You live in a traditional-style home. Maybe it’s a colonial or Victorian. Perhaps it’s a bungalow. At any rate, you have always wanted something more contemporary. Yet you cannot afford to build. Can you turn traditional design into contemporary and stay within a budget?
You can pretty much do anything you want with home remodeling. The trick is figuring out what to do with the budget you have. Moreover, some projects require more labor than others. You have to be willing to put in the work or pay someone else to do it.
A Definition of Contemporary Design
Before you even plan a home remodeling project, it might be a wise idea to define what you are after. Park City, Utah architectural firm Sparano + Mooney explains that contemporary design reflects the styles and preferences of the immediate present. For example, one of the hottest options in contemporary design right now is the open floor plan.
If you were to remodel a bungalow to create a more open floor plan, you would be dealing with structural walls. This is not a problem if you have the money to spend. But your budget might not allow you to go true contemporary across the board. Maybe you cannot afford to remove load-bearing walls. But you can afford to change the paint scheme and add a few new windows.
Be Prepared for Gasps
Something else you should be aware of is the potential to turn off family members and friends. Re-imagining a traditional home to make it look more contemporary tends to be met with skepticism and incredulity. Consider an old Victorian with tons of gum wood throughout.
You are bound to raise eyebrows by removing all of the gum wood baseboards and crown molding. Should you decide to replace or paint all of the old doors, be prepared for gasps. To a lot of people, it just makes no sense to remodel a Victorian and make it look more contemporary.
Budget Friendly Project
This post assumes that the desire to remodel your home is partly due to the fact that you cannot afford to build a contemporary house from scratch. That means you are on a budget. So why not start out with a few budget friendly projects and see where they go? Here are a few suggestions:
Straighten Some Lines
A key component in contemporary design is straight lines. Maybe it’s time for you to straighten some in your home. For example, that arched walkway between the living room and kitchen can be given hard corners. Straightening a curved archway is an inexpensive project that can be completed in under a week.
Fresh Paint
A new coat of paint is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to give your home a more contemporary look. Consider a monotone color scheme rooted in earth tones or subtle shades of gray. The right paint scheme can transform a darker, more traditional look into something more open and airy.
Remove Those Carpets
A lot of people looking for a contemporary aesthetic choose to rip out carpets. They replace them with genuine tile or a manufactured product that resembles either tile or natural wood. Replacing the floors can be a bit more costly, but you can save money by doing the work yourself. Modern floating floors are fairly easy to install for anyone who has basic DIY skills.
It is possible to turn a more traditional home into one that reflects contemporary design. If you are thinking of doing it, your biggest constraint will be your budget. Choose those projects that will give you the most for your money.