You might’ve clicked on this article wondering, “Wait, why would I want to make my brand-new home look old?” By old, we don’t mean grungy, scary, or falling apart at the seams old. We mean old as in old-fashioned. Some recently built homes can look too modern and impersonal for some homeowners’ tastes.
If you feel like your new home is too angular, too clean, too cold, or too sleek, here are four tips on how to make a new home look old and give it some much-needed warmth and personality.
Use Organic Materials
Using natural, organic materials when decorating your new home can make it look and feel older. Instead of choosing sleek pieces made from clean metal and glass, look for furniture and décor that’s made from natural materials such as wood or rustic metals. This’ll give your home a comfier, warmer, and more welcoming ambience.
Add Architectural Accents
The most effective way to make a new home look old is to add traditional architectural accents. Crown molding, wainscoting, and medallions around your sconces or ceiling lights can turn a simple-looking space into a classy, elegant, and eye-catching one. For countertops, fireplace mantels, and shelves, add decorative corbels for a vintage touch.
Replace Modern Hardware
This is inexpensive and super easy to do. Head to your local hardware store and pick out some new hardware for your kitchen and bathroom cabinets, counters, and drawers. You can even swap out the hardware on your doors.
Pick out pulls or knocks made from wood or rustic metal such as cast iron or copper to replace the crystal or stainless-steel hardware that came with the house.
Hang Wallpaper
Wallpaper was one of the hottest design trends of the 20th century; you couldn’t escape it. Every home had it. You have to laud 1900s homeowners for their dedication, because hanging wallpaper was once a challenging endeavor!
You had to prime the walls, smear on an ungodly amount of goopy paste, meticulously hang the paper, and then spend hours upon hours smoothing out any creases or bubbles. What a nightmare!
Thankfully, peel-and-stick options have made hanging wallpaper infinitely less frustrating. There are thousands of options to choose from, and all you have to do to apply is, as the name suggests, peel and stick. The right wallpaper can add a lot of character, depth, and texture to a space to make it feel homier.