3 Easy Ways to Update Your ‘90s Home

If Pinterest was around in the ‘90s, I’m guessing you would have been pinning elaborate drapery and deep jewel-toned color palettes, or searching for trompe l’oeil painted walls and fawning over photos of formal rooms no one ever used. I would have been right there with you.

But, the ‘90s have come and gone, and these days, our tastes and preferences have evolved to new heights. Now (if you’re anything like our clients), I’m guessing your inspirational images include open, bright, airy rooms with functional, livable space. We all want more room to breathe and live! 

If you’re ready to embrace the 21st century, but your home is still sporting retro features, I have some ideas for you…

1. Update Wall Treatments & Colors

Although faux painted walls with trompe l’oeil features are a blast to the past, that doesn’t mean you have to swear off wall treatments entirely. There are plenty of beautiful wallpapers available these days, and for all sorts of tastes. 

Try grasscloth for added texture or an eye-catching pattern. Better yet, start with a smaller space to get your feet wet, such as a dining room or powder room. These rooms are great places to get adventurous because they are smaller spaces. This means that it will look less overwhelming in a small quantity, require less material, and allow you to splurge on something stunning, like the mica chip wallpaper below.   

Wallpaper can do wonders for updating spaces, but there isn’t anything quite as transformative as a fresh coat of paint. When you replace the dark jewel tones and gold accent walls with fresh and airy neutral colors, it will open your space up and feel sparkly new.

If your home has fixed features like travertine that you’d instead not replace, here are some colors that complement the golden hues of the tile. My top paint color recommendations are always warm white or blue and green tones. 

We brightened this room by painting the fireplace and trim in Sherwin-Williams Pure White and the mantel in Mindful Gray.

2. Custom Window Treatments

Updated window treatments are a popular request from our clients. In fact, my own design career started with fabricating custom window treatments, so I take this feature very personally. 

Our solution is to replace the heavy, dark drapes with linen blends and minimal hardware, even in the formal parts of the house. I also recommend unlined drapes (except maybe in a bedroom) so that the natural light can easily flow into the room. 

If you ask me, drapes turn your renovated house into a home, and custom window treatments make all the difference. Although the investment is more significant, the difference is undeniable — in finding the right style, fabrics, and finishes to set your window treatments apart and have them last.

These unlined, neutral drapes highlight the natural light shining through the wall of windows. 

3. Goodbye Formal Living Rooms

A home stuck in the 20th century likely features a dining room and formal living room that is solely a showplace. Instead, turn them into usable, active living spaces! 

Especially after the last couple of years, we’re seeing more people turning that extra space into libraries, home offices, gyms, or bigger kitchens. We have personally converted many formal living rooms into dining rooms by merging the old dining room space into a kitchen to allow a large island and better workspace. Here’s an example:

We renovated this home for a young couple who wanted to have areas for entertaining but in a more casual way. As you can see, in the before (right) and after (left), we updated the home's 1960s layout by merging the kitchen and dining room and adding a large island (see below). It looks more spacious even just glancing at the floor plan!

There you have it — 3 ways to update your ‘90s home and start loving where you live. If you wince when you walk into your '90s-style home, let’s do something about it. We'd love to help you create a space that reflects you and your beautiful sense of style.

Contact us, and we’ll be happy to chat about your project and discuss the best way we can help. We can’t wait to meet you!

Warmly,
Sarah (& Steve)