Gen Z has plenty of opinions about Boomer decorating choices, and this list has made most of them pretty clear. But even the most decor-averse Gen Z house hunter tends to draw a line between what a home looks like and what it’s actually built from, and some of that underlying substance is worth keeping no matter the finish on top.

As NPR has reported on the broader grandkid-driven nostalgia for mid-century pieces, younger buyers increasingly separate genuine quality from dated styling rather than rejecting both together. Here are eight things worth keeping regardless of the wallpaper.

Solid Wood Furniture Construction

Underneath a dated stain or an ornate detail, a lot of Boomer-era furniture is built from genuine solid wood with real joinery, rather than the particleboard and veneer common in a lot of budget furniture today. That construction can be refinished, repainted, or reworked almost indefinitely. Gen Z’s growing interest in restoring and updating secondhand pieces reflects a real recognition that the bones underneath dated styling are often better than what’s available new for the same price.

A Deep Farmhouse or Utility Sink

A genuinely large, deep sink, sometimes installed in a laundry room or older-style kitchen, offers serious practical capacity for washing big pots, bathing a dog, or soaking oversized items that a standard modern sink simply can’t accommodate. It’s a functional feature independent of whatever decade its surrounding cabinetry belongs to. Gen Z, increasingly interested in practical, multi-use household features, would keep this one intact even while renovating everything around it.

Real Plaster Walls

Older homes built with plaster rather than modern drywall tend to have noticeably better sound insulation between rooms, along with a smoother, more durable wall surface that resists dings and dents better than thinner drywall. It’s a genuine structural upgrade that has nothing to do with the paint color layered on top of it. Gen Z’s appreciation for older home construction quality generally extends to recognizing plaster walls as worth preserving even while repainting them an entirely different color.

Extra Finished Basement Square Footage

A finished basement, even one decorated in an outdated style, represents genuine extra livable square footage that would be expensive to recreate from scratch in a newer, smaller home. Whether it becomes a home office, a gym, or extra storage, the space itself holds real value independent of its current wood paneling or carpet. Gen Z house hunters increasingly prioritize total usable square footage, making a finished basement a genuine selling point regardless of its decorating era.

Built-In Bookshelves

Custom-built bookshelves, often flanking a fireplace or built into an alcove, represent real carpentry work that’s expensive and difficult to replicate in most newer construction, which tends to favor cheaper, freestanding furniture instead. The built-in nature also means better use of otherwise awkward wall space. Gen Z’s appreciation for built-in storage as both practical and architecturally interesting means these shelves generally survive a renovation even when everything decorating them gets swapped out.

A Functioning Clawfoot or Cast-Iron Tub

A genuine cast-iron clawfoot tub, even in a dated bathroom, holds heat significantly better than most modern acrylic tubs and represents a level of material quality that’s expensive to replicate today. Refinishing the surface and updating the surrounding tile can transform the room’s feel while keeping the actual tub in place. Gen Z’s renewed appreciation for freestanding tubs specifically means this is often one of the first original features worth restoring rather than removing.

Original Hardwood Floors Under the Carpet

Many Boomer-era homes have real hardwood floors hiding beneath decades-old wall-to-wall carpet, installed over wood that was considered less fashionable at the time rather than because the floor itself was damaged. Pulling up that carpet often reveals a floor that just needs refinishing rather than full replacement. Gen Z’s preference for natural materials and exposed wood grain means uncovering these original floors is frequently one of the first renovation moves, decor debates aside.

Generous Closet and Storage Room Sizes

Some older homes, particularly those built for larger families, include genuinely spacious closets and dedicated storage rooms that newer, more compact construction often sacrifices in favor of open living space. That storage capacity is difficult to add after the fact without a full addition. Gen Z, generally short on space in smaller apartments and starter homes, tends to view generous built-in storage as one of the most valuable features a house can already have, whatever era its closet doors happen to be from.