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Home decor trends come and go and when it comes to selling your home, buyers don’t want to think about updating it. But as a home seller, you don’t want to spend too much money on a house you no longer want, right? Now there are a lot of things that can date a home like old appliances, but here I am talking about home decor trends. Fix these five home decor trends that date your home and sell your home faster.
1. Frameless mirrors
Frameless mirrors fall in the dated home decor trends that need to be removed when selling a home. You can easily build a frame around the mirror or if it is already discolored you can just replace it. If you replace the mirror, you can use two smaller mirrors over the sinks in a master bathroom or one large one over a single sink. The framed mirror doesn’t have to cover the length of the original mirror. It just needs to be hung and centered over the sink. The framed mirror can be oval, round or rectangular and make sure it is hung at eye level.
Case study: In the pictures to the left, you can see the mirror was replaced with a smaller framed mirror. Other updates included removing a strange medicine shelf, as well as a new sink, faucet, lighting and updated counter tops. This was a master bathroom that needed the small renovations to help sell the house faster. This house sold for over asking price and in 4 days at $903,000.
2. Hollywood lightsÂ
I call them Hollywood lights but they are the bar of lightbulbs that usually hang (again) in the bathroom. Hollywood lights will definitely date your bathroom and are an old home decor trend. They should be changed out and may require an electrician but most homeowners can change out a light fixture.
You can find a nice updated light fixture for about $100 at your local home improvement store. it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A 3-light vanity light fixture is all you need over the sink or even a 4-light fixture based on the size of the bathroom cabinet. Pick one that goes with the style of your home or bathroom to help update the look of your home.
3. Heavy drapes and valances
Normally I see heavy drapes, valances or curtains in homes of homeowners in their 60s or above. These heavy curtains actually make the home feel darker. To fix these dated home decor trends, replace the heavy drapes with sheer, light colored curtains. Valances are definitely dated and should be removed altogether. Sometimes you will see valances in more luxury type homes but even then, that is a dated look too.
4. Old chandelier
Some of you may love the antique look but I’m talking about the “boob” lights or the old brass lights. A nice crystal chandelier is fine in a dining room, but the ones in the front entryway or kitchen need to be replaced. In the picture to the left, the chandelier is dated with glass and gold. Replace it with a more modern chandelier to update the look.
5. Fluorescent Lighting
If you have fluorescent lighting in your kitchen, it is time to upgrade it. Put in some canned recessed lighting which will require an electrician to do the work. Four cans of recessed lighting is better than fluorescent lighting. New lighting is more energy efficient too for the home than fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lighting also has toxic elements inside the bulb and make it much more difficult to recycle.
If recessed canned lighting is not an option, try replacing the fixture with an LED fixture in the kitchen instead. There are many new options to upgrade that may just work instead.
Those are your five home decor trends that date your home. So if you want to sell your home soon, these are the things you will want to look at and update. And if you need more areas on what to focus on when it comes to sell your home, download my free ebook, Top 10 Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Faster. It gives you 10 areas to focus on to prepare your home for sale. If you have an aging parent, have never staged your home before or haven’t moved in 10-20 years, this is a great resource to get you started and get your house sold faster.