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You're Making Your Home Look Dated If You Aren't Doing Any Of These Things

These modern upgrades are surprisingly quick and easy.

Written by Allison Scholtz
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
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Homes can become dated easily and quickly, and the desire to constantly update them is always there. But I promise this list of home upgrades won’t give you nightmares of ripping out an old kitchen backsplash or completely redoing bathroom tiles. Instead, I searched for all of the small details around your home that are making it look dated and came up with the easiest fixes.

So, don’t worry about removing any tiles or changing out cabinets. Simply scroll through this list and find every low-effort product you need to make your home feel seriously modern.

1Creating An Expensive-Looking Staircase With These Motion-Sensor LEDs

These battery-powered LED lights will make your stairs feel so elevated because they create a warm white glow. They’re easy to install with the included adhesive or screws. Each one has motion sensors, so they simply turn on when you go within 10 feet of your stairs — which honestly makes your house feel super expensive.

2Refreshing Your Bed With These Crisp, Soft Sheets That Won’t Wrinkle

Sheets get worn out way too quickly, so grab this budget-friendly, wrinkle-free six-piece sheet set for an instantly refreshed bedroom. They won’t fade in the washing machine, so they’ll look new every time you make your bed with them. Plus, if your comforter is a little too warm, this set is breathable and moisture-wicking, making it suitable for all seasons.

3Repainting Older Grout With This Easy & Low-Odor Pen

When you scrub your shower and you’re still left with stains and old-looking grout, grab this brightening grout pen. It lets you paint right over that dull grout with the extra-precise tip. This low-odor fix also dries quickly, so you can work on another section of the shower without smudging your work.

4Protecting Hardwood With These Adhesive-Free Chair Leg Covers

These transparent furniture leg covers won’t slide off your chairs and coffee tables like those frustrating stick-on pads. They also have a stretchy pull-on design that won’t put any sticky adhesive on the legs of your chairs or sofa. Of course, they have protective and cushioned felt pads on the bottom of each one to keep your hardwood and tile floors in tip-top shape.

5Helping Your Pricey Wood Cutting Board With A Best-Selling Mineral Oil

If your go-to charcuterie boards, cutting boards, and butcher block are looking a little sad, this mineral oil restore them. This food-grade formula fixes dryness and protects your favorite boards from splitting, so you’ll won’t have to strategically cover up cracks with cheese slices. This multi-use oil is also great for stainless steel, marble, and soapstone.

6Making Your Pantry Instagram-Worthy With These Containers

Pantry looking a little disorganized? Not only are these food storage containers completely airtight, but they can also help make even the messiest pantries Instagram-worthy. They’re great for helping keep dry ingredients fresh, whether you fill them with cereal or lentils — and each order even includes a set of chalkboard labels to help you keep track of what’s inside.

7Protecting Your Cabinets With These Sound-Dampening Bumpers

Yes — these clear little bumpers are all you need to take care of those annoying and way-too-loud cabinets. Their protective rubber design comes with adhesive on the back, so you can quickly stick them to cabinets, drawers, doors, and more to keep your wood in tip-top shape and dampen noise from family members who like to slam things shut.

8Protecting Your Pricey Wood Table With These Washable, Heat-Resistant Placemats

Keep your kitchen table in tip-top shape, even if you spill a bit of pasta sauce, because these protective placemats are completely stain-resistant and heat resistant up to 176 degrees. After dinner, you can wash these waterproof mats in the sink with all of your dishes. This durable PVC and polyester set also has a minimalist design that’s easy to pair with all of your dishes and napkins.

9Scrubbing The Toilet With This Stain-Removing Pumice Stone

If that old toilet brush isn’t cutting it, this unique pumice stone scrubber will take care of a stained toilet. The durable and dense abrasive design can even fix that stubborn hard water ring, limescale, rust, and more. Plus, the attached handle makes it easy to maneuver around awkward spaces.

10Swapping A Grimy Shower Curtain For This Chic & Machine Washable Option

If your shower curtain never seems to dry, this trendy waffle-knit curtain will give your bathroom a crisp and clean look. It’s water resistant and heavy, so it’ll keep dry and not billow. Best of all, it’s topped off with reinforced stitching, so this chic curtain won’t shrink in the washing machine.

11Erasing Stains All Over Your Home With This Commercial Grade Spray

Pop this pH-neutral stain spray in your cleaning closet, and you’ll be ready for grease on your shirt, spilled coffee on your sofa, and even wine stains or dirt on the carpet. The water-based and pet-safe formula works all over your house anytime something spills — pretty much no matter what it spills on.

12Keeping Your Furniture Stain-Free With These Aesthetic Coasters

These ceramic coasters protect your furniture, of course, but they also add a trendy detail to your home decor with that neutral cement finish. But if that isn’t your taste, they come in two other styles: white marble and classic marble. Under that adorable print, there’s a super absorbent layer and a non-slip cork bottom. They also look tidy on your coffee table or tucked in a side table drawer with the included holder.

