7 Tips to Spruce Up Your Home (without breaking the bank!)

Fresh coat of paint

If you’re already quite pleased with your wall colour at present, you might consider adding a splash of colour and creating an accent wall. When you paint (or even wallpaper!) a section of the room, you create a new focal point, adding some interest to the space. Or, if you hate your current walls, you might look at toning the room down with some whites and neutrals; a fresh coat is always inexpensive and high impact so if you aren’t quite ready to hire professional renovators and make structural changes or invest in new furniture, these are some great tricks to get your home feeling better for less!

2. Indoor Plants

You mightn’t think it, but a few indoor plants can make a tremendous difference to a room, adding some texture and life, helping you to achieve a ‘homey’ feel. Plants like peace lilies and succulents are easy to look after and lovely to look at, and for those with absolutely no green thumb at all, quality fake flowers in the right corner can really look great! For a room that demands bit more character, try the sculptural fiddle leaf fig—just remember they can grow several feet tall. 

3. De-clutter

The accumulation of ‘stuff’ tends to be a common occurrence in most family homes to one extent or another. And with so much STUFF we inevitably run out of spaces to put everything! Turning our homes into a mismatched museum of bits and pieces we collect whether or not we even like the pieces we display. Take the time to sort through everything and cull down – in this scenario, less is most certainly more…

The Konmari method is a great way to establish if an object should be kept or tossed. Ask yourself – does it spark joy? Is it necessary? Does it work? Does it have a designated place to live?

If the answer to all of these questions is no, then it might be time for it to find a new home.

  4.Change your hardware

Re-furbishing strong but old pieces of existing furniture is an excellent way to bring new life into tired spaces and at a very low cost. Freshen pieces up with a resurface or paint them altogether for something totally new.

Bringing some life back into an old piece of furniture or existing cabinetry is a great way to freshen up a room without making new purchases. Beyond this, smaller elements like new handles can make all the difference in an old kitchen, as can a lick of paint! Sites like Ikeahackers are a grate place for looking at other people’s ideas on how to dress up pre-loved furniture, and Pinterest is also a goldmine for tips on making the old, new again!

5. Shuffle up the furniture!

As is often the case, when you look at anything for too long you start to see flaws. The best way to make a room seem nicer is simply to play around with the location of everything! Move the sofa to the other wall, change up the art on the walls and rearrange the knick-knacks and planters. You might be surprised with just how different the space can look after a shuffle! And the best part about this trick is that it costs no money at all, and even if you don't like it you can always move it all back!

6. Rugs

Rugs are always a fun way to spruce up and redefine a space. Not only are they lovely but also have a number of other benefits including floor protection, insulation, and sound and dust absorption. Multi-textured rugs like jute rugs disguise dust and keep the place looking fresh for longer and can be a great look in coastal modern homes. Rugs also help make large spaces feel more enclosed giving great rooms cosy corners. The trick with rugs is to always go as large as the area permits. If you have a rug in the living area try to find a rug that spreads to at least under the front legs of the surrounding lounges. 

7. Mirrors

It’s the age old trick that never goes out of style, and its much more affordable than any piece of art you could get! Strategically placed mirrors can make a room feel much larger and more open, which can make a world of difference, especially in small places. Consider their placement carefully and think about what they will be reflecting. Artworks, feature lighting and views of the outdoors can really help to freshen up a room, but view into bathrooms and bare walls, not so much. When hanging mirrors, try to hang them so that you can see your reflection when you're standing up but not when you're sitting down; it can be a bit un-nerving to be sitting in the living room watching TV and keep spotting a person out of the corner of your eye.

9.Change the Lighting!

If you’re living with harsh overhead lights, now might be the time to trade them for warm table lamps or pendant lights. A lot of people are hesitant to change lighting because they think it's expensive, but that can be quite the misconception. Start the hunt for deals, and be in no rush to replace – when you find what is right for you home, that’s the time to make the change! If one of your concerns is the ‘blandness’ of your home, consider adopting the interior design trend of mixing traditional and modern styles, such as a midcentury floor lamp beside a tufted sofa. Such eclectic juxtapositions lend character to a room.

If you’re thinking your home might need a little more TLC than these tips can achieve, talk to our renovation experts at Smith & Sons – we can help you, concept to completion build a home you’ll truly love!