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Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific

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Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific

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Learn Kim Colaprete’s six tricks to update your home from dated to Divarific, all without breaking the bank! 

What are the best tricks to update your home from dated to Divarific, without breaking the bank? Make sure your flooring is dialed in since it is the foundation of your interior design. Get rid of any boob lights in your home, and update to something modern; there are many affordable, modern light fixtures available these days. A fresh coat of paint in an on-trend color can go a long way, and it’s a low-cost way to completely transform a space. Countertops can take your kitchen or bathrooms from “blah” to “BOOM!” in an instant, and the same is true for appliances. All of your kitchen appliances should be the same color; don’t be tempted to mix and match. And finally, curb appeal really is everything—you need beautiful landscaping with pops of color! 

Here are Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific 

  1. Trick #1: Give Your Feet Something New to Walk On 
  2. Trick #2: Banish the Boob Lights 
  3. Trick #3: Make Benjamin Moore and Sherman Williams Your Best Friends
  4. Trick #4: Countertops Can Take Your Space From Blah to BOOM!
  5. Trick #5: Step Up Your Appliance Game
  6. Trick #6: Curb Appeal is Everything!

Check Out Kim’s Video About Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific (Without Breaking the Bank) 

I’m Kim Colaprete with Team Diva at Coldwell Banker Bain, and in this video, I’m at our new listing in Burien. It is the perfect example of how to easily update your home! Now, this house has just been completely remodeled from top to bottom and inside and out. That said, most of us don’t need this intense a remodel to make our homes look Divariffic. So let’s talk about my six simple tricks to make your home look Divariffic! 


Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific

In the era of HGTV, I think it is almost impossible to not have “house envy.” And I get it. HGTV—like all “reality TV”—presents a very unrealistic picture of what it really takes to jazz up your home. But we are here to tell you that you don’t need to be a DIY specialist, or spend $100K, or hire a high-end designer to update your home. Instead, I’m here to show you six simple tricks to update your home from dated to Divariffic, all without breaking the bank!

Trick #1: Give Your Feet Something New to Walk On 

Old carpeting, Pergo flooring, cheap vinyl: These have all gotta go! Flooring is so important because it is the foundation of your interior design. If your flooring sucks, it won’t matter that you spent $50K on that new spanky kitchen. 

A great way to upgrade your flooring beyond new carpet or finishing hardwoods is to install Engineered Hardwoods in your home. The variety of options has skyrocketed in the past few years. These are beautiful products that are not necessarily expensive. You can spend anywhere from $3 to $10 a square foot. And many places (like Lowe’s!) also sell eco-friendly products that are formaldehyde free.

Hot tip: Most places that sell engineered hardwoods also have installers ready to go to help you get this installed quickly and easily. But you can also install it yourself if you happen to be the DIY type. I also love that in our Burien listing, the new flooring is water-resistant, something I need in my house with 4 pets and a teen!

Trick #2: Banish the Boob Lights 

Ok, I promise not to go all Mommie Dearest on y’all, but NO MORE boob lights. Please! The amount of inexpensive modern lighting available in our world is mindblowing. As you replace your lighting, there are some key things to remember: Adding can lights is always a plus in darker areas of the home or where you want focused light. But make sure to go the extra step to add dimmers! Being able to control the level of brightness is super important. If you don’t enjoy dining at a restaurant under glaring bright lights, why do it in your home? (This is one of my favorite tricks to update your home!)

When replacing chandeliers, scones, or flush mount lighting, make sure to go with consistency. Your home does not have to be all gold, all chrome, or all black, but fixtures that clash within the same zone or common areas is a no-no. 

Trick #3: Make Benjamin Moore and Sherman Williams Your Best Friends

Refreshing the paint in your home both inside and out is one of the easiest, cheapest, and best ways to update your home. Do you have to use Benjamin Moore or Sherman Williams? Of course not. But don’t skimp on good quality paint or buy enough paint to get great coverage.

The outside of this Burien home was just painted with some Sherman Williams Peppercorn, and wow, does it make this home stand out from the crowd? The best part about painting is that it’s easy to replace. So when that red accent wall is no longer hip and modern, just find the new Pantone color of the year and go to town!

Trick #4: Countertops Can Take Your Space From Blah to BOOM!

I’ll be honest. I am one of those folks who is tortured about picking countertops. This is another situation where the number of options can be overwhelming. That said, new countertops can really take your kitchen or bath from blah to BOOM! 

While granite might not be completely out of date, there are definitely changes in styles that come and go. Getting rid of a dated color or patterned countertop will increase the Divariffic Factor. Honed granite is a great, more modern, and less expensive option than marble or quartzite, for example. Man-made quartz countertops are easy to find, and come in great design styles, and most places that sell countertops also have installers to recommend.

Trick #5: Step Up Your Appliance Game

This trick to update your home needs minimal explanation, but know that updating your appliances to stainless steel gets you the most bang for your buck on the Divariffic factor. Now, there is nothing wrong with going all white or all black if it works in the home you live in. My suggestion is just don’t mix and match. 

Also, if you really want the “wow” factor, upgrade ALL the appliances. A swanky modern smart fridge paired with a dated electric coil top white stove just looks weird. Go cheaper on the fancy fridge and get a full package of upgrades!

Trick #6: Curb Appeal is Everything!

Curb appeal is about paint and lighting for sure. But it is also about landscaping. If you spend all of your money on swanking up your home’s exterior but leave the yard looking like a mess of overgrown bushes and dead plants, no one will notice your newly painted Peppercorn exterior. Clean up dead plants and bushes, add pops of color with lavender or colorful grasses, and add potted plants with rotating seasonal flowers and grasses on your porch or by your front entry. You can get stellar curb appeal with minimal effort! 


Thank You For Learning Our Six Tricks to Update Your Home from Dated to Divarific

What are the best tricks to update your home from dated to Divarific, without breaking the bank? Flooring is the foundation of your interior design, so make sure your flooring is dialed in. Nix the boob lights and choose light fixtures that are modern and stylish; there are many affordable, modern options these days. Another low-cost way to transform a home is with paint, and a fresh coat of paint can go a long way! When you’re freshening up your kitchen and bathrooms, new counters have a big impact, and the same is true of appliances. Don’t be tempted to mix and match colors of kitchen appliances; everything should match. Finally, don’t forget about curb appeal—having eye-catching landscaping with pops of color is a must! 

More Details:

  • MLS:  2047258
  • Address: 1227 SW 118th, Burien, WA
  • Neighborhood: Burien 
  • Price: $579,000
  • More Information >

Want to see this Burien Home in all of its glory? 

See It In Person – Call/Text The Diva Desk Phone 206-271-0264

We are here to help. Our team understands that this process can take a year or two. And we are more than willing to give you a personalized plan to get the ball rolling. Feel free to contact us directly at thediva@teamedivarealestate.com or call/text 206-271-0264.

Kim Colaprete

Kim Colaprete

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