13Adding A Pop Of Color & Texture To Your Space With These On-Trend Pillows

These velvet throw pillows are so on-trend that you won’t even have to update your sofa. With the pleated details and adorable circular shape, they’ll add plenty of trendiness to whatever chair, couch, or bedding you’re tired of. They also have a shiny, finish in over a dozen colors that will look chic no matter what throw blanket you pair them with.

14Matching All Of Your Towels With This Fluffy Yet Absorbent Set

This seriously soft 100% Turkish cotton towel set is the quickest fix for old, mismatched towels in the bathroom. Their fluffy design makes this set super absorbent and soft enough to dry your face during your skincare routine. They also won’t lose any plushness or color in the washing machine, which is great because they come in 15 different shades.

15Taking Care Of Every Hole In The Wall Wall With This Compact Repair Kit

Go ahead and buy some trendy and updated wall art, because this small hole repair kit makes it easy to take care of your walls. Whatever holes are left from your old prints (even large ones), this set will handle it with a screen and a primer-enhanced spackle. It’s also topped off with a putty knife and sanding pad to finish everything up.

16Adding Chic Storage To Bland Walls With These Floating Shelves

With this set of floating shelves, you can easily add tons of storage space to large, blank walls. The torched wood finish and industrial brackets give them a rustic feel, and they’re even made from solid Paulownia wood — not flimsy MDF. The best part? Each one is so sturdy that they can support up to 40 pounds.

17Dusting Delicate Decor With This Unique Duster

It’s definitely worth adding this duster to your closet, because it helps you dust all of your delicate decor pieces that you usually avoid — which ages your home. The fluffy microfiber design is gentle enough to take care of picture frames or dainty jewelry trays. You can also pop the actual duster off and wash it in the washing machine.

18Adding This Luxe, Silky Pillowcase To Your Bedding

This 100% mulberry silk pillowcase makes your bedding feel way more expensive, and it’ll keep you cool — always a plus. It’s topped off with a hidden zipper, so you never have to deal with half of your pillow hanging out of this luxuriously silky and machine washable pillow case.

19Hanging These Matching Gallery Frames To Display Family Photos

This set of picture frames is basically a gallery wall that’s ready to pop on your wall without you needing to figure out coordinating frames. The seven durable frames have varying sizes, so you can hang them vertically or horizontally, and they’ll look aesthetic while displaying family memories.

20Reviving Sofas & Chairs With This Fabric Defuzzer

It’s super helpful to keep this fabric defuzzer in a living room drawer or basket because it will out your sofa when it starts to pill. There are three different depth settings, so you can be sure that this handheld shaver is gentle enough for the upholstery on your favorite chair.

21Using These Protective Silicone Trivets All Over Your Kitchen

These silicone trivets are obviously handy for hot pans, but they’re also super helpful for serving water or mimosas at brunch because they catch all the condensation. This four-pack comes with two squares and two circles to protect your counters from water stains and hot cookware. You can even use these versatile mats as a spoon rest to prevent messy stains.

22Illuminating Your Living Room With These Flexible LED TV Lights

Not only will these LED light strips illuminate the area behind your TV with an aesthetic glow, but they also give you 15 colors to change up the vibe depending on the movie you’re watching. The flexible strip design means you can also line your headboard, the top of your closet, and more with these chic lights.

23Creating Gorgeous Table Centerpieces With This Lazy Susan

Adding a gorgeous centerpiece to your dining table is a fun way to liven up your kitchen — but that’s only part of the reason why this lazy Susan is such a great find. It’s made from handcrafted white marble, with protective foot pads on the bottom that help keep your surfaces free from scratches. And at 12 inches in diameter, you can easily load it up with flowers, salt and pepper shakers, or nearly anything else you think would look good sitting out on your table.

24Wiping Away Smudges With This Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish

This stainless steel cleaner saves you from trying out a bunch of ways to try to clean the smudges off your fridge. It also saves you from wiping away those smudges and fingerprints every day because it has a protective formula that prevents them. It also has lavender essential oil to leave behind a fresh smell on all of your stainless steel appliances.

25Fixing Coffee Table Rings & Nicks With This Wood Furniture Repair Kit

Fix up all of your wood furniture, or even those frustrating scratches and scuffs on a wood floor, with this budget-friendly repair kit. The markers make it super quick to cover up whatever scratch or ring is bothering you on your coffee table, and the wax sticks allow you to fill in deeper nicks. The six available colors are sure to match your wooden features flawlessly.

26Lighting Up Your Home With These Adorable Tea Light Holders

Lighting a few candles is an easy way to set a relaxing mood, so why not grab these tea light holders? The geometric style is incredibly modern, while the metallic gold finish adds a slight pop of chic color wherever you place them. They’re also available in silver if you aren’t into gold — all while the rust-resistant finish helps keep them looking good for years to come.

