Essential Living know the importance of transforming a house into a home which is why their developments are designed with you in mind. Renting in the city has never been so stylish, living areas are equipped with the latest designer furnishings and the modern kitchens feature durable worktops and electrical goods, meaning all you have to worry about is putting your personal interior style stamp on it.
At present, we’re spending more time in our homes than ever before. The four walls that surround us have become oh so familiar and believe it or not welcoming a little change and freshen up can help lift our moods ( as well as giving us something productive to do!). By looking around your home, there are loads of changes you can make to your existing home decor using the resources you have available to you. You just need to think outside the box a little.
Paint
Let’s start with paint because most of us have a cupboard full of tins of paint from previous DIY jobs we have undertaken. Painting something is probably the easiest way to have a big impact when it comes to updating your home, it doesn’t take much skill either.
Here are some ideas using paint:
- Freshen up grubby walls because there is nothing quite like a freshly painted room.
- If you’ve got some eggshell paint, why not give your front door a lick of paint?
- Paint a piece of furniture, or add a pattern to an existing painted piece.
- Spray paint is a great way of updating accessories like glass vases and candle sticks.
- Terracotta pots are ideal for jazzing up with some leftover paint.
- You could paint interior doors and skirting boards in an accent colour.
- Change the colour of your radiators by painting them in a contrasting shade.
- Get out in the garden and freshen up your shed and fences.
- Paint a feature wall/mural or colour block design.
Soft Furnishings
Soft furnishings are another thing that we can amend using things we already own. If you have a sewing machine you’re already one step ahead and can create new cushion covers easily with fabric you have laying around or out of other things such as unworn clothes or bedding you no longer use. If you’ve got wool at home, you could make some tassels or pom pom’s and hand sew them on to a throw, cushion or rug for your own version of an on-trend product. If you don’t have access to any sewing equipment or no experience in it then some strong glue is another way you can make cushion covers or add embellishments. Dying fabric is a really effective way to give soft furnishings and textiles within your home an update. You might already have some dye but if you haven’t, you can make your own using spices from your store cupboard. Dye can be used to transform bedding, cushions, throws, curtains, table linen and clothes.
Room Layout
Look around the rooms in your home, are you making the best use of the space you have available to you? Re-arranging furniture can allow you to fall in love with a room again as well as revealing hard to clean areas like behind freestanding wardrobes, chest of drawers and under beds. Could you move furniture from one room to another to make more use of it?
Does the layout of your living room furniture ensure the room flows effortlessly? And does it offer enough storage and places to put drinks etc? Decluttering a room can also free up areas and help you to utilise the space around you as well as uplifting your mood. Essential Living take special awareness extremely seriously when designing their apartments. Their designers work to a brief that maximises the usable space in each apartment, making sure storage is at the forefront of priorities. They provide built-in wardrobes, generous utility cupboards a well as under-bed storage. Most apartments also feature their handmade multi-purpose storage and shelving units, which also become on-trend room dividers in their studio apartments.
Get Creative
It may not come naturally to all but I believe we all have creativity inside of us and making something you can display in your home or garden can be a huge achievement. However big or small, finding materials to repurpose and transform in to something useful or beautiful is always a good idea in my opinion. You might have some planks of wood or palettes laying about which can be up cycled in to something like planters for the garden or balcony with the use of some screws and a saw. Why not create your own artwork because when it comes to creative license there really are no rules. Modern art has made it easier than ever to be able to create our own DIY versions of our favourite abstract pieces. Once you’re happy with your creation, find an unused picture frame, pop it in and hang it with pride. For a therapeutic activity, have a go at constructing your own floral display or spring wreath using greenery and flowers from your garden. Fresh foliage and pops of colour can lift a room and our mood in an instant. Up-cycling is something I love and with a little imagination, it really is possible to make something new out of something you once dismissed, so have a look around you and open your mind because the possibilities are endless.
