Have you been in your home for a while, and are you starting to feel that you need a décor refresh?
If so, how do you decide on a new style that will not leave you having to do a complete overhaul again in a few years time?
There are some tactics that you can employ to keep your home in line with current home decorating trends, without too much effort.
First of all, identify your personal style. Think about your personal taste, the colours that you love and why.
Next – pick a base colour palette which will allow you to overlay cushions, throws, drapery and other accents which you can easily change to remain contemporary and on trend. Having chosen your base colour palette, stick to this throughout your home, ringing the changes with your accent colours in the cushions, artwork and so on.
Freshen up your home periodically with a new coat of paint – this is the simplest and cheapest way to update when its starting to feel a little tired.
Make a habit of de-cluttering your home on a regular basis. Remove those extra pieces of furniture that have crept in, memorabilia, books and DVDs, ornaments and so on.
Be on the lookout for opportunities to give your rooms a lift with some new artwork or updating the hardware in your bathroom – you may be surprised at the difference small changes can make.
Consider setting up a savings account for more drastic makeovers – bathrooms and kitchens can become dated and can be costly to update, and do need a revamp every 5 years or so.
Here is a list of some things that will instantly date your home:
• Too many types of prints and themes – so 80’s
• Floral curtains – consider single light coloured curtains that won’t clash with other patterns in the room and will help to make the space look bigger
• Animal ornaments (remember those flying ducks on the wall, so resonant of the 50’s?)
• Bright/busy wall paper will be sure to make your room look smaller than it actually is.
• Colour in the wrong places – remember those avocado/blue/yellow and (horrors) orange coloured baths and basins of the 70’s? Impossible to fix without a costly reno.
• Carpet in the bathroom – a big trend in the UK, but not in Australia’s hot climate where this just looks dirty/unsanitary
• A bar – very 90’s and out of step with today’s trend towards a healthier lifestyle
• Everything matches – your bed linen doesn’t have to match the carpet and the drapes
• Toilet rugs – see “Carpet in the bathroom"
