Whether you have been living in your home for many years or have recently moved into a house or apartment that doesn’t really show your personality, decorating your place to transform it into a home or to give it a fresh look is needed. Not to mention that besides being a fun activity, it can also improve your overall well-being. If your home reflects your personality and psychological needs, such as your reaction to specific colors or textures, it will positively affect your state of mind.
The desire to decorate or redecorate your home to make you feel like it is truly yours is essentially an act of self-care. You wish for the space where you spend your personal time – or maybe even where you work, if you are a freelancer – to be welcoming, comfortable and healthy-looking.
So, if you have been thinking for a while to spruce up your home, but maybe you are not emotionally or financially prepared to reinvent your entire place, don’t fret. There are some relatively minor changes you can do that will transform your home instantly. And you don’t have to worry about spending too much money on it.
1. Paint, and not just walls
The most straightforward option is to repaint your walls. You might feel the need to give your house a fresh coat of paint to give it a refreshed look. Colors in calming hues such as pastel tones are mostly the recommended options. However, this depends on the design of your house or apartment, as well as your personal preferences and personality. Indeed, if the place is relatively small, you might not want to paint dark colors that minimize the room or give the feeling of lack of air and space. Instead, brighter colors will improve the atmosphere, and you can always choose light dark grey tones if pastel pink is not your cup of tea. The key is to choose a wall paint that suits your preferences, but being aware of the space and how it is designed to highlight its strengths and mask its weaknesses.
Besides doing this, you can always paint other things, so you don’t have to limit yourself to painting the walls entirely. Frankly speaking, there is not really a strict rule on how to dress up your surroundings, as long as it is to your liking. You can always paint something more specific on your wall: flowers, abstract shapes, messages, or your favorite quotes. Just let those creative juices flow. You might think that because you’re not an artist, you cannot do this. But there are some tips and tricks you can find online on how to transform your wall, that it doesn’t matter you aren’t a famous painter. For instance, you can use tape to create specific shapes and combinations.
Besides the walls, you can even paint pieces of furniture. There is specific paint strictly for the use of furniture, which comes in different colors and textures. So, instead of buying a new chest of drawers or coffee table, for example, because the one you have doesn’t really fit, you can simply paint it, and it won’t even look like your old one.
2. Don’t be afraid to accessorize
Many people run away from accessorizing too much, for fear of creating a cluttered space in their home. But you can do this in some parts of your home. So, if you want to hang many frames with your favorite photos or with art, you can create an entire wall with this by combining paintings from various artists with pictures of your most cherished memories. You might want to avoid having this in every room, as that can, indeed, make the space too crowded. However, it might be time to hang those beautiful photos of you and your loved ones that you kept postponing. It will give the room a familiar and cozy feeling, and it will look stunning.
Besides art or other decorative objects, such as fairy lights which can create a cozy feeling, you can always bring a few plants indoors. This way, not only will the room look fresh, and the air be healthier, but taking care of plants can also improve your well-being. Research has shown that having and caring for plants has mental health benefits, such as reducing anxiety levels, increasing productivity and creativity. So, even if you aren’t a plant person, you can always start with a small plant that doesn’t need to be taken care of intensively. This way, you might discover a new passion that makes you feel good too.
3. Reinvent creatively
If you have particular objects, like a jewelry box or lamp, that you don’t like anymore or they won’t match with the changes that you want to make in your home, the instinct is to throw them away, or better yet, donate. While the latter one is a good option, it can sometimes be challenging to find a person to donate certain random things. In this case, to avoid having to throw them away, you can repurpose and reinvent them in a creative way. For instance, you could buy paper and fabric ribbon wholesale for DIY projects, like decorating a lampshade. This way, you add an unusual and creative twist to objects. If you have an old mirror frame, you can add fabric within the frame and then attach ribbons horizontally on the material – and now you have a fantastic, unconventional organizer on which you can add objects, such as sunglasses.
4. Declutter, store, and rearrange
An easy way of transforming your home and giving it a glow-up is by decluttering the space and creating enough storage space. There are creative ways to store that help you remain organized. For instance, in the pantry where you keep your canned food, vegetables, and snacks, you can use storage boxes and organizers. An example would be to use sackcloth storage bags for vegetables. You can add another DIY project and sew these yourself.
Another way of creating more space besides storage options is to move the furniture around. This way, you might realize that you were using too much space, and the solution was to simply rearrange your furniture. By doing this, you might find that certain things are not needed in a specific room, such as an armchair, and, instead, find a better place for it.
