Alter Your Stairs
Traditional and transitional homes often have a staircase with wooden stairs and a wooden handrail, giving the home its signature look. If you’re trying to make your home feel more modern, you may want to consider altering your staircase to suit your design ideas and the rest of your décor. Painting your stairs in a bold bright or dark color is a cost-effective way to make them look more contemporary, while still allowing you to change them back to their previous look if you ever decide to sell your home. For a more permanent upgrade, considering removing the handrail and replacing it with glass or sheet metal for an ultra-contemporary look.
Get New Hardware
It might seem like an incredibly small addition to your home, but changing the hardware on your kitchen cabinets and drawers, freestanding pieces like cabinets and shelving units or hinges and handles on doors can make a huge improvement in your home when it comes to modernizing your look. Choose hardware in bright shades like polished chrome or gold for a bold contemporary look. For something a bit more subdued, try brushed or stainless steel. Getting new hardware is a great way to update the look of your home. Even items that are have the perception of high costs like iron door handles, fancy windows or new vanities can be done on a budget.
Knock Out Walls
Many homes built between 1920 and 1980 have multiple small rooms instead of a more open floor plan. That was the style at the time, and many people preferred sectioned-off areas for privacy. However, if you want to modernize your home, you should consider knocking out walls between common areas like your living room and dining room to make your space more contemporary. Of course, you’ll need to hire somebody to make sure the wall or walls can be knocked out and to do the job, but you’ll probably be surprised at how cost-effective removing a wall can actually be. Shop around and get estimates from several companies to get the best price.
Add Glass
Glass is commonly used as both a surface and partition in modern homes because it doesn’t block the flow of light but helps to break up very large spaces. If you’re considering knocking out a wall between two rooms but are concerned about making the space feel cavernous or having no privacy, glass may be the answer. A clear glass wall with a door will help to make the space feel more open, but not so much so that you feel like the space is overwhelming and hard to decorate. If you want privacy without the total visual separation of walls, frosted glass bocks or glass with a print can add contemporary style to your home while allowing you to retain separation between rooms.
Use Modern Rugs
Modern rug with geometric shapes or linear patterns and designs can quickly turn a drab, boring room that has an outdated look into one much that is much more interesting visually while helping to bring out modern accents you already have in your room. Adding a modern rug to a fully-furnished room also allows you to update your room and give it a more modern, contemporary feel when you’re on a budget, which is important for many families or first-time home buyers. Look for large modern rugs with continuous prints, patterns and shapes instead of using multiple smaller rugs that will break up the space visually.
