Around the mid 2100s is when the show "Enterprise" takes place, a time when starships are fairly new and deep space exploration is in its relative infancy. The Enterprise seen in "Enterprise" is more like a submarine than the streamlined vessal we see in TOS. Starfleet had just developed starship design, and Federation engineers hadn't yet developed fully functional and aesthetically pleasing gadgetry as of yet. However, the gadgetry and technology seen on the ship in "Enterprise" looks surprising much nicer than what we see later in TOS. Aside from the obvious TV reasons for this, what could have happened in the "real world?"
First, I must offer the TV reasons as to why the ship's exterior looks so nice on TV. This of course is due to modern computer graphics and filmmaking techniques that were not present in 1966. If TOS had been made in 2001, the Enterprise would have looked pretty nice on TV. So, there's no way of getting around that fact. Now, back to the other explanations.
The Enterprise in "Enterprise" is for the most part, a prototype. The ship is a first of its kind, both with detachable monitors and bolted-together handrails. The early Starfleet designers were working from scratch when they created this vessal and had to more or less pattern it after the workings and structure of a Naval aircraft carrier or submarine (although they did have some help with the Vulcans, who had been present since warp drive was achieved). The interiors of the ship are a battleship grey and doors had to be opened by pushing a button.
There are flat screen monitors mounted on brackets attached to the control stations on the Bridge. Monitors are installed in the walls of the Bridge of the TOS Enterprise. The reason for this is that ship designers did not have the room in the walls of the Bridge to install monitors and other control devices in the workstations. Designers figured that detachable monitors would work best, but did not take into account the fact that detachable monitors are prone to breakage during battles. Feedback from crews eventually tell Starfleet that crew would prefer monitors installed inside the walls, and not attached to brackets.
The "look" of technical design changes from decade to decade according to advancements in technology and changing social climate. For instance, a basic table radio looks drastically different in 2002 than it did in the 1920s. This is due to technological improvement and changes in design according to consumer preferences in a changeable social climate. A home stereo system looks different in 2002 than it did in the 1980s: most stereo components, ie CD players, had silver cabinets in the 1980s. The changing social climate in consumer tastes led to stereo components having black cabinets in the 1990s and beyond. Where am I going with this? You will note that the technology portrayed in "Enterprise" has a drastically different look than in TOS. This can be explained with the same theory I presented just a few lines before: improvements in tecnnology and changes in the social climate, only in this case, it's not stereo components, it's starship technology.
The early Starfleet in "Enterprise" (not even called Starfleet yet) designed its gizmos and gadgets based on the social climate for its time, and its time is roughly fifty years or so from now. Some of their gadgets look very streamlined, compact, and useful, with eye-popping graphics and other visuals. That is the way these items are designed fifty+ years from now in "Enterprise"'s current social climate. Now, add a hundred years and progress to TOS's time, and observe that the technology has all changed. Now we see heavier gadgets with large flashing lights, that emit loud beeping noises, and for the most part, their look has actually "regressed" to an earlier period in design, say the latter half of the 20th century. One would almost expect to see gadgets in TOS's time that resemble what is presented in TNG, given the assumed technological improvements between "Ehnterprise" and TOS. What brought along this drastic change?
A hundred years is a long time for technological change. There's no way to know accurately what our own technology will look like in a hundred years. I hypothesize that the Starfleet of TOS's time drew upon technology of the past for the current look of its gadgets. This method would not just be for nostalgia's sake, but for the realistic look of currently produced gadgets used for space exploration in its starships. After all, Starfleet's tech designers started creating its gadgets right before the time of "Enterprise," possibly just months before the ship was launched. They based their designs upon whatever the current look of technology was at the time, such as consumer audio technology (as an example). A hundred years later, consumer audio products no longer look the way that way anymore, and humankind has been exploring space for over a century by this point. Technology has progressed beyond looking "whiz bang" to looking and performing very functionally. It looks basic, it works basic, it doesn't need any superior bells and whistles to get the job done. Communicators are designed to look like cellphones that they have virtually replaced. Phasers and tricorders have a retro-techno look to them, almost resembling tech gear from over a hundred and fifty years before. Again: functionality is the key here. Starfleet isn't wasting time right now creating flashy gadgets. It has a whole fleet of starships to build out and equip, and produces only functional devices for its crew.
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