Search “home decorating ideas” and for sure, you’ll be greeted with magazine-worthy homes that look current, modern, and huge. If you’ve been reading home improvement articles for a while now, you must be familiar with the terms “chic and modern”, “minimalist”, and “Pinterest-worthy.” Most of these ideas imply that you need to “buy this and that” to make your home look more acceptable than it is.
But what if you have a quaint traditional home with an old-world charm, and you want to keep it that way?
Interior design isn’t just about creating a home that looks new. It can also be about preserving the past through careful restoration, and respecting the character of an older home, whether it’s an antiquated bungalow or one of those mail-order kit homes sold during the war.
If you want an interior touch-up while bringing out the best of your old home, here are 11 home decorating tricks to keep in mind.
1. Do some hardcore cleaning
No matter how beautiful your home architecture is, the grime and dirt accumulated through the years downplay the beauty of your interior. So do your home a favor and spend time deep-cleaning.
Gather all the cleaning tools and products you have to restore your home’s original appeal. Who knows? You’ll reveal the true color of your now mustard-colored kitchen with thorough scrubbing. Don’t forget to pressure wash you’re outdoors too.
2. Repaint the walls, ceiling, and trim
Make your home look the same way it was 20 years ago with repainting. It takes a simple coat of paint to restore the walls and ceilings, and cover up imperfections caused by time.
You may also check your outdoors – you might need a painting job out there too to boost your curb appeal.
3. Renew wooden surfaces
Don’t forget to have some floor facelift. You may replace them if they’re severely damaged, or just revamp them with modern finishes.
Next, to the floor, see if other wooden elements need some touch-up, like varnishing. Check your doors, cabinets, antique dining tables and chairs, and other wooden elements.
4. Let architectural details speak
Does your home have a crown molding? How about details like beadboard and picture frame wainscoting, and ceiling medallion? Does your door boost its intricate carvings? These charming architectural details add a sense of luxury to your home, and they deserve to stand out.
You can paint the trim with a higher gloss or a neutral contrasting shade, either a slightly darker or lighter shade, to subtly call attention to it.
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5. Celebrate stained glass
If you’re fortunate enough to have charming stained-glass doors and windows, going for white walls is the best way to go. This will allow the vivid glass décor to stand out and even play as art pieces.
6. Use window shades to expose vintage trim
Do you have beautiful vintage window trims? Skip heavy draperies, which only cover the beauty of your windows, and go for in-window shades. They make an excellent way to control light while keeping the pretty vintage trim exposed.
7. Get rid of outdated wallpapers
While we say “yes” to preserving the beauty of the past, we’re not looking forward to saving your outdated damask wallpaper that looks dull and distressed. You’ll be surprised by how pleasant your home would look and feel when you remove wallpapers and go for a single refreshing coat.
8. Use airy shelving units
If you live in an old home with overwhelming architectural details and bulky antique furniture, chances are, you need something light and airy. This is where open shelving units come in handy.
They make a stylish storage/display space for collectibles, books, and stylish baskets without affecting the original architecture of your home. They also have a beautiful gallery-like charm.
9. Replace outdated hardware
Keeping your grandma’s knobs, handles, and faucets aren’t the best way to preserve the beauty of your old home – it’s one way to emphasize how “old” and “neglected” your home is.
Updating your old hardware is a simple and inexpensive way to refresh your home. Start with the cabinet handles, drawer pulls, outlet covers, and switch plates. Then, consider updating the doorknobs and plumbing fixtures.
10. Break unusual room layouts into zones
Old homes, like bungalow houses and kit homes, often have unusual room layouts, including long, narrow spaces that seem challenging to work with. You may break the layouts into multiple square zones and define spaces to make them more functional.
Decorate with area rugs to define areas and open-sided furniture pieces, like benches, sideboard tables, and open bookshelves to create dividers.
11. Mix traditional and modern periods
Just because you want to conserve the vintage charm of your home doesn’t mean you’ll stick to old-world furniture pieces and decorating techniques. Merge traditional and modern elements cohesively. Designers call it “transitional design.”
Include traditional décor that feels like they fit the period of the home, including antique collectibles. Match it with modern textural décor that includes wood, rattan, fabric, glass, and steel.
If your home features a lot of stuffed, carved, and oversized items, keep furnishings simple, clean, and contemporary. Modern furnishings with simpler styles are a great tool for bringing a sense of modern life to a traditional home. Additionally, it helps make modern essentials, like the TV, fan, and other electronics, feel like home.
Top 11 Home Decorating Ideas
Author Bio: Carmina Natividad is a daytime writer for PAAL Kit Homes, a renowned construction company that specializes in manufacturing and supplying top-quality steel-framed kit homes in Australia. She loves writing articles focused on real estate and interior design.
