orange tones with something a little more au naturel.
As well as the original boards, there’s the added bonus of a little panelling left under the bay window – a discovery that’s inspired us to panel the rest of the room, too. It’s actually less costly than you might think, given that it will be painted and therefore doesn’t need to be made of real wood. It also saves the expense of replastering.
They’ll be left exposed in the new snug and, despite their surprisingly good state, will get a sanding and staining to replace the orange tones with something a little more au naturel.
As well as the original boards, there’s the added bonus of a little panelling left under the bay window – a discovery that’s inspired us to panel the rest of the room, too. It’s actually less costly than you might think, given that it will be painted and therefore doesn’t need to be made of real wood. It also saves the expense of replastering.
The panelling in this room is a great example of what I’ve been envisaging – a similarly bold colour is on the list, too. And, while we have much more modest coving than this beautiful example, hopefully bringing in some extra touches, such as the panelling, will add a little grandeur without straying too much from the room’s roots.
Did I mention I like green? Its many tones were also typically found in Victorian homes – I’ve spotted it lurking in the layers of wallpaper and paint we’ve so far scraped away. So despite liking the dark, inky blue tones enjoying a recent renaissance, it’s not, in fact, a shade of blue you’d typically have found in the Victorian colour palette. This gorgeous green, on the other hand, really hits the mark on all fronts and, similar to the on-trend inky blue walls, also makes a great backdrop for accents of other, brighter colours and patterns.
I’m not a complete purist when it comes to restoration, but I am keen on keeping this room more traditional than some of the others downstairs. For example, the original dining room is becoming the utility and the kitchen is doubling in size, so the new snug, originally the parlour room we think, is one of the few rooms downstairs that will keep both its original dimensions and its purpose. It will become the new living room’s dark partner – a cosy space, probably only to be used after hours and embracing a more historically accurate palette.
I’m not a complete purist when it comes to restoration, but I am keen on keeping this room more traditional than some of the others downstairs. For example, the original dining room is becoming the utility and the kitchen is doubling in size, so the new snug, originally the parlour room we think, is one of the few rooms downstairs that will keep both its original dimensions and its purpose. It will become the new living room’s dark partner – a cosy space, probably only to be used after hours and embracing a more historically accurate palette.
With dark green in mind for the panelled walls, I’m also erring on the side of painting the woodwork dark, too. What do you think?
I’ve always kept it white in previous homes, but I love the look created by having it the same as the walls, and think this could work especially well in a room such as our snug, intended to be an evening retreat.
I’ve always kept it white in previous homes, but I love the look created by having it the same as the walls, and think this could work especially well in a room such as our snug, intended to be an evening retreat.
I’m not sure how long this textured paper has graced the ceiling, but the more time I’ve spent looking at it, the more I’ve started to like it and, frankly, if you’ve ever tried to strip this stuff from a ceiling, you’ll know it’s a horrible, back-breaking job.
So with that in mind, it’s staying. I’m considering graduating the colour from darkest on the panelled walls and woodwork, to a slightly lighter version on the ceiling. It will become a nice, more subtle detail you’ll notice more when the light catches it.
So with that in mind, it’s staying. I’m considering graduating the colour from darkest on the panelled walls and woodwork, to a slightly lighter version on the ceiling. It will become a nice, more subtle detail you’ll notice more when the light catches it.
When it comes to doors, and whether or not to paint them, we’ll be keeping them all in their current, original bare wood state. So while the door frame and skirting board in any room can be painted to match the walls if needs be, the natural door will suit both the room as well as the hallway or landing it opens out onto – handily swerving that tricksy ‘where do you stop one colour and start another’ issue.
Unfortunately, after measuring the thickness of the original doors, other than the bathroom and cloakroom ones (which are not subject to fire safety regulations), they will all have to be swapped for thicker doors of at least 35mm, but we’ll source reclaimed ones. These will then need treating with the appropriate protection before they’ll pass checks.
Unfortunately, after measuring the thickness of the original doors, other than the bathroom and cloakroom ones (which are not subject to fire safety regulations), they will all have to be swapped for thicker doors of at least 35mm, but we’ll source reclaimed ones. These will then need treating with the appropriate protection before they’ll pass checks.
The snug also deserves a fireplace worthy of the period style of the space – something as lovely as this classic beauty.
