How to Update a Dated Home Without Remodeling

Is your home dated and in need of a complete overhaul? Do you daydream about the day you can afford to finally renovate the heck out of it and live in a house that you love? Believe me, I get it. Our first home was super dated. We're talking about floral wallpaper, green shag carpet, and pink tile. Many of us dream about having a beautiful kitchen or a living room that looks like it belongs on Instagram, or at least one that belongs in this century. But what if I told you you could completely update the look of your home without costly remodeling? Would you spend a little bit of money now to make your home more current, more beautiful, and to transform it into a place that you actually enjoy coming home to? Now, I know it can be done because we did it with our first home, and we made all of the improvements that I'm about to share with you. And you know what? That house was a complete transformation. People couldn't believe it when we showed them the before and after pictures. And when it came time to sell that home, we made back all the money that we put into the house and more. So let's dive in and talk about 10 ways that you can update your dated home without remodeling. Number one is paint. Now, hands down, paint is the very best way to completely change the look of your home. And it is your most powerful weapon against a dated house. And I'm not just talking about the walls. Yes, you should paint the walls in your home to suit your style and taste and to give it a fresh, clean look. But there are so many other things that can be transformed with paint. Kitchen cabinets. I'm sure you've all seen the amazing makeovers of people who have painted their kitchen cabinets, right? No doubt about it. Painting wood tone cabinets a fresh new color is a fantastic way to completely transform your kitchen. Bath vanities. Just like with kitchen cabinets, paint can bring new life to your outdated bathroom vanity. Doors. Changing out your front door can be expensive. So painting your exterior door is a great way to save money and give your exterior a more modern appearance. Painting the inside of your front door is also a great way to add a little drama to your entry. Baseboards and trim. There's been a long-standing debate about whether or not you should paint stained wood baseboards and trim. Many people adore the classic look of wood trim, and they would never consider hiding its natural beauty by painting over it. Others prefer the fresh, clean look of bright white trim throughout their homes. There's really no right answer, because this is your home, and you should do what you like to create a place that reflects your style. I will say, however, that painting your wood trim white will completely change the look of your space. So if transformation is what you're after, painting the trim might be the right thing for you. Biltons. Now, I am a huge fan of biltons, and they can be a beautiful feature in a room. But there are plenty of biltons out there that are contributing to the overall dated look of a home. Now, your first instinct might be to just rip them out. But before you go down that path, consider painting them. If you have high-quality, sturdy biltons with a nice, clean design, then a fresh coat of paint might be all that's needed to bring those biltons back to life and update the entire look of the space. Tile. Plenty of dated homes come with ugly and rather colorful tile. Now, changing out your tile can be a big, messy job. So if the tile is in good condition, think about painting over it. You can even paint your tile floors and completely change the look of them. Not so sure about this? Well, if there was ever a poster child for the power of paint, it would be this bathroom makeover. They painted the linoleum floor, the wall tiles, the walls, ceiling, tub paneling, and the vanity. And it is hard to believe this is the same bathroom. Floors. Painting your floors is yet another way to transform your home with paint. With pattern tile being such a hot trend, it's fantastic that you can achieve the same look with paint for a fraction of the price. Check out Etsy for some great stencils for your floors. Countertops. Most people think there's nothing they can do to change their ugly countertops. But just like there is an app for everything, there is a paint for everything. These paints sometimes get mixed reviews, but they are improving every year and they can really transform the look of your kitchen or bathroom. Check out this great project, which will make you a believer. They started by painting their dated green countertops and then painted their kitchen cabinets white. And the before and after pictures are just stunning. Fireplaces. If you have an older home, chances are you have a brick fireplace. Now, if your brick fireplace is making the entire room feel dark and heavy, then go ahead and paint it to brighten up the space. Tons of people paint over their brick fireplaces and it's very easy to do. Another option, consider whitewashing or lime washing the brick to brighten it up while still keeping some of its character. Light fixtures. We're going to talk a little more about replacing light fixtures in the next section. Spoiler alert. But if replacing them isn't in your budget, you can also paint dated light fixtures to change their look. Door hardware. Just like with light fixtures, updating your door hardware can help your home look like it belongs in the current century. Replacing your door hardware with a new style and finish is also an easy DIY project, and we'll talk about that later on. But you can also just spray paint your existing door hardware to change up its look. Hopefully after seeing all the amazing paint transformations that you can achieve, you can understand why paint is really your best friend when it comes to updating a dated home. Now, let's talk about some other ways to update your home. Number two is to replace your light fixtures. Changing out your light fixtures is a great way to give your home a fresh look. Not only is it very easy to do, but it makes a huge impact. Start out by replacing