How To Make Your Home Feel More Modern
How To Make Your Home Feel More Modern
If you’re stuck and not sure what to do, you can try these four simple updates to get your home feeling more modern.
Written by The Stay Sane Mom Staff | See Comments | Updated 01/18/2022
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How To Make Your Home Feel More Modern
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If you have recently moved into an older property that feels dated, or you want to give your existing home a new, fresher feel with a bit of an update, there are some simple ways to do it. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time, the skills, or the budget to make big interior design changes, which can make it tough to decide on what the best ways could be to give your home a more contemporary, up-to-date feel without blowing the budget. If you’re stuck and not sure what to do, you can try these four simple updates to get your home feeling more modern.
It can seem easier to make your home feel more modern with exterior updates, like new sidings or home window replacement, but it can be hard to know where to start with your interiors, especially if you don’t want to spend too much. We spend most of our time in our homes, so it needs to be somewhere where you feel calm and relaxed. Out of date, old-fashioned decor that isn’t really to your taste can stop your house from feeling homey, and can stop you from feeling content there. These tips should give you a good place to get started and help your interiors to feel a lot more modern without having to make any huge changes.
Use Bold Color
If you decorate with neutral tones, this can instantly make your rooms feel more spacious and open, but these colors can also feel a little bit impersonal. If you have a more lively personality, a neutral color palette won’t really suit you either. If you want a modern style, don’t be afraid to play with a few splashes of color here and there around the house. Use color in moderation, such as for a feature wall, in a single piece of furniture, or with your accessories.
Using some bold tones with a light hand will stop the color from overwhelming the room, and can also be used to draw attention to some more interesting features, such as a sleek, modern sofa. A few scattered pops of color will also mean it is easy to change your decor around if you decide you prefer a different color. If you’ve used bold color everywhere, redecorating would mean changing everything which is a much bigger task.
Embrace Open-Plan Living
Open-plan living areas have been a big trend in more modern homes for a whole now. These layouts work very well for families with young children too. Open-plan floorplans keep the flow around the downstairs of your home simple and streamlined, by bringing the living, dining, and kitchen areas together into a single room. The lack of walls will also give your a convenient, and more contemporary space, for more communal living and entertaining. Open-plan is a much more modern feel than closed-off rooms. If you can make it work in your property, embrace it.
Update Your Countertops
If you have an older home, the kitchen and the bathroom are often what give away its age and make the house look more dated. The kitchen is often said to be the most important room in the house, a fact which most real estate agents would agree with. The kitchen can be an attractive feature in your home if you get it right, and it can add value to your home if you have been able to update it recently. When viewing a house to potentially buy, many buyers will make a decision on a property based almost entirely on the kitchen, as it is seen as the central hub for family life.
Renovating your kitchen doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Small kitchens can be made to feel much bigger and brighter by adding light colors and large windows. You can also replace your surfaces with something more contemporary. Granite countertops are very contemporary and also have lots of practical benefits, including a thermal capacity for temperature changes, and scratch resistance.
You can also paint your cabinets for a new look without the expense of replacing them.
Change The Lighting
A small change in the lighting in your home can make a lot of difference to how modern and contemporary your home feels. Older properties may have light fittings that haven’t been changed for several years, if not decades, which will immediately make your rooms feel dull and old-fashioned. Changing the lighting can be simple and cost-effective to do. A modern living space should have various levels of lighting, from table lamps and floor lamps to overhead lights.
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The Stay Sane Mom Staff
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Occasionally we post blogs that are a team effort from The Stay Sane Mom staff. Fear not, these are still up to our quality standards, they just don't come from any one person (rather the team at large). As my 4-year-old says, teamwork makes the dream work.