Whether you have lived in a home for a short period of time or for many years, it is a good idea to look at refreshing it in order to make it homely. You would be surprised as to what a quick interior change could do to your home in terms of your mood and even potentially the home value (depending on what it is you do). A lot of these simple things can be done with very little expenditure. You could go a bit further and consider projects such as actual structural changes to the home but this would come under the major projects element (specifically if you require to gain planning permission approval). We have gathered together a few ideas to spark some thoughts below.
Decorating
Probably the most obvious suggestion would actually to do some interior decorating. Wallpapering is probably the most common activity that is completed in this respect. If you have wallpaper that has been around for several years, then have a look at it and see if it is worn. If it is then you may want to replace this wallpaper with something new. Even if it isn’t, changing the wallpaper can affect the whole mood in the house depending on the colours and patterns you choose. Wallpaper can also be pretty expensive depending on what it is you choose and the recommendation would be, not to go for the cheap option as the quality may be pretty poor and you may find that it doesn’t last as long. Another decorating option could be painting. If you have bare walls then the likelihood is that every few years these will look pretty tired and you will want to refresh these by giving a lick of paint. This will brighten up your home. In addition to this, do not automatically default to picking the same colour of paint you had originally – maybe try something a little new. One thing to bear in mind for both these activities – they are generally not enjoyable tasks and getting it wrong could leave you with poor quality that doesn’t look appealing. If you are not skilled at painting and decorating, it would be worth considering getting someone in to do this on your behalf. Generally this is not expensive and something that is money well spent on.
Doors
Changing the doors in the home could make a positive impact that you wouldn’t have expected. There are lots of popular internal doors on the market that are easy to fit and pretty cost effective. Some people may look to actually keep the door they have but potentially refurbish it – maybe sand it or paint it. If you are going to this effort though then you may actually be as cost effective to just start again and get a new door. Maybe think outside of the box and look at the entrance to your kitchen where if you have room, you could move to a double or sliding door option.
Lighting –
The lighting in your home can make so much difference and can really affect people’s mood in a room. If you think about the actual positions of any lights you have in a room and the amount of lux it omits then maybe change this around slightly. For example, in a bedroom, people are not looking for bright, high lux lighting – as such you may choose to review the current lighting with that in mind and change the light shades and lux levels. A common addition to these sort of areas is a dimmer switch that will allow you to have loud and bright (for example when getting up in the morning) but dim and more discrete when it is the evening. Spotlights are also becoming extremely popular in houses and you will see these more in bathrooms and kitchens. Installing these can be a little bit tricky though therefore if you are not skilled in electrics, you may be better hiring a qualified electrician to do this safely and to a high quality on your behalf.
Paintings
Another consideration would be to look at what you have on your walls and see if there is anything you could do slightly differently that would brighten up the area. Some people have pictures on their walls of their family and others may have some art. Have a look at these (including where they physically are on the walls) and see if there is something simple that you could do to make a difference. You could go and spend lots of money on this activity by purchasing expensive art or you could pop down to a local art store and see if there is a good deal.
Love,
*This is a collaborative post