If your home was built in the 1990s, there’s a good chance it’s filled with honey oak cabinets, trim, and other wood tones that once felt warm and traditional but may now feel dated.

The good news is you don’t need to replace everything to update and modernize your 90s home. With the right paint colors, lighting, flooring, and design choices, you can refresh your space while still working with the warmth of existing wood features.

Some ’90s homes truly need a complete overhaul to start fresh. But a major renovation isn’t always necessary. And if your 1990s woodwork and cabinetry is high quality and in great shape, it’s worth hanging onto. Read on for these fresh ideas to update your 90s home.

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10 Must-Do Ideas to Update the 90s Home

The key is to create balance and mix the old with the new. A perfectly curated and modernized space with just a touch of 90s style has the potential to feel warm and inviting. Have a budget-friendly design goal in mind? Well, simple fixes are a great way to achieve a big change. Read on for our list of ideas to update your 90s home. You’ll be ready to tackle it all before you know it. (No extensive renovation project required!)

If your home has honey oak cabinets or trim, you may also want to read my guide on how to work with honey oak trim to update your 90s home, where I share specific paint color and design strategies that complement warm wood tones.

How to Make a 1990s Home Look More Modern

1. Eliminate Any Surrounding 90s Vibes

One of the main problems with a 1990s style home is the fact that it’s got the decade on every surface. Cringe-worthy decor decisions (sponge painting trend, we’re looking at you) are everywhere you look. And when you look at it all at a glance, it can feel overwhelming. But don’t ditch that honey oak trim or cabinetry just yet.

One of the first things in deciding if it has staying potential is to ditch any surrounding 90s vibes first. Getting rid of the obvious is one of the easy ways to update an older home. Think a fresh coat of paint, new cabinet hardware, updated light fixtures, and ditching any and all 90s window treatments. Once you have the 90s pared down to just your oak, it’s honestly not bad! It may even be quite pretty if you have the chance to see it on its own.

2. Create Contrast

The oak finishes of the 90s can certainly vary in tone. But more often than not we tend to run into ultra-warm honey oak hues (think orange, red, and yellow undertones). And of course, this isn’t inherently bad. Yet, when it’s surrounded by walls with similar undertones it can feel pretty flat. So, I recommend attacking the walls early on in a 90s update. Go right ahead and paint over those outdated colors and decades-old wall finish styles. You’d be surprised how a fresh coat of a contrasting color – like a soft grey or a bold navy can tone down all of the wood surfaces. It’s a quick fix, and one of my favorite ideas to update your 90s home.

If you’re trying to update a home built in the 1990s, choosing the right paint colors can make a huge difference. I share some of my favorite options in this guide to the best paint colors for a 90s era home.

A 1990s kitchen through and through, this before shot of one of our projects reveals a ho-hum palette of similar too-warm tones throughout the space, including outdated oak kitchen cabinets, matching wood floors, and an orange-red wall color.

The use of bright color in this bathroom (ASID Showcase Home award winner for Best Use of Color) allowed us to use oak in a way that felt fresh and inviting. The cool tones in the blue and green tiled backsplash and crisp white walls helped the warmer honey oak appear balanced and updated. A neutral tile floor balances out the palette. Interior Design by Carla Bast 

3. Modernize Finishes to Update a 90s Home

Changing out fixtures such as cabinet hardware, lighting, and plumbing fixtures to new finishes is up there in my top ideas to update 90s home list. Cabinet hardware can be modernized in a snap. It’s an easy DIY fix you can do with a simple set of tools.

1990s style was the defining characteristic of this outdated Tuscan style powder room, thanks to a blend of an ornate mirror, scrolled bronze light fixture and a dull gold wall color.

Small Changes Can Completely Change the Feel of a 90s Home

Many homes built in the 1990s have great bones but feel dated because of finishes that were popular at the time. The good news is that updating paint colors, lighting, and a few key materials can dramatically modernize the space without a full renovation.

4. Choose Paint Colors That Complement Warm Wood Tones

One of the simplest ways to update and modernize a 90s home is by choosing paint colors that balance the warmth of honey oak cabinets, trim, and flooring. Many homes built during this era were paired with heavier reds, golds, and yellow-based neutrals that can make warm wood tones feel even more dated.

Today’s most popular paint colors tend to be softer neutrals and nature-inspired tones that help create contrast while still complementing the warmth of oak. The right wall color can make a huge difference in how fresh and modern a space feels without replacing existing wood features.

If you’re working with warm wood tones like honey oak, maple, or cherry cabinets and trim, you may also want to read my guide on Best Paint Colors for Honey Oak Cabinets and Trim for more designer-approved ideas. You can also explore my designer-curated paint palettes for homes with warm wood tones, designed to help modernize spaces while working with existing wood finishes.

5. Replace your outdated countertops.

Want the exact colors and design direction used in kitchens like this? Explore my Kitchen Refresh Plans, which include designer-curated palettes and material suggestions designed to modernize homes with honey oak cabinets and trim. This rendering features Palette No. 1 from the Kitchen Refresh Plans.

As they say, the kitchen is the heart of the home. If yours still boasts the laminate or tile countertops popular in the ’90s, it’s time for a refresh. Swapping out your old counter surfaces for more modern materials like quartz can be the biggest change in the look and feel of the entire space. Not only will this upgrade enhance the aesthetics of your kitchen, but it will also add value to your home.

Planning a Kitchen Update Around Oak Cabinets?

6. Replace that tired living room furniture.

Bid farewell to the bulky, overstuffed (and sometimes floral) sofas and dated coffee tables that once defined your decor. Embrace sleek, contemporary designs that effortlessly blend style with comfort, creating a new space for the present day.

7. Replace the Wallpaper

You might be thinking to yourself…wallpaper?! YES! Wallpaper is making a big splash in design trends after taking a backseat for a while. YES, YES!! Lately, clients are all about injecting some personality into their rooms, and wallpaper is the perfect way to accomplish this.

8. Swap the hardware on your interior doors.

Updating the hardware on your interior doors in your 90s home makes a major impact on the overall updated look of your home. Swapping out those dated faux brass door handles and hinges for sleek, contemporary options not only enhances the overall aesthetic in a big way, but you’ll also love how smoothly they function.

9. Tackle Your Front Door and Entry

Lastly, updating your front door is an easy and affordable way to make a big impact if you have a limited budget. A simple coat of paint can completely transform your ’90s home’s curb appeal – not to mention bring an updated feel to the entire space. And with the power of paint at your fingertips, you can choose any color, from bold and vibrant hues to soft pastel shades. Just be sure to work with your existing palette of exterior finishes on the front of house, like your roof color, siding and trim colors, and any stone or brick colors.

10. Say goodbye to popcorn!

Upgrading your ceilings by removing the popcorn texture and opting for a flat (smooth), knockdown or orange peel texture not only modernizes your space but also makes future repairs easier.

Popcorn ceilings pose an additional concern due to the possibility of asbestos, disturbing asbestos is the last thing anyone wants to do, so consult with the professionals on this before touching it.

Have you always been a bit afraid of tearing out your home’s oak (especially if it’s in mint condition)? Dying for a modern upgrade, but aren’t ready to ditch every element of your home’s style? Then trust me. Incorporating each of these ideas to update your 90s home is guaranteed to give you the perfect solution for your troubles. You may realize that your oak isn’t quite so bad after all.