Home is where the heart is, isn’t it? There’s a special feeling upon coming home after work.
And although there’s nothing nicer than making your guests feel at home, sometimes we have to put in a bit of elbow grease to keep things bright and beautiful.
Home makeovers are great for seasoned pros and beginners alike, and should go on everybody’s agenda. Need some ideas to get your creative juices flowing? Well, here are 10 ways to improve your home and have your neighbours green with envy.
1. Let in the Light with New Windows
Let’s start with the windows. Getting new windows from ProGlaze can make your home look totally transformed. Waking up to sunlight streaming in through your glass, you’ll wonder why you never installed them before. Not only do new windows give your home aesthetic boost, they’ll also save you energy costs! Plus, with so many styles available, you’re sure to find a style to suit your home’s personality.
And it’s remarkably effective – a new window can be like putting a picture frame around your backyard, bringing the benefits of nature into your interior design. Call it bringing the outdoors in – with windows, minus bugs and bad weather.
2. Add Some Colour
Sometimes nothing cures the ills of a room like a new wall colour. How so? You can give a room personality with a bold accent wall. Keep it simple with a neutral or go crazy with something fun like kelly-green.
The right colour can make a room feel vast, tiny, warm or relaxing. Or just feel like you.
Go crazy with a few different hues or finishes: matte for grown-up allure or gleaming for an upscale sheen. Here’s the real scoop: paint everything, including the trim and doors. Don’t hold back on that extra flourish.
3. Shine On
Second to paint would be lighting. Turn over those tired old light fixtures for something with a little more pzazz – a funky foyer chandelier, shapely pendant or track lights. Lighting brightens your beautiful spots.
Natural light, too – mirrors can do great tricks with light and brightness in a room, making a space look more spacious. Not to mention they are super stylish with barely a try.
4. Floor It
Floors get worn out, don’t they? Kids, pets, and general wear and tear can really drag down the aesthetics of a space. A new floor, however, can completely revive a room. Hardwood floors are classy, and stone floors have a warmth to them. Tiles are great in high traffic areas, like the kitchen and the bathroom.
If your budget is tight laminate and vinyl have both come a long way – today laminate and vinyl floors can look like wood or tiles for a fraction of the cost. For cosy comfort, think plush area rug.
5. Make a Statement Wall
It wouldn’t be a home without a statement wall – go for it, you’ve got this! Wallpaper is back in a big way – or wouldn’t a mural or some DIY stencilling work?
A statement wall might be a white backdrop to allow your favourite pieces of art or a gallery wall of your family photos to stand out. It’s all about creating a focal point within a room.
6. Kitchen Update
The kitchen is the heart of the home, so let’s focus some attention on it. You might not need to get a full remodel done, especially if you don’t really want to (or can’t afford to). Little changes can still make a difference. Maybe upgrade your cabinet hardware, update your backsplash or (if you can afford it), new countertops.
Adding under-cabinet lighting that can make meal prep a cinch, or open shelving that will showcase your favourite dishes. Maybe the kitchen just needs a new faucet.
7. Bathroom Revamp
Tennessee Williams certainly wasn’t thinking of the bathroom when he said that ‘a little bit of loveliness turns life into a party.’ But it’s true: it doesn’t take much to make this room truly sparkle.
Swap that old showerhead for a rainfall one for heady spa-like indulgence, or upgrade your vanity for a better design and you’ll gain storage and style. Use fresh grout and caulking to make tiles look like new and paint (or some wallpaper) and you’ll have a completely different space.
But be sure to add in the basics: a fresh towel here, a fancy shower curtain there, a little greenery here and there, all of which will help to transform your loo into a haven. A room where you’ll find time to relax.
8. Backyard Getaway
Your garden is in fact your outdoor room, so make an outdoor space that you want to sit in! Relaxing outdoor furniture, a fire pit so that you can stay warm on cool nights, fairy lights: why not?
Gardening can be very rewarding: plant some blooms, create a vegetable garden or sow a lawn for your kids (and pets) to play on, and you can turn your back yard from a non-functioning space into a place to relax and enjoy.
9. Organise and Declutter
Sometimes, the best home improvement is simply not adding anything new, but filtering out the old. Cleaning out has a definite impact on your home’s sense of space, making it more breathable and relaxing; some good storage helps in this, too: baskets, bins and shelving to sequester things into their rightful places.
Go room-by-room and be ruthless: if you haven’t used it in the past year, do you really need it? If the answer is no or you aren’t sure, donate it, recycle it or take it to the dump. You’ll feel lighter for it.
10. Add Some Green
Finally, bring the outside indoors, with some houseplants – they add a bit of nature, are good for air quality and even for your mental health, and make the perfect way to add texture, colour and life to any space.
If you’re also concerned about murdering plants (not everyone has a green thumb… believe me), start small with a non-demanding snake plant and later maybe move on to something that has a little more flair, like a succulent.
Turning Your House into a Home
And while it’s true that refurbishing your home is not necessarily a ‘do-it-yourself’ affair, a lot of believable home improvement can be achieved with a dash of imagination and elbow grease.
From upgrading your windows to decorating your home or just ‘staging’ your home, evolving with your needs and personal style, each little bit counts. So get to work with your paint brush and screwdriver. Your dream home is closer than you think.