Remedy 7 Things That Are Dating Your Home

By Catherine White and Dominique Hill
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​With so many trends constantly fading in and out of design, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed at whether your home’s interior features are actually creating value and originality to your space. Hot tile selections, accent colors, and the like can be expected to lose its luster at the flash of the latest tile patterns and even greater accent colors. And while it’s important to maintain your personality, preferences, and style, making sure your home keeps up with the times will help its resale value while keeping your space fresh. We’ve outlined seven common items below that might be dating your home along with some alternatives.

1. Sterile All White and Chrome Spaces
​Once the epitome of chic modern style, sterile white and chrome spaces, have lost a great deal of luster over the last two decades. Both its difficulty to maintain and lack of personality are now being replaced with color, textures, and statement wallpaper that provide homes with a more lived-in and custom look. Luckily if you find yourself in a sterile space, updating paint and wallpaper are some of the quicker and less expensive things one can do to update a room. If you like the look of a predominantly white space, choose cozier warm whites and fabrics that incorporate texture into the space.

​Photo Credit: Max Vakhtbovych

2. Overuse of Pine and Orange Oak
​While wood is a great material to add warmth to a space and is much easier to clean than carpet, the extensive use of pinewood and orange oak in a home creates an atmosphere that looks dated and in the case of wood paneling makes a room look dark and cramped. While replacing items made from these materials is always an option, one less expensive solution is to paint or stain some of these fixtures with more modern shades. Staircase railings and steps can be stained in a rich coffee color for a more sophisticated look. Cabinets and wall paneling can be painted over in more modern and calmer shades of blue.

Photo Credits: FWStudio

3. Drab Window Treatments
​There is a litany of things that are dating your windows. Some of those things include thin metal blinds, valances, roller blinds, sheer lacy drapes, and curtain ties. Many of these things are known to distract from or even overtake a space, making it feel heavy and harder for natural light to come in. That’s why roman shades, sheer light defusing curtains, or even simple panels that start from the rod and head straight to the floor are much more popular today.

Photo Credits: Stephanie Klepack

4. Old Builder Stock Fixtures & Finishes
​You know them the moment you see them. They immediately remind you of mee-maw’s house, but not in a good way. Those seashell sinks, sinks with rims, beige countertops, pine cabinets, and old faucets with one clear knob. These outdated trends have now given way to a number of new options. White of course is a timeless bathroom vanity color, but we are also seeing them in black, navy blues, and shades of green. Opt for counter tops in natural stones like marble and soapstone. Today’s sinks have no rim and come in shapes like oval or rectangle. Leave chrome finishes in the past and swap your old faucet with finishes such as polished nickel or matte black.

Photo Credits: @misschicwithstyle

5. Hard to Clean Tile Countertops
​Tile countertops were a hot commodity in the 70s and 80s. However, thanks to hard to clean grout and its propensity to chip, tile counter tops proved themselves to be a poor option for kitchens. Since the kitchen is one of the highest traffic areas for the home, try using easier-to-clean materials like quartz. While quartz is a higher-end material, its smooth texture requires only soap and water for cleaning. Talk about simple!

​Photo Credits: @harvestmoonfarmstudio

6. White Appliances
​There are more and more options to choose from when it comes to appliances these days, which can feel overwhelming. Yes, we want functional. But we also want something that’ll keep its style 10 years from now. This is where stainless steel comes into play. It’s timeless, high-quality, and enhances the overall appearance of any design. They’re resistant to stains, durable, and neutral, which is why we’d recommend this over white or a white-and-black combination, which often looks more outdated and less sleek than steel. 

Photo Credits: Curtis Adam

7. Frosted Glass and Glass Blocks
​Framed frosted glass showers and glass block windows are things of the past. Updating these areas with clear options is one of best ways to modernize your bathroom.  Showers have been replaced with frameless and even doorless designs to clean up the space and help it feel more open. And those glass block windows can be modernized with clear windows and linen privacy curtains.

Photo Credits: 99.film