Is your home looking dull, drab and tired? Perhaps you've been staring at the same four walls for longer than you'd like to admit with same colour scheme and same boring homeware items. Maybe everything is starting to look dated and past its best, and is desperately in need of modernisation. Our homes should be both comfortable and pleasing to look at- after all, this is a place where we spend a lot of our time. We want to be able to kick back and relax as well as enjoy our surroundings. Here are a few of the ways you can go about it.
Improve the level of comfort
A home wont feel homely if it isn’t a comfortable place to live, and one way you can make it more comfy and cosy is with the right furniture. Your sofa for example should be both pleasant to sit on as well as looking good, since it's such an important feature in the room. Something like a classic brown leather chesterfield sofa is a classic, it will look good year in year out and work with just about any decor changes. A plush armchair and footstool will finish the look, you could go matching with brown leather or you could choose less expensive 'statement' pieces in a cool colour or pattern. That way when you redecorate later on, you only need to replace the less expensive statement pieces and not your main sofa.
Make it more spacious
Spaciousness is important too, you don't want to feel like you're cramped and claustrophobic at home. It doesn't matter if your home is large or small, it's all about the way you utilise the space available. Have a declutter, throw away anything that isn't practical or beautiful. Purchase some good storage solutions from pots to baskets to drawer dividers to keep everything neat. This will help you to achieve a space that's minimal and beautiful as well as practical.
Improve the lighting
Lighting is so important when trying to achieve a warm and inviting home. An effective interior design depends entirely on the way in which light bounces off objects; warm lighting better suits environments such as the living room or bedroom but harsh lighting belongs above kitchen countertops, for example. Lighting always has a purpose. It always impacts colour themes, for example, so you need to think about that when it comes to designing the lighting layout in your home. In terms of making your home feel brighter, you could repaint your walls white. This neutral colour naturally reflects light, so it’ll make rooms look brighter during the day as sunlight pours through the windows and bounces off the walls. Artificial light is important too, of course, but the point is that you don’t want your home to feel drab and dreary during the day. It’s yet another aesthetic and practical improvement that can be made to your home. And remember, achieving a cosy house is about making sure the design both looks nice and feels nice. It has to feel like your home, at the end of the day.
Accessorise
Finally, it's the accessories and finishing touches that will give your home style, personality and take it from tired to modern. Replace your soft furnishings like curtains, rugs and cushions- you could bring in an exciting new accent colour with these things. Purchase a large house plant along with a couple of smaller ones for some greenery, and display a big vase of seasonal flowers on a table or sideboard. You could create a gallery wall to add interest, and either buy new lamps completely or simply change the shades for a new look. Scour sales, bargain homeware stores and eBay for all of these kinds of things.
