Traditional homes are brimming with character, craftsmanship and charm. While their exteriors can be quite endearing, their interiors tend to be outdated, with features such as stucco ceilings, small, single-purposed rooms, and wood panelled walls. Updating a traditional home with more modern features allows you to keep the charm and personality of an old home and make it work for your young family. Here are 5 tips to update a traditional home.
1. Calming Colour Palette
Traditional homes tend to be more ornamental with their colour palettes. To make your older home feel more modern, a calming, neutral colour palette is the way to go, both inside and out. Whites, creams, taupes, greys and soft blues and greens will make your space feel like a modern oasis. Use these colours on your interior and exterior walls to create a calming environment. You can get a little more artistic with colours for art and furniture. That’s where you can let your personality shine through.
2. Open Concept Floor Plan
While your entire floor plan doesn’t have to be open concept, knocking down a few walls will make your home feel more contemporary. Having sightlines from the kitchen to the living room is especially ideal if you have young kids and want to keep an eye on them while you’re cooking in the kitchen. Multi-purpose rooms and seamless, open-concept spaces help you optimize and make the most of your home.
3. Sophisticated Features
If you want to bring modernity to a traditional home, add in sophisticated features. A marble fireplace will make your family room feel fresh, while graphic bathroom tiles and brass kitchen hardware will fill your home with visual appeal. Light fixtures, window treatments and elegant accessories can also be used to enhance the sophistication of your home.
4. Large Kitchen Island
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and when you have a young family, you want to spend as much time together as you can. The kitchen island is the perfect spot to enjoy a bowl of cereal together in the morning, but it’s also a great space for kids to spread out projects and worksheets while the parents get dinner ready. Keep style and function in mind when choosing an island material. Materials like quartz are easy to clean, durable, and also aesthetically pleasing.
5. Plenty of Comfortable and Stylish Seating
A contemporary, kid-friendly family room should have plenty of comfortable and stylish seating. Your family room should have a relaxing, come-as-you-are vibe, while also keeping aesthetics in mind. It’s a place to hold movie nights, play board games, and talk amongst each other about your days. Sectionals are one of the most efficient, comfortable family room seating options, allowing everyone to have room to spread out. Choose a material and colour that will work for your family and decorate the rest of the room around the sectional.
Ready to upgrade your old home? Create a modern oasis that will work for your young family!