Tips for Modernizing your Home

Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine, Fall 2007

Thoroughly Modern Milieu. Companion article to Modern Masterpiece.

A thoroughly modern bedroom.

What characterizes modern design? According to Boulder architect J. V. DeSousa, “When I think of things being modern, I think of them not overwrought with fussy ornamentation. The look is minimal, but definitely not empty. Modernism reduces things down to a very clear and simple palette of ideas or colors that can still be quite rich. Simplicity is key.”

How can you bring a modern aesthetic into your house? Here are a few suggestions:

•    Choose furniture, fixtures and art with classic styles that avoid trends. Svelte Scandinavian furniture from the 1950s is still fresh, for instance.

•    Everything should be well crafted, beautifully proportioned and true to the material from which it is made. Never go “faux.”

•    Embrace textured finishes.

•    Illuminate art and work surfaces. Colorful pendants, art spotlights and monorail tracks are a great way to start upgrading to modern.

•    Avoid oversized furniture.

•    Choose contemporary art and display it well.

•    Go for deep, rich colors, as well as bright splashes of paint.

•    Use metal, glass, tile, wood and other materials in combination.

—Wendy Underhill