5 Ways Your Home is Making You Look Old

Everyone has their own sense of style and taste. Especially here in Western Massachusetts. SO, sometimes decorating can be… well… a little controversial. That being said, there are some things that may be in your home that are making you look old! It doesn’t mean that you can’t have these things in your home, it’s just that they’re making your home look a little bit dated which in turn can make you look a little bit dated. Times change, so should your interior design!

WINDOW TREATMENTS
The first thing is draperies that are hanging ON your window trim. You know those curtains that you’re hanging just at the top of your window trim, on the wood? And they end right at the bottom of the window? Like the pictures above? Instead of hanging your curtains that way, try hanging them HIGH and WIDE. Like the picture below.

Hang your draperies up at the ceiling, not at the top of the window, and out past the sides of the window. If you can’t do that because it’s just totally against your grain, then at least go halfway between the top of the window trim and the ceiling. Then, have the curtains go all the way down to the floor.

WALLPAPER BORDERS
The second thing is wallpaper borders! Just NO. Take them down. You don’t need them. If you’re going to wallpaper, then wallpaper the WHOLE wall. I actually used to have wallpaper borders in my house back when they were one “in” thing. To take them down I used one of those little scorers that you can get at your wallpaper supply place, scored it and then I used Downey fabric softener mixed with water, sprayed that on my wallpaper borders and they came right off. No more wallpaper borders!

TILE COUNTERTOPS
The third thing is tile countertops. These were super popular back in the day! It was an inexpensive way to have stone on your countertops. An alternative to doing a full stone slab. BUT it’s time to update those! God only knows what’s in that grout!

There are even laminate countertops now that are super inexpensive, and they look great, just like stone. You wouldn’t even know! So look into some laminates if budget is a factor for you. OR, you can go for the full shabang and go with a granite or quartz.

MATCHING SETS
The fourth thing in your house that is making you look old is matching sets of furniture. Remember back in the day when you used to go to a furniture store and they had a great little set of furniture and you just picked the whole set? It got delivered to your home and that’s it! That’s a big NO now. As Nate Berkus says, you want your home to look like you created it and collected it overtime. You don’t want things to be so matchy matchy, like in the picture below.

You can have a sofa in one fabric and then two chairs in another fabric. Then a coffee table in one type of wood and end tables that might be in the same type of wood and in a different shape. Don’t go and pick the entire set and take it home with you. Mix and match a little bit. Choose a bed and then choose two different night stands. Break up the pieces. Say you have two end tables that match your coffee table in your living room. Why not move them to a guest room? Use them in a guest room as the night stands. See what you can spread around your house to break up those sets.

MARSHMALLOW SOFAS
The fifth and final thing is your marshmallow sofa! You know those big poofy recliners or big poofy sofas? The ones with the big arms and the really poofy backs? Like the one pictured above? We in the design industry like to call those marshmallow sofas. Just stop having those. I know there are husbands out there that are going to say to me but those are so comfortable! I am here to tell you that there are really comfortable recliners that are NOT those big poofy recliners.

We have made great strides in the furniture industry. There are recliners that are super comfortable that are not all poofy like that. PLUS that type of furniture takes up SO much space in your room that you could be using for other things! Get a more streamlined recliner that’s still comfortable but much better looking!

Strange right? Such simple things, yet they change how people perceive your age? Past informs our present. But it doesn’t define who we are. Only we can define ourselves. SO, as I always say, decorate with what makes YOU happy! Maybe you like hanging your curtains the “old fashioned way”, maybe you like your marshmallow sofa. Hey, that’s okay! BUT if you want to change things up or if you want an update then start with those five things.

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