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Where do I source period fireplaces, tapware and door hardware?

Specialist home emporiums rather than volume ranges. Schots Home Emporium (trading from Melbourne since 1978) is one BuildPilot links to - it carries cast-iron fireplaces and mantels, period tapware, basins and baths, and door and cabinet hardware, with Australia-wide delivery. You buy direct from Schots at their price and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Do I have to use original materials everywhere?

No. The honest approach is to restore original fabric where it survives, replicate sympathetically where it is missing, and be clearly contemporary where you are adding (typically a rear addition or an updated service area). Trying to fake original fabric everywhere is both expensive and usually obvious.

What should I do first in a period restoration?

Stabilise before you beautify. Resolve structure, damp and drainage, then renew hidden services (wiring and plumbing) while walls and floors are open. Finishing work - fireplaces, tapware, hardware, lighting and paint - comes after the fabric is sound, or you will be redoing it.

Will period-correct fixtures meet current standards?

Reproduction period fixtures from reputable suppliers are made to current Australian standards (for example, tapware WELS ratings and watermark approval), so you get the look without compromising compliance. Confirm the specific product’s ratings before you buy, especially for tapware and electrical fittings.

Restoring a Period Home

Name: BuildPilot Adelaide Building Industry Dataset
Creator: BuildPilot
License: https://buildpilot.com.au/terms

The room-by-room journey for bringing a Victorian, Edwardian or interwar home back to life - what to fix first, and how to thread period fireplaces, tapware and hardware through the work so the house reads as one coherent whole.

By George Giannakakis · Founder

B.Arch.Studies · M.Arch (UniSA) · RLA300580 · Reviewed 16 June 2026

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Quick answer

The 10-step framework

STEP 1
Read the house before you change it
Before a single wall comes down, document what is original and worth keeping: cornices, ceiling roses, skirtings, architraves, fireplaces, leadlight, hardware and joinery. Photograph everything, label rooms, and decide what is being restored, what is being replicated, and what is genuinely beyond saving. The best period restorations remove almost nothing.
STEP 2
Fix structure and damp first
Restoration money is wasted if the fabric is failing underneath it. Deal with rising and falling damp, drainage, stumps or footings, rusted wall ties and roof leaks before any finishing work. Rising damp in particular will destroy new plaster and paint within a season if it is not resolved at the source.
STEP 3
Renew the hidden services early
Period homes almost always need a full rewire and often a replumb - old wiring and corroded galvanised pipe are safety and reliability risks hiding behind pretty walls. Do this while walls and floors are open, and plan every power point, light position and tap run now so you are not chasing walls later.
STEP 4
Restore the fireplaces as the heart of the room
In a period home the fireplace is the anchor of the room, even where it is no longer the heat source. Restore the original surround where it survives; where it is missing or ruined, a cast-iron insert, a timber or marble mantel and a correctly scaled hearth rebuild the room’s proportions. Schots Home Emporium carries period fireplaces, mantels and hearth accessories suited to Victorian, Edwardian and interwar rooms.
STEP 5
Match tapware and bathware to the era
Modern flick-mixers jar in a restored bathroom or kitchen. Three-quarter and lever tapware, exposed shower sets, skirted toilets, pedestal and console basins and a freestanding or clawfoot bath keep the room honest to its period while still meeting current standards. Specify the finish - chrome, brushed nickel, English brass or matte black - once and carry it through every room. Schots stocks period tapware, basins and baths across these finishes.
STEP 6
Get the door and cabinet hardware right
Nothing signals a careful restoration faster than correct hardware - and nothing cheapens one faster than builder-grade levers on a 1900s door. Rim locks, mortice sets, porcelain and cut-glass knobs, lever handles, cabin hooks, back plates and cabinet knobs should match the era and be consistent through the house. Schots carries period door and cabinet hardware to do exactly this.
STEP 7
Light it like its era, run it like today
Pendant lights, chandeliers, wall sconces and shaded fittings set the period mood, while a modern lighting plan (dimmable circuits, task light where you actually need it, warm colour temperature) makes the house liveable. Period-style fittings over a contemporary layout is the combination that reads right and works.
STEP 8
Choose a period-honest paint and finish palette
Research the colours and finishes of the era - heritage exterior schemes, interior tones, timber stains and the sheen levels used on joinery. A disciplined palette unifies restored and replicated elements so the house reads as one coherent period home rather than a patchwork of decades.
STEP 9
Use the right trades for traditional work
Lime mortar, lath-and-plaster, sash window repair, leadlight, slate roofing, tuck-pointing and cast-iron lacework are specialist skills with a small pool of practitioners. Do not let a general builder improvise them - commission the specialist trades directly and see their finished work first.
STEP 10
Protect what you restore
Finish with the quiet work that makes a restoration last: subfloor ventilation, correct flashings, maintainable paint systems, and a simple record of what was done and what was sourced where. A well-documented restoration is easier to maintain and adds real value at resale.

Restore the fabric, then layer the character back on

A period home rewards patience. The homes that feel genuinely restored - not renovated-over - are the ones where the owner resisted the urge to start with the pretty decisions. Structure, damp and services come first, behind the walls, where no visitor will ever see the money. Only once the fabric is sound do you earn the right to the fireplaces, the tapware, the hardware and the paint that make the house sing.

The finishing layer is where character lives or dies. A cast-iron fireplace restored to the right proportion, period tapware carried through every wet room in one consistent finish, and correct door and cabinet hardware on every original door are the details that tell a visitor this house was restored by someone who cared. Those are exactly the pieces a volume range cannot supply, which is why restorers lean on specialist home emporiums for them.

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FAQs

Restoration aims to return a home to its original character using period-correct materials, detailing and fixtures, keeping and repairing original fabric wherever possible. Renovation is broader - it can modernise layouts and finishes. Most real-world projects blend the two: restore the front and the character rooms, and renovate the rear and the services.

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Restoring a Period Home

The 10-step framework

Read the house before you change it

Fix structure and damp first

Renew the hidden services early

Restore the fireplaces as the heart of the room

Match tapware and bathware to the era

Get the door and cabinet hardware right

Light it like its era, run it like today

Choose a period-honest paint and finish palette

Use the right trades for traditional work

Protect what you restore

Restore the fabric, then layer the character back on

Want this as a printable?

FAQs

Related BuildPilot guides

Source the period pieces for your restoration