8 Great Ways to Reinvent Your Home With No Demolition
Home renovations are a big deal, they can transform your home and completely change the look and feel. Often, the biggest costs and changes include ripping out cabinetry and - recently - removing interior walls. The good news is that if you want to make a big difference without spending too much time or money on renovations, there are plenty of non-demolition ways to reinvent your space.
Little details make a big impact, especially when it comes to dating the décor. It all comes down to the fixtures and finishes. The color palette and the stylized details of the home will indicate how recently your home was designed and decorated. With an eye for detail, you can make a home feel fresh, new, and modern in just a few easy steps.
Replace the Bathroom Mirrors
The mirror in each bathroom defines the space and style of an otherwise small room. The mirror tends to dominate, often as the center of a ring or row of vanity bulbs. A heavy mirror frame can date the design, but so can a frameless sheet of glass. Choose your style, baroque or minimal, and reinvent the space just by hanging new mirrors.
Update Old Light Fixtures
People rarely look up on purpose and you may not even realize the kind of style your light fixtures are bringing to each room. Old light fixtures have a way of dating the house so that it feels older. This can be cozy and classic, but old light fixtures can also make your home look like it's wearing out along with the aging finish. Consider replacing old fixtures with new artful chandeliers, illuminated ceiling fans, and elegant pendant lights.
Updating your light fixtures is a quick and simple home renovation that requires only one afternoon with a professional on a short ladder to do the electrical work. You can brighten up dark rooms or change out old fixtures for something more modern.
Pull Old Molding for New Styles
Do you ever look at your crown molding or baseboards? The simple shapes defined by these strips of wood or plaster can give personality or age to every room. Pull down your old crown molding and pick a new style to shelter the seam between walls and ceilings. Choose a new style of baseboard while you are selecting and make them a matching, modern styled pair.
This way, each room of your house will look more like it was designed in the last two or three years or specifically in your favorite architectural style.
Install or Remove Wainscoting
Wainscoting is a separate wall material that extends from about waist-level to the floor. It protects the sheetrock from the backs of chairs and rambunctious acts of children and pets. You can remove old wainscoting to spruce up the house or add new wainscoting to make a room seem more classic and formal. Wainscoting is also a clever way to protect family and dining rooms from high levels of family activity.
New Shower Curtains and Curtain Hooks
It's incredible how much a simple shower curtain can define a bathroom. No construction needed at all to change out your shower curtain and the hooks it hangs on. Think of your design trend and consider a two-layer curtain for a more artful and modernized look. If your window treatments have gone unnoticed for too long, now may be a great opportunity to update the décor of all your hanging linens.
Replace Your Faucets and Plumbing Fixtures
The faucets and handles in a house can really date the design. Everyone knows that stout little chrome faucets are out of style and that arcing mixed metals are in. From brushed steel to antiqued bronze, you can change the little accents in every room that has a sink or shower with just a few fixture upgrades.
Give yourself a sink with better water pressure, filtration, and aeration while also updating the fixture style of the house. Or you can install fixtures to match the style of each individual room. A new showerhead in the latest style can also be a luxurious boost to every bath.
Re-Paint, Re-Stain, Re-Finish
You can always change the color palette of your home, and in more ways than you might realize. Repainting the walls is where most homeowners get started with self-directed home improvements. But did you realize that you can also repaint the cabinets, the deck railing, and the built-in furniture? If you have lovely raw wood, re-stain the wood and apply a fresh clearcoat finish. For old metal features that you'd like to restore, you can polish away the oxidation and even re-finish the metal to give it that desired gleam.
Switch Out Cabinet Handles and Drawer Pulls
Take a look at your cabinet handles and drawer pulls. Often, these styles come and go more quickly than the faucet fixtures. Fading old plastic gems or overly baroque little metal handles might not be the perfect style for your home as it is today. Choose a whole new set of cabinet hardware for the house at your local hardware store or shop a wide variety of options online.
You can get an entire set of custom cabinet handles and pulls on handmade sites like Etsy or commission unique sets from an artisan if you don't find what you like in stores. You can also update your entire home's look by changing doorknobs and hinges on full-sized doors from those old classic styles to something new and buttery smooth to use every day.
You don't have to tear out old walls and cabinets or bring in large teams of contractors to enjoy a truly transformative home renovation project. Take on these surface-level changes and see your home refreshed as if it had been built only yesterday. Here at Urban Ambiance, we have every type of light fixture you could need to modernize and redecorate your home. Explore our fixture selection online to solidify your own vision of the perfect decor in your own home. Contact us when you're ready to order and we'll make sure your lighting arrives when you're ready for the installation.
