Everyone dreams of making their house a stylish, modern home, however, some home décor options can inadvertently age your space, even when it ain’t that old. These are small slip-ups that you may tend to overlook; they can sabotage that chic modern flare you desire. Outdated colors, inappropriate furniture, or meager details, all such things together can make your home feel like a flashback. The good thing is, that most of these errors are fairly obvious and even easier to amend and with a few adjustments or creative tricks up your sleeve, can be fixed fairly quickly.
With that in mind, here is an analysis of the major decorating dos that make your home look older than its years, and some real solutions to help revive your home.
Kitchen open shelving, do you dare?
Open shelves can be aesthetically pleasing but rather unrealistic for daily living. Such an antiquated design from the 1920s and 1940s comes with a number of issues:
- Dust Collector: If you do not wipe your racks on a daily basis, your utensils will be covered with a thin layer of dust and become an unhygienic affair.
- Lack of Organization: Open shelves can seem messy and chaotic if you are not naturally organized.
- Chore of Arranging: The never-ending fixing of everything to look good is a task nobody has time for!
- The fix: Closed cabinets which will keep the dishes clean and the kitchen also neat and clean.
One Too Many Pillows
Throw pillows add both comfort and style, but too many will make your home feel messy and old-fashioned. Pillow stacking was a fad back in the 1940s and ’50s, but in this day and age, it’s just overkill.
- Messy Appearance: Whether on couches or beds, while it might look aesthetic, more than two or two pillows can make your space look cluttered and difficult to sit.
- Hard To Maintain: Removing pillows every time you sit or lay on furniture can get old fast.
- Worn-Out Trend: Too many pillows are no longer chic and can make your décor feel heavy.
- Remove excess pillows: Eliminate all, but a select few key pillows that add comfort and style without clutter
Outdated Wall Colors
If you really want your house to be up to date, changing all the colors on your walls makes a real difference. Mustard yellow, avocado green, or dusty rose was once the style decades ago but now they are rank and out of place.
- Why It Dates Your Home: Addison’s Time: These colors are so connected to certain decades that they can immediately make a space feel dated.
- Solution: Paint your walls in classic, neutral hues like white, beige or grey. If you want color, stick to subtle modern hues such as sage green, navy blue, or gentle pastels that give character but don’t overshadow.
Heavy Drapery
Gone are the thick opulent drapery in velvets or brocades that once screamed decadence; they now seem cumbersome and dated. Such window coverings block natural light, allowing a dim and enclosed atmosphere.
- Why It Dates Your Home: Dramatic drapery conveys a sense of weight and often feels at odds with the more modern minimalist look.
- Solution: Swap out the heavy drapes for a sheer linen panel for breezy, natural light. They can be matched with roller shades for a sleeker look or even modern blinds if privacy is a concern.
Furniture that is oversized and overstuffed
The oversized, rounded-edge puffy furniture of the ’90s just does not fit with modern interiors. And, if you have these spaces filled with large, bulky furniture pieces, it might make them seem crowded and out of style.
- What Makes Your Home Look Old: Overstuffed furniture has none of the clean, streamlined look of newer designs.
- What To Do Instead: Buy furniture that has flat, straight lines and neutral-colored upholstery. Choose multifunctioning furniture for a modern, clutter-free vibe, such as a sofa with storage or modular seating.
Hoarding Raids of New Age Junk
Though it is important to make a house feel like a home, if your place is filled with collectibles, figurines, or random trinkets, the house may feel cluttered, or worse, it may lose its charm.
- Why It Makes Your Home Look Old: Clutter detracts from a minimal, streamlined look and makes it seem like everything is out of place.
- What to Do About It — Get ruthless with your de-cluttering, keep only those pieces that have the most sentimental value or look the best. Show them wisely on shelves or in glass cases for a tidy look.
Outdated Lighting Fixtures
Lighting is one of the most impactful elements of design, but antique technology, such as frosted glass chandeliers, ornate brass sconces, or yellowish bulbs, will age your space.
- Why It Makes Your Home Look Old: A bad light source or outdated light fixtures can rob your house of life and even shrink space.
- The solution: Updating outdated pendants, LED track lights, or chandeliers with a more modern look. Add some extra lighting to your home by using natural or soft white-toned LED bulbs.
Too Much Matching Furniture
While purchasing an entire cohesive furniture set may sound levelheaded, it sucks the character out of a space. Look, the similar pieces across the room make it more like a furniture showroom than a home, right?
- Why It Makes Your Home Look Old: Consistency lacks the quirk of layered, modern decor.
