Eight Overlooked Elements That Make Your Home Decor Look Dated

People love to remodel and renovate their homes. There’s something exciting about refreshing rooms in your home, or even the whole house—new finishes, new designs, new features. With interest rates higher than they used to be, even more people are choosing to renovate or remodel instead of buying a new house.

Remodeling comes with a special challenge, though: design trends. There was a time when sunken living rooms and avocado bathrooms were all the rage, after all, but these days they’ll just make your house look dated, even if everything else is brand new. Timeless home décor never goes out of style, and keeping up with the latest trends can be pretty easy, actually—but it’s also easy to make your house look worse after a remodel—especially if you don’t pay attention to these easily overlooked details.

Paint colors

If you skipped a fresh coat of pain during your remodel, you should take another look. If you jumped on the “greige” trend a few years ago and decided the paint is still in good shape and thus didn’t need updating, for example, you’ve doomed all your other efforts to look as old and busted as that color. To avoid this trap, you can either go with a timeless color that doesn’t chase trends, or make interior paint part of your overall remodeling plan and choose a hot color that works with the rest of your design.

Baseboard heat covers

If you have baseboard heat in your home, did you consider the covers when you remodeled, or did you overlook them entirely? It’s easy to skip the covers, but without a refresh they will pull the rest of your remodel down to their outdated level. Freshening them up can be as easy as painting them, but replacing them with attractive alternatives isn’t a big job—and will match the bottom of your walls to the rest of your remodel.

Handles and knobs

You ripped out so much of your house and replaced all the surfaces and fixtures—but did you replace the door handles? If you’re still rocking the same old doorknobs, it’s worth considering whether they actually work with the rest of your home’s design. Changing out doorknobs can actually have a big impact on your home’s look and feel. Old, tarnished handles can make your home feel dated; new, modern designs can elevate it.

Window coverings

Have you thought about your window treatments recently? If the drapes, blinds, or shades are in good working order and keeping the sun out like they’re supposed to, you may not have. But window treatments can have a huge impact on how fresh and modern (or old and dated) your house feels. If you love vertical blinds, for example, and think they work well in your house, that’s fine—but at least put some thought into the window treatments.

Light fixtures

We often make the mistake, when we plan a remodel or renovation of our home, of simply not looking up. Light fixtures have to do more than simply work; they have to carry your design vision up to the ceiling and complete the whole look—and light fixtures go out of style just like everything else. If you’re still rocking those old boob lights that were there when you moved in, for example, it won’t matter what else you do in the house; it will still look old and outdated.

Ceiling fans

Ceiling fans often fall into an uncanny valley of home fixtures we regard as simply functional, with no practical aesthetic value. While a ceiling fan has to do its job by circulating the air effectively, an ugly, old-school ceiling fan from a previous century will drag your home’s design down several notches no matter how thoughtful you were about it. While a modern “fandelier” might not fit into your aesthetic, that old warhorse from 20 years ago may not either—so it’s worth making sure you've put some thought into your choice.

Thermostats

Thermostats are often overlooked because they’re just these necessary, functional things. Finding the best thermostat usually focuses on the features it offers, but if you still have the same thermostats on the wall that have been there for years, it’s worth considering whether a modernizing update or an effort to cover them will pay dividends in terms of keeping your house feeling updated, modern, and fresh.

If your house has a generally modern vibe, replacing the old thermostat with a smart one may be all you need, as the crisp look of a smart thermostat will give you that cutting-edge look. You can also purchase decorative covers to prettify an ugly thermostat, or make it part of a design element on the wall to make it blend in with the overall design of the home..

Outlet and switch covers

Have you replaced the covers on your outlets and light switches recently? Did you replace them when you remodeled? If all you did was take them off and put them back (or possibly slap a fresh coat of paint on them to match the walls), you’re overlooking the small but measurable impact they can have on your overall design. You (and any guests you bring into your home) interact with these covers constantly, so even if you’re not consciously aware of their aesthetic appeal (or lack thereof), you’re feeling it.

For example, if your remodel incorporates metal accents, choosing metal wall plates can tie everything together. If you’re more conservative, white wall plates will typically match your molding, creating a cohesive look. You can also purchase wall plates that incorporate wallpaper, which can either make them blend into your walls or make them stand out as mini pieces of art.