outdated entry lights, dining room chandeliers, and bathroom vanity lights. From there, consider swapping out your flush mount ceiling lights, especially if they are boob lights. Tip number three is to update your doors. When we bought our first home, all of the doors were hollow, flat wood doors with shiny brass knobs, just like in the picture here. Not exactly the look we were going for at the time. So we replaced all of our doors with white panel doors from Home Depot. And you know what? That one change made a huge difference. The hallway suddenly looked clean and bright, and the entire house felt updated. Now, you don't have to replace all of your doors to achieve similar results. You can also just paint your existing doors, including the hardware, like we talked about before, and or add some custom molding to the door to totally change the look. Number four is to change the baseboards. Now, our first home had small oak baseboards. They weren't bad, but just nothing to really write home about. They were the same stain color as the floor, so they just kind of blended in. When we replaced all of our doors, we also replaced all of the trim around the doors and the baseboards. We added taller baseboards and painted them white, and it was a huge difference. If you already have simple white baseboards in your home, then you probably don't need to do anything about them. But if you have really small baseboards like we did, or a style that is looking dated to you, I highly recommend you replace them. Another option for changing up the look of your existing baseboards is to make them look larger by adding a small piece of trim that's about an inch or two above them, and then paint both the trim and the space between them white. You can see that in the example here. It will give your baseboards a much taller and more sophisticated look. Number five is to replace old carpet. The typical lifespan of carpet is 10 to 15 years, so if your carpet is older than that, it needs to be replaced, period. Before you replace it, though, take a peek to see if you might be lucky enough to have hardwood floors underneath. Hardwood flooring is not only always in style, but it's easier to clean, it lasts longer, and it doesn't harbor allergens. Discovering hardwood floors under old carpet is like a gift from the home improvement gods. Now, how can you check to see if you've been blessed? Easy, just lift up your floor vent and pull up the carpet just a little bit to see if there's hardwood flooring underneath. If so, you can do a little happy dance and then rip up that nasty old carpet. But just be aware that you won't know the condition of the floors underneath until you remove the carpet, so it is a bit of a gamble. Most floors can be refinished and will look like new, but in some cases the hardwood might be water damaged and could require replacing. If that's the case, you can go new hardwoods, luxury vinyl, or even new carpet, though I recommend going with hardwood or luxury vinyl if you want a more updated look. Number six is to replace your outlets, switch plates, and your thermostat. Years ago ivory used to be the color of choice for electrical outlets and switches, but now that white has taken over, ivory can look a little bit old and a little dirty. The good news is that these things are very easy to change and you don't have to be an electrician to do it. Here's an example of a subtle change from ivory to white that makes a difference in just the overall look of the room. As for thermostats, not only do older analog thermostats look dated, but their dated technology could actually be costing you money. You can save quite a bit on energy costs by replacing your old thermostat with a digital programmable thermostat and it will look way better. Number seven is to replace your faucets. Old faucets instantly date a bathroom, not to mention they can get pretty grimy and gross if they're too old. Now faucets are an easy DIY update, no plumbers needed, and they can really make a big difference in the look of the bathroom. If you have a single faucet hole, you'll just need to look for a new single hole replacement. In other words, you need to replace it with a faucet that has the same hole configuration of your existing faucet. Number eight is to add molding. Adding unique details to a room like crown molding or new window trim or wainscoting is a great way to amp up your living space and add some personality to your home. Even though these tend to be more traditional elements in a home, they bring a sense of quality and beauty to homes that are otherwise lacking in character. If you happen to have an older home that already has these great character details, be sure to showcase them and or you can update them with a fresh coat of paint. If not, you can easily add these elements to a room and really elevate the overall look of the home. Number nine is to change your hardware. If you have great looking cabinets and maybe you don't want to paint them, you can really upgrade their look by replacing the knobs and poles. This is a project that is so easy and very inexpensive. So there's really just no excuse not to do this for both bathrooms and kitchens. You're going to see similar results if you swap out the hardware on your interior doors with new knobs and levers as well. Number 10 is to change your window treatments. Nothing dates a room faster than 20 year old window treatments. If you have old blinds or heavy dark valances, it's probably time to take them down and start fresh. By removing your old window treatments, not only can you let more light into the room, but you'll help create a more current look for the entire space. Can you believe all the clever little ways that you can update your dated home? So if your home is needing a little help with aging gracefully or you feel like it's stuck in a decade from long ago, then try some of these changes. I think you're going to be really pleasantly surprised with the hidden potential of your dated home. If you like this video, give me a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel so you can be notified when new videos come out.