27Hanging Up These Fresh & Minimalist Kitchen Towels

This bulk pack of 100% cotton kitchen towels gives you enough trendy towels to always have a replacement when you need to wash them. Plus, the minimalist stripe and solid classic color designs on these absorbent towels areway better than old and stained kitchen towels hanging out on your countertop.

28Installing A Best-Selling Hanging Paper Towel Holder That Looks Built In

This hanging paper towel holder saves some space, but it also elevates your kitchen because it looks custom and built-in. Only you’ll know that there’s actually just adhesive on the back of this sleek stainless steel holder, so it’s super quick to stick on your kitchen wall.

29Adding An On-Trend Matte Finish To Scuffed-Up Furniture

Instead of trying to stain or fix a scratched-up piece of furniture, grab this paint with the trendiest matte finish. The chalky formula comes in 50 colors and doesn’t really have any pre-painting steps. It dries in 30 minutes, so you can quickly make dated furniture pieces look super trendy.

30Sorting Disorganized Drawers With These Collapsible Bins

Underwear drawer looking a little worse for wear? Consider these bins a must-have if you’re looking to get organized. They’re made from non-woven fabric that lets you undergarments breathe, which in turn helps prevent them from absorbing unwanted odors while in storage. And if you ever decide you no longer need them, each one collapses down flat for easy storage.

31Embracing Your Inner Home Cook With These Stainless Steel Utensils

Sometimes the smallest details make the biggest impact — like swapping outdated utensils with these modern stainless steel ones. Not only are they resistant to rust, but each one is also made from a single solid piece of stainless steel, which means you won’t have to worry about the heads separating from the handles. And unlike some utensils, these ones also come with a stylish holder to keep them looking neat and tidy.

32Swapping A Bedside Lamp With This Charger-Tidying Lamp

This aesthetic little bedside lamp with an LED bulb tidies up all of the chargers on your nightstand because it has two built-in USB charging spots. It has an on-trend light wood base that doubles as a touch-enabled brightness switch and a minimalist shade that won’t take up a ton of nightstand room.

33Upgrading From Plastic Mixing Bowls To These Sleek Glass Ones

Not only are these mixing bowls made from durable tempered glass, but each one also comes with a matching airtight lid so that you can also use them to store leftovers. And once you’ve finished cooking, you can nest the bowls inside of each other to help save storage space in your cabinets.

34Opening Up Some Closet Space With These Purse Organizers

If your purses are taking up a ton of room in your closet, these organizers are a smart way to open up some space. They’re designed to hang overtop of any standard-sized door — and no tools are required for installation. The clear pockets also let you see exactly where each purse is stored without having to unpack anything, and you even have the choice of four colors: black, grey, white, or java brown.

35Pairing This Trendy Waffle-Knit Blanket With Your Living Room Furniture

Stick this waffle-knit blanket in a basket in the living room or fold it over your sofa, and your living room will instantly feel trendier, especially because it comes in over 20 fun colors and classic neutrals. The adorable texture is made of machine-washable fleece fabric, so it’s extra-plush. Even with this fluffy waffle-knit design, this blanket is still super lightweight.

36Cleaning Up Your Bathroom Floor With This Bamboo Bath Mat

Pop this unique bamboo bathmat next to the shower, and your bathroom will totally look updated. Unlike fluffy bathmats, this spa-worthy breathable design won’t get grimy or stay damp all the time because it has a water-resistant design. Plus, it’s as easy to clean or wipe down as your bathroom tiles.

37Decorating Your Bathroom Vanity With These Apothecary Jars

From Q-tips to cotton swabs, these apothecary jars can be used to store all sorts of small bathroom items in style. They’re made from thick plastic, with waterproof lids that help keep everything inside safe from humidity — and many reviewers even wrote about how they’re the “perfect size.” Choose from three colors: clear, black, or red.

38Saving Space On Your Closet Rod With These Thin Hangers

Unlike the clunky plastic hangers you’ve probably been using, these slim ones can help you open up so much more space on your closet rod. They’re coated with soft velvet that helps keep your clothes from sliding off — and despite their thin frame, each one can easily hold up to 10 pounds. Choose from seven colors: gray, black, blush, ivory, pink, purple, or turquoise.

39Using These Pillar Candles To Decorate Bland Spaces

If you’re having trouble finding decorations that’ll look good in your home, consider taking a look at these pillar candles. Not only are they sure to look good on shelves, desks, nightstands, or nearly anywhere else, but each one also has a burn time of up to 55 hours. Choose from 10 colors, ranging from classic ivory to a deep shade of burgundy.

40Stacking Up These Shatter-Proof Organizers In Your Fridge

Your kitchen will feel seriously updated with just a bit of organization, and these stackable containers will take care of the fridge. These shatter-proof containers even have handles on each side, so you can pull them out like an extra refrigerator drawer. They’re also transparent, so you can see what veggies or ingredients are inside before you pull one out.

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