Instantly Upgrade your Home: Top 10 Tips

Updating your home doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Clever, low cost changes you can easily implement over a weekend can make a big impact. Here are my top 10 ways to transform your space without breaking the bank.

 

1. Paint a Wall

 

Colour creates drama.

Splashing one wall with a rich or textured paint will instantly transform your space. You don’t even need to colour within the lines here, consider other shapes or angles to make a statement.

 

2. Hang your Art

 

Find an artwork or two that truly resonates with you, that brings you joy every time you look at them.

Artwork is my favourite way to update a home. Get your masterpieces professionally framed and hang them on your walls – they will do all the talking. I offer Art Curation as a service if you need a pinch of advice.

 

3. Buy a Plant

 

Bring literal life into a space with a living, breathing plant.

Not only do they instantly transform a room, but they clean the air and make you feel happier. If you don’t have gifted green fingers, a silk plant will do just fine, it has been proven that they can give the same mental benefits as real plants.

 

4. Declutter & Organise

 

Out with the old, in with the essentials.

Taking the time to go through your home room by room, doing a spring clean, is an incredible way to change your space. I’ve done this in my house and my bookshelf is now also colour coded, it actually makes me smile every time I see it. You can donate what you don’t keep to charity – it’s a win win for everyone.

 

5. Replace your Lights

 

Lighten up your life.

Lighting can have a huge effect on your mood. Update a pendant to something more modern and sculptural. Get a new standing lamp for the lounge with a dramatic shade. Changing the colour of your bulbs to something warmer or cooler also magically makes a space different.


Learn about lighting here.

 

6. Buy new Linen

 

Sleep more soundly in soft, new sheets.

Your bedroom can probably benefit from a new set of linen. This easy upgrade is something you will interact with on a daily basis and is a simple luxury you should give yourself. Take it back to basics with pure white Egyptian cotton or go bold with print and pattern. One or two decorative cushions will round off the setup as well.

 

7. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…

 

Bring more light into my hall!

Reflect natural daylight back into your space and create the illusion of a larger room by placing an over sized mirror in the room. You can play with shape and placement, no one said it has to be rectangular and hang on the wall, try leaning a large mirror against a wall. A simple bathroom mirror or dresser mirror update can have a big effect too.

 

8. Wallpaper Wonder

 

Entertain, surprise and delight!

Create an unexpected moment by adding a captivating wallpaper to one or more walls in your room. I recommend this for small powder rooms or recessed walls. Have fun with patterns, textures or go full on mural story. Wallpaper is fairly easy to apply yourself or enlist the help of a professional team through your supplier.


Browse my wallpaper here.

 

9. Upcycle your Furniture

 

The biggest budget saver of them all.

We’ve all seen the Annie Sloan chalk paint transformations, and still you aren’t convinced? A lick of paint or change of fabric can make a world of difference to a furniture piece you thought was outdated. My advice is to make sure you sand it down properly before you start, I’ve learnt my lesson there!

 

10. A magic Rug ride

 

Create an instant cozy factor.

Adding a rug to your room, especially a large one helps demarcate an area for a specific purpose. Rugs act as artworks and bring colour and pattern to your space when chosen well. A good quality carpet will last you years so its worth spending a little more. It also ensures the space is warmer during winter months if your floors are tiled.

 

If you want more than basic changes to upgrade your home, I highly recommend you hire me as your interior designer or decorator/stylist. I have a trained eye for combining colour, texture, pattern and scale to transform your room or entire home. More than aesthetics I can handle spacial planning, budgets, drawings, schedules, contractors and more.

 

Images respectively sourced from: VISI, Kristin Hulda, Studio McGee, ALT Interiors, Studio 19, Ithaca Homeware, Mooi Creative, Kristin Hulda, The Colour File & Em Henderson.
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