5 Expert Tips on Making a House a Home
We know when it comes to decorating your home, it can be difficult to achieve the right balance. You may be afraid of being too bold in your choices, or maybe have settled for a plain and simple colour scheme when you’ve actually got a vibrant personality that wants to come across. We also know that some people can be afraid of buying a piece of art because they’re worried that it won’t suit their interior now or in the future.
Therefore, we teamed up with Lemon and Lime Interiors to understand how to transform your house into a home and be bold with your decisions through using décor, personal style and of course, on a friendly budget.
Lemon and Lime Interiors is an award-winning national property home staging company that specialises in presenting houses to make a memorable first impression for potential buyers. We have teamed up with them to discover how to transform your house into a home and be bold with your decisions through using décor, personal style and on an affordable budget. Company founder Elaine Penhaul gives her expert tips on creating unique rooms.
How do you make a room memorable?
“Many things can make a room memorable; it could be a colour, a piece of furniture, a view, a piece of art or a sculpture. The key thing is to make just one thing memorable and style around that. You can have too many memorable features in a room, which we call ‘visual noise’ because all the memorable things compete with one another. Using a colour on panelling or a colour above panelling, is also quite a good way of making your room memorable.”
How can you make a house homely when they have so many uses?
“For many of us, our homes are our living space, our sanctuary from the rigours of the day, an entertaining space and now, often a workplace, so it's really important to think about what you want your home to be.
A home needs to be a space where everyone can feel comfortable as well as showing your personality and style through the interior, so think about what you're trying to say about yourself and your family and how you want that to come across in your own unique way. Think about how we use décor differently in those rooms that are private and personal to us.”
How can you be bold when it comes to interior styling?
“Don't be afraid to go bold and take a risk in your home with colours or trends that you really feel attracted to. Very often people will play safe, because they are concerned that if it doesn't work for them, it might be an expensive fix.
We will often see something we like in a show home, gallery or on Instagram, and think: ‘Wow, I really love that, but I don't know how to use that at home’.
Paint is generally not an expensive fix. You might get it wrong, but you need to be brave enough to try it in the first place. Furniture is more expensive, but you can rent furniture before committing to buy to ensure it is the right piece for you. Try to be bold in small quantities first, and then if you like it, you can make bigger and bolder decisions.
If you are buying a piece of art, then there are ways to see it in your home before committing to the purchase. Please get in touch to find out more.”
How can you make art a focal point in a room?
“Whether it is a piece you have fallen in love with on holiday or seen in a gallery, many people want to bring that feeling back with them to remember at home.
Rather than it being stuck in a corner of a room, think about where it is going to be placed. You want it to be prominent so that feeling is captured as you enter the room.
For example, if you feel a sense of calmness from a piece you bought on holiday, then you may want it to be a focal point in the bedroom, so every time you walk into there, you immediately feel a sense of calmness and relief from the stresses of the day.
Equally, if it's a piece that has a lot of energy, then that may go into a room where you want to feel more energised. Many people work from home and so it could fit in perfectly in the home office, or even a kitchen where lots of activity goes on, so think about the energy in a piece and how you want it to be portrayed within your home and which room it would suit best.”
How can you restyle a room to reflect your personality?
“Choose a favourite element within a room to help you restyle it without necessarily having to change absolutely everything. This could be a piece of art, a piece of furniture, or a single colour within the room. Once you have identified what it is you love in the room, you can use that to bring in other accents.
Newer homes often don’t have a lot of character or period features. My tip here would be to find a piece of art that you absolutely love and use that as your starting place for the décor.
Stand it in the room for a little while and think about it and think: ‘I really love the boldness of the colours that are coming through’. Think about the textures and how you can use those within a room. This could be your starting point for the rest of your interior which could be shown through an accent in a chair, a rug, a cushion or in a curtain for example.”
“If you want to make your house your home, think about who you are in your home and what you want it to say about you. Think about which rooms might be guest-facing and which are your private spaces and think about the feeling that you want to get in them. And don’t be afraid to take risks with colour or new trends!
When we've lived in a house for a while, we stop noticing the interior, so think about how you can use one element within a room without having to change everything else. You can use a favourite element, such as a piece of art or a colour to give the room a total refresh and create accents within the room to give it a different ambience. You can really change the feel and style of any room without having to completely redecorate.”
Find out more about Lemon and Lime Interiors and how they can help you transform your home to maximise your home sale.
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