Behind the Scenes Tips for Refreshing Older Homes
In a recent post, I shared some of the features of older kitchens and offered up some tips for giving your kitchen a fresh update. Today, I want to go beyond the kitchen to share a few more updates that we see ALL the time when remodeling older spaces.
But first, other than pulling out official documentation, how do you know if you have an older home?
Signs that You Might Have an Older Home
1920-1940
Common Characteristics:
tiny bathrooms
tiny kitchen
dark overall
compartmentalized, lots of walls
1970-1980
Common Characteristics:
Great locations and neighborhoods (always a plus)
Closed-off kitchen and living areas
Floor plan feels dysfunctional for this day and age
Many unused spaces (dining room, desk areas, jacuzzi tubs)
Dark and tired, yellowish interiors
Do any of these sound familiar? If so, then let’s talk about some remedies…
Use a Neutral Paint All Over
At one point in time, homeowners painted each room a different color. (And let’s not even talk about that scary wallpaper.) Sounds fun in theory, but this trend made homes look smaller, disjointed, and design confused.
Especially with today’s open floor plans, your best bet is to paint your interior one neutral color. This makes decorating easier, ensures greater longevity, and makes your home look more cohesive and spacious. White kitchens are particularly classic and will not go out of style. (We install more white than any other color.)
That said, if you’ve ever selected a nice, soft white and watched it turn baby blue in your space, you’ll know that picking a neutral can be tricky to do on your own. If you need a helping hand, our color consultation service is here to help.
Optimize All Storage Space
Soffits or emptiness above cabinets wastes space and looks dated. Instead, you can install cabinets to the ceiling to give yourself more storage space. This design fix also raises the visual height of your kitchen... and who doesn’t want a kitchen that looks bigger?
We also suggest adding in a pantry and installing pull out drawers in lower cabinets to maximize those hard-to-reach spaces in the back. We’re all about beauty AND function.
Add Timeless, Durable & Interesting Materials
Large islands typically use a different countertop material than the rest of the kitchen. This creates visual impact and a focal point for the kitchen. Natural stone (like granite or quartzite) is unique and like a piece of art — no two are alike. Quartz is very popular because of its durability. We’ll discuss the pros and cons together when designing your space.
Many of our clients also choose their island cabinets in a contrasting finish from the others in the kitchen. It adds classic color and unique personality without dominating the room.
Plan Your Space & Amenities Efficiently
In older homes, the kitchen is usually small, dark, and cut off from the rest of the house. Meanwhile, 1970s and 80s formal dining areas and desk areas (not to mention that jacuzzi tub) sit unused.
Luckily, all of these problems have solutions. In most cases, we can borrow space from these unused rooms and reconfigure the floor plan to double the size of your kitchen, open it up, and add an island where you can cook, eat, work, and socialize.
The jacuzzi can hit the road and make room for a more spacious, relaxing bathroom, and we can also move that basement laundry room up to whichever floor includes the bedrooms.
Update Carpets to Hardwood Flooring
It’s no secret… older homes have carpet, and most of it looks as old and tired as it is. Carpet also has a space-enclosing effect that contributes to making your home feel smaller.
We suggest removing all carpet on your main floor and adding refinished hardwood floors instead. This creates a more cohesive look (especially for an open concept floor plan) and is much, much easier to maintain.
For that cozy, soft-toes feeling, we suggest adding area rugs and runners throughout your space.
Are you ready to feel alive in your kitchen again? To feel pride and ease when hosting family gatherings? If so, I’d love to invite you to book a consultation with us.
We’ll give you our best advice and support for moving your project forward wisely, efficiently, and with all the features you will love most. By this time next year, you’ll have the kitchen you’ve been dreaming of!
Warmly,
Sarah