The new – daytime – living room will be home to a wood-burning stove, but as the snug will be more in keeping with tradition, we’re going to give it a traditional open fire. I love this style – a Victorian inset surrounded by decorative tiles and simple corbels. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something similar at one of our many local Suffolk reclamation yards.
The new – daytime – living room will be home to a wood-burning stove, but as the snug will be more in keeping with tradition, we’re going to give it a traditional open fire. I love this style – a Victorian inset surrounded by decorative tiles and simple corbels. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something similar at one of our many local Suffolk reclamation yards.
For additional or alternative heat, we’re going for traditional, cast-iron radiators – they bring so much more to a room than just warmth, as shown in the bay window of this vibrant living room. I’ve seen so many modern replicas out there – available in any colour you could want – so it’s easy to make this style of radiator a great feature in its own right.
The two major spaces in the house (the kitchen and living room) will have underfloor heating, so it will be the smaller rooms that will need radiators. As they’re more expensive than standard designs, if the budget can’t stretch to the whole house, we can always compromise and add radiator covers to the more modern-looking ones in the loft bedrooms.
The two major spaces in the house (the kitchen and living room) will have underfloor heating, so it will be the smaller rooms that will need radiators. As they’re more expensive than standard designs, if the budget can’t stretch to the whole house, we can always compromise and add radiator covers to the more modern-looking ones in the loft bedrooms.
While spending time stripping the house back to its bare bones in preparation for the build, we’ve made some lovely discoveries. The latest one is these tiles, which are the original hearth in the front room, soon to be the snug.
A secondary discovery is that the pattern in the just-mentioned tiles complements the glass in the fanlight of the front door (pictured here). We hadn’t spotted this ourselves – it was a visiting friend who noticed that the gorgeous sunflower motif in the centre of the fanlight is accompanied by sunflowers in the hearth tiles, too.
I love this and I’m running with the idea: after visiting a plaster moulding company to research the miles of coving and numerous ceiling roses we’re looking to reinstate, I discovered they stock a lovely sunflower design rose, which would be perfect to continue the theme in the snug. Sold!
I love this and I’m running with the idea: after visiting a plaster moulding company to research the miles of coving and numerous ceiling roses we’re looking to reinstate, I discovered they stock a lovely sunflower design rose, which would be perfect to continue the theme in the snug. Sold!
With the living room next door housing bookshelves and plenty of storage, we have the added luxury of not needing to build in alcove storage units to make use of every available inch of space. Instead, in our new snug, there will be the opportunity for vintage pieces, maybe a sideboard.
We’re also hoping to transport a lovely wood and glass cabinet from its current position in the original dining room alcove into the snug. We plan to repurpose it as a bar area. (You can see the cabinet in a video on my Renovationwreck Instagram feed.)
I like what they’ve done with that idea in this room – the smart glassware and mirrored back add a touch of retro glamour. In reality, we have no matching sets of glassware to our name (one of the joys of moving), but once we’re in, we’ve promised to treat ourselves, and no doubt we’ll be needing a stiff drink by then, too…
Check out the couple’s progress on Clare’s Instagram feed @renovation_wreck and look out for her next diary instalment in a couple of weeks.
What kinds of features and décor would you put into a ‘snug’ room – and do you have any tips for Clare’s renovation? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
We’re also hoping to transport a lovely wood and glass cabinet from its current position in the original dining room alcove into the snug. We plan to repurpose it as a bar area. (You can see the cabinet in a video on my Renovationwreck Instagram feed.)
I like what they’ve done with that idea in this room – the smart glassware and mirrored back add a touch of retro glamour. In reality, we have no matching sets of glassware to our name (one of the joys of moving), but once we’re in, we’ve promised to treat ourselves, and no doubt we’ll be needing a stiff drink by then, too…
Check out the couple’s progress on Clare’s Instagram feed @renovation_wreck and look out for her next diary instalment in a couple of weeks.
What kinds of features and décor would you put into a ‘snug’ room – and do you have any tips for Clare’s renovation? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments section.
In terms of that idea in the context of a snug/smug room, I can’t stop looking at this scheme. It absolutely has that appeal for me – I love the vibrant flash of red in the sofa, the beautiful wall-hanging and the mix of pattern created by the addition of the rug.