You know your home decor is scruffy and outdated when…

As a decorator, I have visited many different houses and met owners with questionable taste. One thing that surprises me is people who live in a time warp. I recently had a client hire me because she had an “ah-ha moment” seeing the style of her living room on a sitcom rerun from circa 1980. Yeah, her living room hadn’t been remodeled in 25 years. . Sometimes people just decorate like their mother did because that’s all they’ve ever known. Let’s not be scruffy and stale.

So how can you tell if you’re living in a time warp and need to revamp the look of your home?

Here are just some of the tell-tale signs:

1. Look for. Do you see? If you see a popcorn or glitter ceiling mixed with ceiling paint, it has a dated look.
2. Now look down. Do you see dark carpets? more than 10 years? Do you see plush wall-to-wall carpeting? The trend is definitely hardwood floors with beautiful rugs
3. Look to the side. Do you see any fake wood paneling at all? The darker and brighter it is, the worse it is. No panels!
4. What do you see on the wall? Please don’t tell me you see white paint. The trend is color, color and color. Don’t be bland! A rich and complex color can bring your room to the new
5. If you took a picture off the wall, is that a telltale sign that it hung in that exact spot for too long? Paint fades over the years, you know. Be sure to change accessories every few years. I bet that painting is hung too high too. Is it hanging more than 6 inches from the top of the sofa? Look I told you.
6. Do you have more than 5 photographs of children who are already adults? Subtract points if the frames are of different types and sizes.
7. How about the furniture? Is it lumpy and bumpy (formally known as waterfall style)? Reminds me of fat rolls. Yuck! The updated look softens sleek lines with classic styling. Throw it to the curb with its companion, the Oversized Lazy Recliner.
8. Speaking of the sofa, please don’t let me see a knitted blanket folded over the back of the sofa. I also love things made by Grandma, but they don’t have to be the focal point. It is no longer fashionable to place a folded blanket of any kind over the back of the sofa.
9. What about decorative pillows? The old style of placing matching pillows at each end of the sofa is also outdated – just because they come with the sofa doesn’t mean you have to use them. Spice it up with pillows in contrasting colors, unique patterns, and modern textures.
10. Let’s take a look at the kitchen. This is an easy room to tell if it is outdated. On the floor, do you have striking geometric vinyls? Are your appliances harvest gold or avocado? Do your cabinets lack character? Do they have their original knobs and handles? Are the counters a color like ’70s Brady Bunch orange or even ’80s country blue? A kitchen is really worth redoing, but if you can’t do it right now, upgrade the knobs, buy a new rug and gallons of paint.

And the bonus question:

11. On your bathroom counter, is there a pool of lotions and potions? The big pump bottle of daily moisturizer? On your bedroom dresser, you don’t have your collection of perfume bottles of scents you haven’t used in several years, do you? Don’t you remember your mother doing this? Let’s not decorate like mom did.

Now you know if your decoration is scruffy and stale. You also know some ways to make it cool. Next, how about those begged pants?