Making your house a home: where to start
Moving into a new home is an incredibly exciting time, bringing with it new opportunities, new adventures and new beginnings.
In the run-up to the big day you’re likely to have pulled together lots of ideas on how to personalise your house, creating lots of Pinterest boards, pulling out pages from lifestyle magazines and bookmarking Instagram posts. With so many plans and ideas, it can be difficult to know where to begin - especially when considering budgets and time. You want to make an impact and settle into your new home as soon as possible, but you also need to be able to live and work in the space.
So, you have the keys. Now what?
We’ve put together a practical guide for how to prioritise and enjoy making your house a home.
Prioritise and plan
Like any project, it’s a good idea to draw up a plan to help you put your ideas into action. It’s impossible and overwhelming to make over the whole house at once, so use this time to decide which rooms are your biggest priority.
Usually, the rooms that you spend the most time in, such as the living area or the main bedroom should be your first focus, before eventually making your way through to the other areas in the house. However, if you’re working from home and need a good environment to concentrate in, then your priority might be turning your spare room into a home office, for example. Working room by room also means that any unused rooms can be used to store furniture and other items before they get placed around your home.
Use your belongings to guide your colour theme
Once you know the order that you’ll approach your home makeover in, it’s time to draw upon your inspiration and plan your interior design.
Try to take into account some of the existing decorative items you already have, or practical items such as the colour of your toaster and kettle to help to form the palette for each room.
For example, if you have a great rug from your previous home that you want to keep, use this as a starting point. Choose wall and textile colours to accentuate the key feature.
Don’t be scared to get creative with the design for each room. If you like to go bold you can experiment with a range of colours, as long as they complement your furniture and decor. However, it’s always a good idea to use one shade, even as an accent colour, throughout the entire home to ensure it flows.
Invest in the biggest item first
Now you know which room you’ll be working on, and how you’d like it to look, invest in the biggest item you’ll need for this room first. If it’s the living room, pick your perfect sofa. For a quick dining area makeover, choose a table and chairs.
Using this method, it won’t take long to see a big impact. If you’ve planned your theme around your existing pictures, plants and textiles, you won’t need to buy much else after this first big purchase to pull the room together.
Transform with a lick of paint for a big change
Painting a room is a quick and budget-friendly way to make a big change. If your house hasn’t already come with flooring installed, then we’d recommend painting the room first. If your flooring is brand new, then just make sure to put down plenty of dust sheets and use tape to mark off the perfect edge to keep your skirting boards tidy.
Once it’s dry, when you place your big furniture investment in the room and accessorise with your personal items, it will be ready to enjoy!
Add the finishing touches over time
A full house decoration project can take months or even years to complete as you get to know your home better, and what changes you need to make so that it can work perfectly for you. However, with these tips it’s possible to make a great starting point that you can add to, giving you time to save up for that next investment piece all while making the most of your home environment.
Which room will you be starting with first and why? Share your home makeover tips with us on Twitter and Facebook.