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A kitchen with black and white cabinetry and a island countertop with gray chairs
Walker Woodworking

Design Notes

How To Modernize Your Outdated Home

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Does your home feel old and out of touch with the times? Have you wondered how to update its style and make it trendier? But do you also worry about the cost and effort of such a project? If you answered yes to these questions, we have the answers for you.

Every house eventually gets old. It doesn’t matter how well-designed the home is; this is bound to happen. As TEJRentals.com explains, that’s because popular house design trends are constantly changing as technology advances and buyer preferences shift.

And when preferences shift, you can’t go back and rebuild your home; you have to stay with what you have. But you don’t need to rebuild the house to bring it into the modern era. Updating your home does not require making massive changes to the property.

You need to understand the difference between style, class, and function. Although a house’s style may become outdated, it does not have to lose its class. Every home can remain functional regardless of its style and age.

An old-style home is one thing, but an obsolete home is an entirely different matter. In this article, we outline simple things you can do to pull your outdated home out of the past and into the modern period. You will be able to restore its appeal without giving up the quiet dignity that’s associated with old homes.

Declutter and Clean Your Outdated House

Giving the home a deep clean gives you the chance to look at the house with new eyes. You will be able to audit your belongings and reassess the usefulness of each item. You don’t know how much clutter you have accumulated until you do this process.

Simply getting rid of unused stuff and cleaning your carpets will make the home feel fresh. Doing a deep clean helps you see the actual state of the house. You can accurately assess the condition of various areas or objects in the home to determine the next steps.

Walker Woodworking custom cabinets peg drawers utensil drawer organized kitchen deep drawers dovetail drawers

Create More Space In Your Outdated Home

Modern homes have simple furniture and a lot of open space. They are designed to maximize airflow and allow ease of movement, unlike older homes, which often have huge furniture pieces.

Creating more space introduces the streamlined flow of a modern home into your old home. A few ways to do this are to replace large furniture with sleek modern ones, rearrange furniture to make rooms look bigger, get rid of carpets, discard old appliances, remove stacks of paper and other stuff, and rearrange cords and cables to hide or make them less messy.

Update Window Treatments

Blinds, shutters, and drapes determine how much light gets into the home and serve as a backdrop to the entire room. They can make a room feel confined, and just by looking at the window treatments in a home, you can guess what year the house was designed.

In place of inefficient old window treatments, use modern options like bright-colored drapery panels, sheer curtains, eco-friendly blinds made of rattan or bamboo, metal blinds with a wood-like appearance, or roman blinds.

Graber Window Treatments
Greenbrook Design

Repaint The Outdated Home

The color of the paint on walls and ceilings blankets everything in the home. If the paint is dull, faded, or old-fashioned, it will cloak everything in the home with these qualities. When painting your house, you must approach it strategically.

Merely applying a new coat of paint is not enough; the color palette you chose matters. Choose neutral interior colors to make rooms feel brighter, roomier, and airier. You should pay special attention to the colors of trims and crown moldings.

Update The Light Fixtures and Power Outlets

If the rooms in the home are poorly lit, most of your redesign efforts will become invisible at night. Poor lighting also makes rooms feel cramped. Additionally, aging light fixtures will feel out of place against the now redesigned home.

Replacing light fixtures and power outlets with modern versions that are more efficient and attractive will create a better overall result. The position of lighting also matters. By having sufficient lighting at various levels of each room, you will achieve the most illumination.

a kitchen with a marble island and stainless steel appliances
Walker Woodworking

Update Hardware

Door and cabinet handles, as well as plumbing fittings, draw a lot of attention. Swapping worn-out old designs for modern ones will have an immediate impact and lift your outdated home into the current. Visitors’ eyes instinctively go to the handles on doors and drawers, as well as the faucets on kitchen and bathroom sinks.

Small changes in these areas can have a significant impact. When changing the hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, it is also a good idea to refresh the cabinets themselves by refacing or repainting them.

In closing, although far from being everything you can do in your home, these steps will get you on your way to a more modern home. Enjoy doing them. Cheers.

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a kitchen with black cabinets and stainless steel appliancesMetropolitan Woodworks Inc

Bold, Bright, & Beautiful: Dark Colors Make Bold Statements

Design Notes

Contrast is a design element that is used often since it makes a statement, creates visual interest, and provides a touch of elegance to the space. White and Black, dark mixed with warm metals like gold, copper, and brass. Many interior designers are choosing to use this tool and these color combinations more in their creations, and it seems that this trend is only increasing in popularity.  Let’s explore the different ways you can add dark colors to your space, balanced with enough light to make a beautiful presentation in your home that both you and your guests will enjoy.

