Is your home in need of a little TLC? Whether you’re looking to update your décor or add a touch of personality to your living spaces, revamping your home doesn’t have to be a daunting task. In this guide, we’ll explore some ingenious ways to transform your living space, including introducing new colours, revamping your kitchen, upgrading your bathroom and investing in clever storage solutions. From simple hacks to more complex projects, these tips will help you create a comfortable and stylish home you’ll love coming back to.
Photo by Spacejoy
Creating a beautiful and functional home can be done in easy and smart ways. By utilizing creative design techniques, you can revamp your living space without spending a fortune. There are numerous ways to breathe new life into a room and, with a little bit of imagination and effort, you will transform your home into a haven that reflects your personal style and provides a sense of comfort.
Colour
One of the best ways to overhaul the look and feel of your home is to introduce new colours, change the colourway or experiment with different shades and tones. Colour impacts the way rooms look, but it can also affect the vibe and ambience of your home. Some colours energise and uplift us while others are calming and soothing.
If you’re looking for a simple, affordable and impactful way to revamp your home, why not consider a change of colour? I’m a huge fan of calming, relaxing, tranquil colours for bedrooms, bathrooms and areas designed for reading, listening to music and kicking back with a cup of tea. For social spaces and entertaining, there’s nothing better than a vibrant flash of colour on the walls or bright accessories that bring life to neutral or monochrome walls.
Photo by Minh Pham
When you’re exploring paint colours or browsing wallpaper designs, it’s a great idea to use testers and try to create a vision of the whole room before you decide which shade to choose. Test a small amount of paint in natural light and think about the vibe you want to channel as well as the look you want to recreate. Why not consider neutrals, pastels or shades of blue and green for quiet, serene spaces or add yellow, pink, orange or vivid blue to living rooms and kitchens?
If you’re reluctant to go the whole hog and embrace bright colours, or you prefer understated design styles, you can create a statement or feature wall or use accents and accessories to carry a colourway. This is a brilliant way to introduce colour to your living spaces without going crazy.
Kitchen makeover
Whether it’s a small open space or a tiny cubicle, the kitchen is the most important room in the house. We all spend time in the kitchen catching up with friends and family members, cooking, eating and drinking and generally enjoying quality time together. You want your kitchen to be functional, welcoming and comfortable.
If your kitchen is drab, it doesn’t work on a practical level, or you’ve fallen out of love with the style, you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a change. You can enhance and elevate your kitchen design, even using simple hacks that make a big difference. Change the colour of the walls, paint the units, replace old or damaged flooring or adjust the layout. Use storage to declutter, add wall art or update the countertops. Use accessories to channel new trends or themes or change the lighting.
If you’re not sure where to start or what style to choose, flick through interior design magazines, read blogs and browse social media feeds to get inspiration. Save screenshots and images and start formulating a plan.
Photo by roam in color
Bathroom upgrades
Is there anything better than retreating to a serene sanctuary and enjoying a long, hot soak at the end of a hectic week? For many of us, the bathroom is the second most important room in the house, but it often gets overlooked. If your bathroom is more cramped and cluttered than calming and comfortable, now is the time to take action. There are myriad ways to transform the aesthetic of a bathroom, regardless of your budget.
Practical upgrades include replacing the flooring or adding shower panels to create a chic, functional space, adding new furniture or fittings or using storage to increase the amount of usable floor space. You can find out where to buy shower panels online, visit stores to get ideas or buy products, or work with professional designers or bathroom fitters to complete a more complex or comprehensive project. Simple changes that will add instant impact include switching up the colours, adding accessories such as plants, storage pots and matching towels and floor mats or creating a new focal point. If you’re going for a vintage vibe, for example, why not look for a freestanding, traditional tub or an oversized, ornate mirror? For an art deco theme, consider patterned tiles or a wallpaper print inspired by the 20s or 30s.
Photo by Terry Magallanes
Storage
Storage may not seem like a game-changing design concept but it can play an integral role in helping you to make the most of the space you have available and create functional, practical and aesthetically-pleasing living areas. From bedrooms and bathrooms to living rooms and kitchens, investing in clever storage systems and solutions is a fantastic way to make your home more versatile, maximise usable space and take the stress and effort out of tidying and cleaning. You can use storage to hide items you don’t want on display, keep your possessions organised and tidy or display decorative accessories.
If you’re anything like me and you tend to collect stuff, which gathers in spare rooms and garages, it’s a great idea to carry out a quick audit and identify storage problems and solutions. Which rooms need more storage, what kinds of items do you need to find a home for and what kind of storage would suit the area best? Once you know what you need, you can start browsing websites and online stores or visit shops to find shelves, wall-mounted units, furniture with built-in drawers, cupboards, racks, rails and hooks, or tubs, boxes and crates.
Soft furnishings
I’m a big fan of cushions, rugs and throws. Soft furnishings are not only functional, providing extra warmth during the cooler months, but they also add ambience and warmth to living spaces. There’s a vast array of products to choose from, spanning a huge spectrum of colours and designs that will suit any style of home. You can scatter cushions and blankets on beds, chairs and couches to embrace the cool, laid-back Scandinavian hygge trend, or adopt a more uniform approach and dress the bed more formally with matching cushions and a luxurious bedspread for a boutique hotel-style vibe. To move seamlessly from winter to summer, you could modify your colour palette and change materials. When it’s cold and gloomy outside, opt for heavy, cosy fabrics like wool and faux fur and go for shades of dark blue, green, burgundy and grey. When it warms up, swap to lighter fabrics like cotton and linen and choose white, beige, pastels and sorbet shades or pops of bright colours like pink, yellow and orange.
Adding extra living space
If your home isn’t really working for you due to a lack of space, there are various options you could explore. As well as investing in better storage, you could think about changing the layout, opening up spaces by knocking down walls or making the most of your outdoor space. Extending could be an option if you want to stay in the property for a long time but if you don’t have the budget, you could look into adding a conservatory or a garden room.
Garden rooms are great because they are versatile and they allow you to free up room indoors. External structures have become incredibly popular since lockdown with more people working from home. You could use a garden room as an outdoor office, a studio, a home gym, an area to chill out and escape it all, a reading or music room or a bar.
Is your house crying out for a revamp, or have you fallen out of love with the décor or design? Have you run out of space, or do you wish your home was more inviting or relaxing? Whatever your needs and desires, there are lots of ways to transform living spaces. Why not take these ideas on board to create a stunning home that feels special and unique?
