April 21, 2020
Are your rooms looking a little tired?
Time to give some of your rooms a makeover?
These activities do not have to be a major project.
Here are 12 quick tips on how you can quickly update or change a room. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming.
Check the list out and let your imagination flow when redesigning your rooms
If you’re looking to make a quick change to how a room looks, there’s no better way to do so than by switching out your textiles, like pillows and blankets.
These items are not just functional. These small design elements help add visual interest in a variety of ways, including colour, pattern and texture.
As far as colour is concerned, you’ll want to keep the 10-30-60 rule at the forefront of your mind. Here, you’ll want to concentrate on the final 10 per cent of the room.
Pillows and blankets should always involve your accent colour, or boldest, most eye-catching shade. Any prints or patterns you choose to use should also fit nicely within the colour palette.
Then, there’s layering to consider. In this case, the goal is to infuse some texture into space. In interior design, the texture is experienced through the way an item looks like it feels. Do your best to incorporate a variety of distinct textures through your throw pillows and blankets.
Your hardware, or the handles that you choose to use on your drawers and cabinets, may not seem like a big deal at first glance.
These small design elements can make a significant style statement.
Making the change is a fairly simple home improvement task. In most cases, it’s as simple as unscrewing one doorknob and screwing in another. Just be sure to count the number of handles that you need so you avoid having to make multiple trips to the store.
Whether you choose to go with a modern copper finish or a more traditional brass finish, swapping out your finishes can go a long way towards changing up the look of your kitchen or bathroom for a fraction of the cost of a full remodel.
Whichever finish you pick, make sure to repeat it in multiple applications throughout the space in order to tie the look together.
You should make a point to have plants or flowers become an element of the space.
The reason behind this thinking is that plant life can add a pop of colour and visual interest into space while almost functioning as a neutral. Natural elements are commonplace enough that they will add to the design without drawing attention away from your other, stronger statement pieces.
Shopping for plant life is not a one-size-fits-all task. First, you have to consider the amount of natural light that there is in the room and aim to find a plant that will flourish in that environment. Next, you have to consider the amount of maintenance that you’re willing to undertake and purchase accordingly.
Bringing in fresh flowers or greenery instantly enlivens any room. If you have a green thumb, snip a sample of whatever is in season in your garden. Or treat yourself once a week to fresh blooms from the grocery store. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a colourful boost.
Plants are an easy win to add to your design arsenal. They add colour, shape and (literally) life to a space.
Larger house plants can however still be expensive so to create the illusion of your room being filled lots of greenery, arrange groups of small plants at different heights.
When you’re looking for small design elements that have a big impact, it’s crucial to consider decor pieces.
These are design elements with the sole purpose of adding visual interest into the space. Take, for example, the way the items on the built-ins in the picture above make the room much more visually complex.
The key to choosing successful decor pieces is making sure to include lots of variety.
Do your best to choose items that vary in terms of shape, size and colour. Then, when you get the pieces home, arrange them together in groupings so that their placement feels purposeful.
Select a few pretty items with a purpose to pull out of your cabinets and put on display on open shelves. Servingware, copper pots and pans, colourful mugs, and even cookbooks are worthy of a moment in the spotlight. Place most-used items on the lowest shelf so you can easily grab as needed.
Set a casual party tone by stringing up party lights in your dining room or breakfast nook.
Stick with sets that are seasonless and coordinate with your existing decor. This look works well for all occasions, including kids’ birthday parties and book club dinner parties.
Most lamps come with a basic shade in a solid colour. But you don't need to accept this out-of-the-box setup.
Swap out a dull shade for something with more colour or personality. Aim for a shade that's the same size and proportion as the existing shade.
A bare table can look infinitely better with a runner. Make your own from leftover fabric; bonus points for completing the look with a quick and easy centrepiece.
Showcasing a shallow bowl or tray with fruit is colourful and convenient.
Before you buy, re-envision what you already have.
Refocusing the layout could allow you to update your living room without splashing out.
Rather than following the same traditional layout in your living room – a coffee table in the middle, sofas pushed up against either wall, TV at one end – why not try something more interesting, like pulling your furniture away from the wall; or using a piece of artwork as a focal point (rather than the TV); or even just de-cluttering and clearing out some furniture to make the living room feel larger.
Gallery walls are a great way to cheaply fill a blank wall and give a room much-needed personality.
Use photos, record covers, prints – you could even frame fabric cut-offs or spare bits of wallpaper.
If hammering hundreds of holes into the wall isn’t an option, command hooks are a good solution or go with a picture shelf for minimal wall damage
Living room lighting is something that can be updated really quickly and doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
Avoid making your room feel like an over-lit operating theatre by going for floor or table lamps at different heights; layering your lighting this way will create cosy pools of light that can quickly change the mood of a room.
Rather than spending money on re-carpeting your living room, copy this budget living room idea and hide the numerous red wine stains with layers of rugs.
Rag rugs, jute rugs, Persian rugs, sheepskin rugs – more-is-more seems to be the rule. Mix up textures, colours and patterns to add interest to the space.
To keep the right balance between edgy-bohemian vibe and full-on carpet shop, stick to a simple colour palette and use neutral rugs, such as jute, as a base.
Practical storage may not be the most exciting cheap idea, but containing your clutter and using your storage to add personality can really transform a space.
If you do have some kind of bookshelf or open shelving use these to update your living room. Regularly switch out what you keep on them, add artwork, photos, plants, books and magazines to create a new focus to your living room.
Now that you have a range of ideas think about your rooms and plan your attack.
The good thing about these ideas if they don’t work or you grow tired off them you can easily change them
Photos courtesy of:
Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash
Photo by Leonardo Wong on Unsplash
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Photo by Lida Sahafzadeh on Unsplash
Comments will be approved before showing up.
October 28, 2024
October 25, 2024
October 21, 2024