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February 2, 2021/by Stacey Walker
https://i0.wp.com/greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Metropolitan-cabinets-kitchen.png?fit=1215%2C810&ssl=1 810 1215 Stacey Walker https://greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Design-Center-Logo-1-02-300x213.png Stacey Walker2021-02-02 20:58:092025-07-29 20:58:42Bold, Bright, & Beautiful: Dark Colors Make Bold Statements
Soaker tub in front of a walk in shower with marble wallsGreenbrook Design

Protecting Your Family: Wellness in the Home

Design Notes

At Greenbrook Design, we specialize in taking the dysfunctional to the functional level. Your home is meant to be a place of rest, where you can look forward to coming home and just unwinding. Today, we want to share a few of our best tips that will help you receive the wellness you and your family need.

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January 28, 2021/by Stacey Walker
https://i0.wp.com/greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Master-Bathroom-Soaker-tub-Shower-stall-his-and-hers-vanities.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1 1280 1920 Stacey Walker https://greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Design-Center-Logo-1-02-300x213.png Stacey Walker2021-01-28 21:04:592025-07-29 21:05:21Protecting Your Family: Wellness in the Home
A kitchen with a pantry cabinet door open with roll out drawers with food stored insideWalker Woodworking

A Place For Everything: How to Organize your Kitchen

Design Notes

The kitchen is undeniably the most used area of the home, whether it is making the morning coffee before heading out the door, making the kids a snack when they come home, or sharing the day’s events as you make dinner. It is the central hub of the house, and where everyone can just relax. This also means that there is a lot going on, making it important that things have a place and stay there. There is nothing worse than a kitchen that is messy, cluttered, and dysfunctional. We wanted to share some organizational tips and helpful tricks that can help you organize your kitchen.

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January 21, 2021/by Stacey Walker
https://i0.wp.com/greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Walker-woodworking-custom-cabinets-roll-out-shelves-kitchen-roll-out-drawers-inset-cabinets-roll-out-drawers-pantry.jpg?fit=853%2C1280&ssl=1 1280 853 Stacey Walker https://greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Design-Center-Logo-1-02-300x213.png Stacey Walker2021-01-21 21:10:042025-07-29 21:10:41A Place For Everything: How to Organize your Kitchen
Greenbrook design logo green and blackGreenbrook Design

Color of the Year 2021

Design Notes

Color is always a fun element in design, one that can affect the mood or change the style of the room. Each company’s choice is beautiful and offers a variety of options for everyone. Don’t be afraid to try something new, you never know, but you may like it so much it will become the new favorite in your home.

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January 14, 2021/by Stacey Walker
https://i0.wp.com/greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Greenbrook-logo-032817-01.png?fit=2560%2C1712&ssl=1 1712 2560 Stacey Walker https://greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Design-Center-Logo-1-02-300x213.png Stacey Walker2021-01-14 17:34:002025-07-29 21:18:33Color of the Year 2021
White large kitchen with green islandWalker Woodworking

Ring In The New: 2021 Design Trends

Design Notes

A new year means new opportunities to accomplish what’s been on your to-do list, including that home renovation. As we prepare to move into the new year, let’s discuss some of the design trends that are being predicted by those in the interior design world.

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January 1, 2021/by Stacey Walker
https://i0.wp.com/greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/white-kitchen-Walker-Woodworking-custom-cabinets-Schaub-hardware-Brass-Pocket-door-paneled-appliance-white-dove-Cleveland-door-Frameless-cabinets-Caesarstone.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1 1280 1920 Stacey Walker https://greenbrookdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Design-Center-Logo-1-02-300x213.png Stacey Walker2021-01-01 21:22:472025-07-29 21:23:16Ring In The New: 2021 Design Trends
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Link to: 10 Ideas for your Spare Room Link to: 10 Ideas for your Spare Room 10 Ideas for your Spare Rooma kitchen with blue cabinets and a white wallWalker Woodworking Link to: What’s Right For You? How to Choose your Kitchen Appliance Link to: What’s Right For You? How to Choose your Kitchen Appliance Walker Woodworking custom cabinets beige kitchen cabinets beige kitchen wolf kitchen appliances white countertop white tile backsplash oven hood kitchen farm sinkWhat’s Right For You? How to Choose your Kitchen Appliance
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