- How To Fix It: Have a mix and match of furniture styles to add depth and interest. Mix and match textures, such as wood, metal, and fabric, or include a statement piece — a big armchair, or one of those more unusual coffee tables.
Dated Carpets and Flooring
Bright or busy patterns can date a home and wall-to-wall carpet has such a dated feel — especially in a bright or busy pattern. In particular, worn or stained carpets need to be dealt with first as they give the impression of neglect and generally lower the standard of your space.
- Why It Makes Your Home Look Older: The carpets absorb dirt and the smell in your house over the years, and so the fresh modern look fades away a little.
- Fix It: Replace carpeting with hardwood, laminate, or tile flooring for a fresh, modern appearance. Area rugs in neutrals or geometric patterns bring warmth but do not dominate a space.
Overuse of Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a fabulous design tool, but overusing it (especially with overly overbearing, dated patterns) can make your home feel like it got stuck in a previous decade.
- The Reason Why It Dates Your Home: Florals, vines, or fussy wallpaper often look a little too archive for interior spaces today.
- Solution: Wallpaper can come across as dated, so use it sparingly (for example, wallpaper an accent wall) and go for modern colors and prints, like geometric shapes (or even a muted wallpaper with texture). If you want something low commitment, removable wallpaper is a great option to change things up.
Neglecting minutiae such as hardware
These small but all-too-important details—think doorknobs, cabinet handles, light switch covers—may seem minor, but a dated piece of hardware will take your otherwise designer-esque space down several notches.
- Why it Dates Your Home: Outdated finishes like shiny brass or ceramic knobs are an instant trip back to an earlier time of design.
- Solution: Replace hardware with sleek and contemporary finish items such as brushed nickel, matte black, or bronze. Such minor modifications make a large change in updating your location.
Neglecting Lighting Layers
A dimly lit room, especially one with only one overhead fixture, can create gloom in your space.
- Why It Makes Your Home Look Older: Low light casts shadows and accentuates flaws, shrinking rooms.
- What to Do About It: Consider layered lighting (overhead, task, and accent inclusive). Add Dimmers for Flexibility, and Provide Indirect Lighting with Floor and Table Lamps for the Atmosphere.
Popcorn Ceilings
Popcorn ceilings have gone out of style but were popular for years, giving them a very dated and unattractive vibe. Plus they have a rough texture which dust can cling too which makes a room look dirtier.
- Why It Makes Your Home Older: It has an outdated appeal that is out of style.
- The Solution: A Smooth Ceiling with the Removal of Texture If not, paint it white or a light color to reduce its visibility.
Dark Wood Paneling
While wood paneling was all the rage for a time (and had its benefits), it now tends to push walls inward and turn a room small, dark, and dated— especially if installed in darker hues.
- Why It Dates Your Home: It has a smell of meaty, aged brick.
- How To Fix It: Give the paneling a fresh coat of white or grey to open up the room. Take it out if you can and throw up some drywall for a more contemporary look.
Outdated Faux Finishes
Things like sponge painting or textured finishes on walls looked nice at the time but were aged and worn out.
- How It Makes Your Home Look Old: These effects are dated and don’t fit with present-day aesthetics.
- Solution: Keep it simple with a solid paint color or softer, more natural textures for a fresh and classic look.
Seating Moved To The Edges
While it might feel like moving all your furniture to the walls opens up a room, it actually has the opposite effect, creating an empty, hollow feel.
- How It Makes Your Home Look Old: It interrupts the flow and feels outdated.
- How to Fix It: Pull furniture from the wall, creating intimate seating zones. A rug can tie the whole room together and make it feel more comfortable.
Neglected Entryway and Front Door
When someone visits, the first thing they see is the entryway, and a dingy front door or cluttered entryway can make your house feel old and uninviting.
- Why This Ages Your Home: A lackluster or disheveled entryway makes for a terrible first impression.
- The Fix: Give the front door a strong color — a door can handle black, navy, or red. Get rid of those old doorknobs and replace them with new ones. Not even any dirt — inside you can keep things tidy right from the entryway with hooks, a bench, or storage baskets.
Home decorating is all about creating space that makes sense, making it comfortable, and putting your flavor on it. While some design elements can lend themselves to an outdated or cluttered vibe for your home unintentionally. Avoid the impractical trends (open shelving in the kitchen) and keep the throw pillows in check, simple changes can go a long way in making your space feel current.
Keep in mind that a chic home isn’t all about the overstyled scenarios — it’s about balance, functionality and a bit of character. When you avoid these decorating don’ts and implement the tried and true guidelines you will make a space that feels renewed, welcoming and designed impeccably for, you.