Almost 60% of American homes were built before 1980, according to Zippia. If you live in such a home, you may look around and realize it’s time to make a change…or several of them. Luckily, there are several ways you can enhance the interior beauty of your home. Whether you’re focusing on storage, adding stylish functionality, or enhancing window treatments, you can learn how to add architectural details to home interior by reading this guide.
Find Design Inspiration
There are many ways to find design inspiration for your home update. While you should bring in a home remodeling contractor to help you out, you may want to snip some ideas beforehand to give them some guidance. One good way to get some ideas is to look at all the amazing home renovations on Pinterest! Pinterest has tons of images and videos from people who’ve posted upgrades that would make anyone jealous. You can also look at renowned home magazines such as Home & Garden for further inspiration on how to update your interior.
Do you have really stylish friends and family that know how to add architectural details to home interior? Can some of their homes be featured in famous decor magazines? Ask them about their design choices and how they made those decisions. Don’t forget to visit home improvement stores and showrooms that display their latest designs.
Find a Home Design Professional
As mentioned, you shouldn’t tackle your home redesign by yourself. There are trained professionals specializing in taking a plain home and completely revamping it. A home remodeling contractor has the tools and experience to provide the updates you want in a much shorter amount of time than you could ever manage on your own. They have access to contractors and utility companies that can create the amazing upgrades you envision. One of the best things about hiring a home builder professional is that they act as the project manager for your home renovation. Of course, the final decision is yours. However, you should feel comfortable enough to follow their guidance about how to add architectural details to home interior. Step back and let them do their job and you’ll have high-level results.
Are you unsure where to find a professional to help renovate your home interior? One of the best things you can do is to get referrals. As mentioned, you may have family and friends who have amazing homes, so ask them for a referral regarding who helped them design their home interior. When you visit sites like Pinterest or architectural magazines, they often have the name of the designer or company that did those updates. You can also check social media and use the appropriate hashtags to find interior decorating professionals who post their work online.
Combine Function and Style
There are parts of your home known for functionality and protection, such as your windows and doors. However, just because something serves a specific function doesn’t mean it has to be plain and boring. For example, doors are used for entering and leaving spaces, as well as providing privacy. That doesn’t mean your door has to be a plain piece of wood. In addition to wooden doors, you can install iron or steel doors in your entryway. Not only are these doors great for protection from intruders, they often add style to your home. If you opt for a metal door, you can have designs carved into the metal on both sides to make it stand out. Your interior doors can be just as stylish, especially if you add French doors. A classic French door is a double door that comes in several types of treatments and designs. You can install a purely solid wood French door with designs carved into it. You may also install ones with transparent or frosted glass panels.
If you have old windows that are creaking, harder to open, or causing air leaks, it may be time to replace them with modern eco-friendly ones. Double-pane windows not only look better, but they also seal air inside the home. After installing updated windows, you can also further enhance them with beautiful window treatments. You don’t have to settle for only one window treatment. One way how to add architectural details to home interior is to combine various window treatments for optimum effect. Curtain rods can come in many intricate designs and materials, ranging from wood to metal. For example, you can have blinds on the first layer or fabric shades layered with sheer curtains followed by fabric curtains. You can also install French windows to match those French doors. Take things further by adding designer shutters.
Your kitchen backsplash traditionally serves as a safe spot on the wall that can absorb any liquid splashes when you’re cooking on a stove. The past few years have seen many designers and homeowners have fun with that part of the kitchen. Maintain its functionality by playing around with different materials and designs. Recent trends have gone beyond using tile to incorporate metal, such as battered tin or worked copper. Some modern designs let the countertop stone, such as marble, continue into the backsplash area.
There was a time when the sole purpose of the fireplace was to provide warmth in a home. Today, having a fireplace in a modern home is just as much for style as it can be for function. A beautiful brick fireplace or one with a nicely carved marble mantle is an architectural detail to behold. Burning wood in your fireplace can also be cost-effective. It’s another way how to add architectural details to home interior while saving on high energy bills.
Utilize Storage
Whether in your kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom, storage matters. Luckily, you can incorporate storage details while considering your interior architecture. Kitchen cabinetry has always been a major way to incorporate built-in storage through many styles and materials. A current trend in how to add architectural details to home interior involves the use of dark wood in the kitchen. Hidden shelves in the kitchen are a design feature that gives the kitchen a more sleek and minimalist look. You can also install pull-out shelves hidden behind cabinet doors.
