Design Tips: Adding a Modern Element to Your Home

Your house is your safe space, your sanctuary and the place where you can come home from a long day to unwind. Your home is also the reflection of who you are, the personalization of your interests, tastes, and style. 80% of people state that it is important to them to keep a home that is orderly, structured and pleasant to look at.

Psychologists, in fact, state that the neater and more balanced the home is, the better it is for the mental health of the occupant. People are deeply affected by their surroundings and if their environments are cluttered, unattractive and aging, the chaos of the rooms can negatively impact your state of mind.

If you are currently staying in a home that needs a bit of an upgrade, or just needs something to breathe some life back into it, look no further. Not only can an upgrade make you feel like you are living in a new home, but it can increase the value of your home. So, if a modern touch is what you are looking for, we thought we would touch on a few upgrades that you can add to your home.

The outdoor area can be one of the most rewarding and fun projects to work on to give your home the facelift it needs. Whether you entertain guests every weekend or love nothing better than snuggling under the stars, a great outdoor area can transform your life. The first thing you will need to look at is what is underfoot. The grass is great for some areas of your backyard, however, you will need a space for your entertainment and barbecuing area.

Block paving is currently very trendy and provides a great solution on which you can build up a pergola, add outdoor seating, or even add a firepit. It will neaten up the whole area and is perfect to keep clean, as you simply need to spray the paving down. Just make sure to research how much laying block paving would cost before simply jumping into it, and make sure you compare suppliers.

As mentioned, outdoor entertainment areas are currently all the rage. One of the biggest trends is creating an outdoor oasis of indoor like furniture covered in rustic, durable materials under a built-up structure. Outdoor bar-fridges, gas barbeques and soft fairy lighting is highly popular for outdoor transformations. If you are really wanting something different, fire pits will create a unique space to sit around on long nights with friends and family.

The kitchen is one of the most popular rooms to be upgraded in homes globally and its functionality is a top priority. Not only is the kitchen one of the most utilized rooms in the home, but it is also seen more by guests and visitors. The kitchen comes with various built-in functioning parts which need to be kept in working condition and which can age quickly due to wear and tear. Space is also at high risk of water damage and will need to be kept modernized at all times.

The first thing you can look at, apart from changing the wall paint color, is changing up the lighting. Adding in downlighters will lift the ceilings and make space seem bigger and brighter. You can also add interesting signature lights like exposed bulbs or industrial geometrical chandeliers for a sleek lighting look.

The second thing that you can do to freshen up your kitchen is to redo the cabinets and tabletops. You can either go for the totally concealed storage, or the ultra-modern exposed where everything is carefully placed on exposed shelving. A touch up of the tabletops will freshen your kitchen look, with black marble being one of the most sought-after styles at the moment. Lastly, look at your taps and sinks, and try and swap them out for a sleek and efficient design.

Like the kitchen, your bathroom is highly utilized and faces a lot of wear and tear compared to the rest of the house. It is constantly exposed to heat and moisture and will need upgrades regularly. The lighting here is important, but so is the layout of the bathroom. It is important to analyze the layout of your bathroom to see whether space is being used effectively. You can choose to remove the bathtub and add in a shower, or combine the two and create a wetroom. If that seems a bit drastic, you can look at simpler things to change to make the bathroom seem bigger.

Adding pops of color or a statement wall can change the whole persona of the bathroom, and can give it a new modern touch. This year has seen the addition of sleek, black and industrial fixtures come in, with the glam luxury look being faded out. Faucets, sinks, and even exposed pipes have the rough, industrial look to them, which will also give your bathroom a larger, more open feel.

Natural woods, white and gray tiles, and even concrete washed walls will give your bathroom the ultra-modern look you are going for. You should pay attention to small details too, like the shelving and plants. Hanging plants are wildly popular, especially in bathrooms to counter the harsh industrial look, while exposed hanging shelves allow for meticulous placement of your products, plants and eye-catching accessories. Matte finishes are the last thing you should have on your list when renovating your bathroom. This is a trend that will be lasting for years and works perfectly with the rest of the bathroom feels that we have suggested.

Keeping up with trends, especially when redesigning your bathroom or kitchen is very important, but what you have to keep in mind is the longevity of the trend. You might spend a fortune on upgrading your home, only for the look to look dated in a few years. Our advice is to keep the building and structural parts of the home simple and classic and add in trendy fixtures, appliances, and accessories that can be easily interchanged when need be. Light fixtures and paint colors can be changed every few years, whereas taps and sink fixtures should last at least a decade or more. Make sure you do a lot of research before kicking off your building projects.

Published in: Home advice | Author: Sam