Simple Swaps to Modernize Your Home

When looking to modernize your home, these simple exterior design trend swaps can bring your home from outdated to outstanding.

Decorative Trim

One trend that has lost it’s luster in modern design is the excessive use of decorative trim and ornamentation. While intricate detailing was once a sign of prestige and craftsmanship, it can overwhelm the overall aesthetic of a home. These designs fit well with traditional style homes, but if you’re looking to modernize, a minimalist design may be a better option.

Detailed Trim

The gabled roof and blue clapboard siding of a house are shown, with white trim accentuating the edges, offering a prime example of how to boost your home's curb appeal and value.

Clean Simple Lines

A modern white two-story house with large black-framed windows and a gabled roof, featuring a small porch and a visible house number "4548," showcases how to boost your home's curb appeal and value, surrounded by trees and neighboring homes.

Old House Numbers

Despite their seemingly minor role in the overall exterior design, house numbers wield significant influence in dating a home’s appearance. When updating the exterior look, ditch the serif fonts and sticker numbers for modern wall mounted house numbers. Changing up the placement or orientation can also give them a more modern appearance. Readability is the most important factor so make sure that no matter what you choose, the size and contrast allow for easy identification.

Serif Fonts & Colors

A close-up of a black door with the silver number 26 affixed to its center, illustrating how to boost your home's curb appeal and value.

Sans Serif Fonts & Neutrals

A black sign with the number 26 in silver is mounted on a brick wall next to an archway entrance, showcasing how to boost your home's curb appeal and value.

Hardware & Door Knobs

Old hardware and door knobs are a dead giveaway of an outdated home. Simple swaps like black hardware and square style handles can go a long way to modernize a home’s appearance. If you like the traditional look, try cleaning up, painting, or adding new handles that are free of wear and tear. Fresh handles make your home look well taken care of. No more worn metals or chipped hardware here!

Worn Knobs & Pulls

A close-up of a light gray door with a brass handle and an integrated keyhole below it, showcasing how to boost your home's curb appeal and value effortlessly.

Fresh Handles

A display of various door handles and levers arranged on a white board in multiple styles and finishes, mounted on a wall. Discover how to boost your home's curb appeal and value with this elegant selection.

Faux Shutters

Shutters were once a functional part of a home’s exterior creating both protection and privacy. Today, they are often purely decorative, but it’s important to ensure they still fit the style of the home. Gone are the days of slapping up shutters to fill space or draw interest. A well done shutter should appear operable and capable of covering the window when closed. The shape and size should match the window and be accompanied by the appropriate hardware. Incorrectly chosen shutters can make a home’s aesthetic feel disjointed and lack consistency.

Poorly Sized & Shaped Shutters

A double-hung window with green shutters on a white brick wall reflects trees, with the lower sash partially open and white blinds visible inside. Such charming details can show you how to boost your home's curb appeal and value effortlessly.

Realistic Shutters

A modern house with gray siding and white trim features a gable roof and three windows, one of which has closed white shutters. The sky in the background is partly cloudy, showcasing a perfect example of how to boost your home's curb appeal and value.

Yellow & Brown Exteriors

Yellow siding paired with brown stone evokes a sense of a bygone era, reminiscent of design trends from decades past. While once popular, this combination now feels tired and lacks contemporary appeal. Homeowners seeking to refresh their home’s appearance may opt to replace the yellow siding with a more neutral or modern color palette and update the stone accents with lighter or more stylish materials to breathe new life into their home’s exterior.

Yellow Siding & Brown Accents

Single-story house with stone and yellow siding, surrounded by vibrant autumn trees displaying green, yellow, and orange foliage—learn how to boost your home's curb appeal and value with a touch of seasonal charm.

Neutral & Light Colors

A single-story white house with black shutters, a covered front porch, manicured lawn, and a curved concrete pathway leading to the front door, surrounded by trees and shrubs on a sunny day showcases how to boost your home's curb appeal and value effortlessly.

Ornate Front Doors

Outdated front doors adorned with decorative inlays have a traditional charm but can often feel dated in modern home design. While these intricate details may have been fashionable in previous eras, they now lack the sleek simplicity sought after by many homeowners. The ornamental inlays, often featuring intricate patterns or elaborate carvings, can overwhelm the facade and detract from the overall aesthetic appeal. Homeowners looking to update their entryway may consider replacing these outdated doors with sleeker, more streamlined designs that offer a fresh and inviting look to their home’s exterior.