On the flip side, another design trend is the use of more open storage. More people are utilizing the use of floating shelves, which are great for keeping things easily accessible and out in the open. It allows homeowners to show off their dishes, small appliances, cookbooks, and more. One latest design involves the use of one continuous open shelf that goes all around the kitchen.
A mirrored bathroom vanity is a great way to add storage to your bathroom. Since bathrooms are often filled with larger fixtures, such as the shower, tub, and sink, it may be harder to incorporate as much storage as you can in a larger kitchen. Luckily, vanities provide a way to not only have a space to get made up in the morning, but it’s also a great way to add storage in limited bathroom space.
Update Bathroom Fixtures
You can use bathroom design to show people how to add architectural details to home interior. While the bathroom vanity mentioned above is great for storage, there’s so much more you can do with bath remodeling. For example, if you currently have a shower-tub combo, you can revamp that by breaking it up into separate features. After a long day, imagine walking into a bathroom with a beautiful standalone claw tub that allows you to have a deep spa soak. Then you can build a stylish shower door worthy of showing off on Pinterest. Have an open shower with a partial glass door or a full sliding glass one. You can use frosted or clear glass depending on your preference.
Sometimes people forget about things they can do with bathroom fixtures such as sink handles, door knobs, and shower heads. Have fun with beautiful intricate metal knobs on these elements. When it comes to the shower, a multiple-head shower can give you the ultimate shower experience. Install one big rainfall shower head along with a smaller and adjustable one.
Did you know a window can also provide even more functionality, as well as a great architectural detail to the bathroom? Since the bathroom is such a moist room, keeping the humidity level down can be a challenge. By installing a window in or near the shower area, you can ensure your bathroom stays at a comfortable moisture level. Enjoy some natural light when getting ready in the morning.
Add Home Additions
Who says you should only worry about how to add architectural details to home interior of your existing rooms? A house building professional can further enhance your interior with home editions you may not have realized you could use. For example, you don’t have enough closet space. Home builders can add walk-in closets that will not only add more storage but can create a personal dressing room. The closet can have built-in seating, floor-length mirrors, drawers, and shelves. In other words, the main bedroom doesn’t have to also function as a clothing storage room when you have a walk-in closet for that sole purpose.
Do you have a basement in your home? If you’re only using your basement for storage, you are wasting its potential. Your local home building professional could turn your basement into an additional living space to serve many purposes. Show it off as an entertainment room when guests come over. Add the same architectural details you have in the rest of the house to create a large bedroom or a separate apartment space that you may eventually rent out. Do you work from home? That additional room can also work as a designated home office.
Update Flooring
Floors see tons of wear and tear over your lifetime. People and pets are constantly walking or running all over them. The type of flooring that you add can truly affect your interior look. A great way how to add architectural details to home interior is through floor upgrades. If you currently have carpeting, you may want to switch that out for hardwood, stone, or custom tiles. Carpets are soft and provide great insulation, especially in the cold winter months. However, the material is a hotbed for allergens, dust, and dirt. So, unless you’re getting regular steam cleaning, you may not always fully be able to clean your carpets at the level you could on a hard floor. Hardwood floors may enhance the value of your home. Potential home buyers love wood floors and associate them with luxury. A well-installed wood floor can easily last 100 years with good maintenance, according to Forbes. Another option to consider is stone flooring, which is another solid material that adds a natural element to the home.
Whether you get stone, cement, or wood flooring, you can further protect them by epoxy sealing. Floor sealing professionals can coat your floors with material that will protect them for years. A protective seal also makes floors easier to clean since you only have to sweep and mop. You don’t have to use specialized equipment or vacuums to properly clean or sanitize the floor. When people enter your home, a sealed floor will always appear shiny and clean, and you may end up posting photos of it on Pinterest.
Now that you understand how to add architectural details to home interior, achieving the showstopping home of your dreams is feasible. There are many design trends to consider, but you don’t have to organize such details on your own. Hire the services of a professional home-building team, and it will make the home interior design process much easier. You’ll have results that’ll please you while someone else oversees the work. Call our local team today for more information about enhancing the architectural details of your property.
