Four Ways to Modernise Your Old Build Home
Old build homes are evergreen fixtures on the housing market and popular choices for budding homeowners. While new builds have their charm and are often desirable entry points for new young families, old builds are tried, tested and often cheaper. However, old builds can also wear their years well, and be in dire need of an update when purchased. But where should you start in modernising an old build home?
The Floor
Older homes receive a lot of wear and tear over their lifespan, much of which could contribute to any sense of datedness or dullness. This is especially visible in older carpets, which pick up and hold on to stains, dirt and even scents for some time. Likewise, floorboards tend to accumulate grime over time, which can lead to a dull, grimy patina.
Cleaning or even replacing your floors can have a profound impact when it comes to modernising your old build home. A professional carpet cleaning will bring your carpets back to their near-new best, and sanding and re-varnishing your floorboards could bring them from the brink.
The Fixtures
We rarely give a thought to our home’s fixtures – namely, the various plug outlets and wall switches that stipple our walls. But these can have a cumulative effect on the feel of a home – especially if they have weathered numerous sloppy redecorations, and are lashed with misplaced paint marks. Replacing them with a suite of new fixtures in a modern style can have a rejuvenating effect on your home instantly.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is often the centrepiece of the home, even if we spend the majority of our time in other living spaces. It is a congregating point, and its fixtures and features do more to define the space than furnishings do in any other room. As such, replacing or re-fitting your kitchen could have the single biggest impact on modernising your home overall.
There are several approaches you can take to a kitchen refit, depending on your modernisation aspirations. A fitted kitchen is one of the more effective routes to modernising, as the units and appliances cohere through sleek custom design. If a fitted kitchen is beyond your budget, upgrading your appliances is a good place to start. You could also replace your worktop with a sleek, modern material in a block colour.
The Lighting
The role lighting plays in décor cannot be underestimated. The way natural and artificial light plays off rooms and their furniture can subtly change the way rooms feel, for worse or for better. Older homes might also rely on ugly light fittings, that do little to serve their room.
Modern light fixtures, like downlighting below kitchen units and spotlighting in corners of living spaces, can do a lot to change the vibe of a space. Modern angle-poise lamps add a sense of contemporary chic to living rooms, accessorising and providing useful light in one.
