Easy, Elegant Ways to Spruce Up Your Home

Giving your home a new look doesn’t have to involve thousands of dollars and weeks of time. A recent article appearing in Clean Home Journal offers quick, easy ways to give your home a new lease on life.

Sure, we would all love to have the time or the money to remodel or hire a decorator to give our home a new look for spring. The reality is, remodeling is expensive, as is hiring a professional decorator. And if you are a DIY enthusiast, when do you find the time to work over your home?

Instead of thinking about major changes, why not make some minor, subtle changes that will make a big difference? You can pick and choose from the below list and start loving your home again, or even get it ready for sale.

• Rearrange to revolutionize your rooms. Giving a room (or several) a fresh look can be as easy as rearranging your furniture and accessories. Move things from one room to another and mix and match old and new. You can experiment with different textures, colors and heights until you find the best look.
• Look at things differently. Take a minute to think about uses for an object beyond the obvious. An old-fashioned tin bucket can make a classy holder in the bathroom for toilet tissue or rolled-up towels. Visit flea markets, thrift stores or antique stores for unique items that could be used in new ways.
• Add a multisensory experience. Experiment with scents in your home. Using decorative candles or diffusers is not only aesthetically pleasing, it will also make your home smell delightful. Stick with one scent or complementary scents per room, and think about which scents are the most suitable to the room. For instance, a lavender candle might be great for the bedroom, since it is soothing and relaxing.
• Contrast colors. Instead of trying to match the colors in your home, go for pleasing contrasts. For instance, if you have pale lilac or pink walls in a bathroom, buy deep chocolate towels. Or, if you have a boldly colored accent chair, try an accent pillow that is equally bold.
• Add some green. Plants add a lush look to any room, and tend to thrive in a bathroom’s humid atmosphere. If you tend to kill anything green, add a vase of fragrant fresh-cut flowers, like freesia or tea roses.
• Fix up your fixtures. Buying a new lamp shade or a new light fixture is a relatively inexpensive way to give your home a new look and can change how you look at your home.
• Cozy up to cabinetry. Kitchen remodeling is expensive, but giving your cabinets a new look doesn’t have to be. Try switching out your cabinets’ hardware for an instant update. Glass, wood or ceramic hardware can add some country or old-fashioned charm, while brushed metal gives any kitchen a more modern look. Bring home samples to play with before you make a final decision.
• Fun with framing. Framing unexpected items can give your home a polished, interesting look. If you find a swatch of wallpaper you love, but can’t afford to wallpaper a whole room, try framing it instead. You can also frame mirrors or personal memorabilia.
• Everyone looks better in pink. Pink lighting, that is. Switch out your harsh white bulbs for soft pink bulbs that flatter the skin.
• Jazz up your shades. There are many crafty ways in which you can spruce up a lampshade. Tracy Porter, author of Tracy Porter’s Home Style, recommends hanging crystals on the bottom edge of a lampshade or using a hot glue gun to add a cord or ribbon trim. To add an elegant shimmer, spray a plan shade with spray adhesive and dust it with fine glitter. You can also paint the inside of a shade to give it a new glow.
• Dim the lights for drama. Install dimmer switches in your home for instantly customizable lighting. Use the dimmer in your bathroom to create a low glow that rivals the swankiest of spas.
• Paint only partially. There are no rules stating that you have to paint a whole room. If you can’t afford to paint a whole room or don’t have the time, try using a bold color on just one or two walls.
• White can be interesting. White trim and white doors can create a crisp, dramatic contrast with colored walls.
• Mind games. Use paint to fool the eye. To highlight a fireplace, choose an accent color or a metallic paint. If you have built-in bookcases, paint the inside a deeper shade than the wall or the exterior of the bookcase and the objects inside will appear to float.
• Use dramatic colors. You don’t have to paint a whole room red or purple. Instead, if you have chair rails, paint the area below the rail a deeper or more vibrant color than the area above. This will liven up your room and keep it feeling spacious. If you already have painted walls, try painting one wall a deeper shade of the same color.
• Look to the floor and ceiling. Instead of refinishing wood floors, you can whitewash or ebonize them for a new look. For the ceiling, consider painting it a soft blue or a lighter shade of the wall color.
•  Install chair rails. It’s easier than you might think. For a small room, place the rail relatively low to make the ceiling look higher. If you place them at 36 inches or slightly higher, chair rails can make rooms with very high ceilings look less vast.

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