There are plenty of easy and affordable ways to give your home a cosmetic facelift. Much as you use make-up to doll up before leaving the house, you can do the same for your home by using a few cost-effective design tricks.
When it comes to open plan dining rooms and kitchens, sometimes all that is needed is to declutter the space. While tackling home improvement projects might cost you a fortune, some fresh touches here and there can be done at a fraction of the cost and give your home a completely new and fresh look.
Living Room
If your living spaces are lacklustre and need some TLC, paint always offers an affordable and easy way to brighten and update a room. Visit your local Builders and grab some Plascon colour swatches to take home.
You will find plenty of advice in the decorating section on choosing colour and painting a home, but if you are scared to stray too far from your comfort zone, a neutral palette for walls and trim will give your home a refreshing makeover that will last for several years – or until you want a new look.
Working with a backdrop of neutral walls and trim allows you more freedom to introduce colours with accessories like rugs, curtains, artwork and cushions.
Shop for a new look at your favourite home décor store. You will get plenty of summer inspiration at Mr Price Home. Swap out last year’s colours with a beach theme that incorporates light grey and blue cushions and rugs for cool summer looks.
While wallpaper can be used in bathrooms, only use it in a bathroom that is well-ventilated.
Having your worn furniture reupholstered, or replaced with new furniture, will do wonders for a home. Don’t be scared to try and do your own upholstery projects. The most difficult part of any re-upholstery project is taking the first step.
Nowadays, the internet provides access to almost unlimited resources for reupholstering all kinds of furniture. Doing it yourself could save you thousands of rands. What is important, though, is to take your time and do a professional job.
Dining Room and Kitchen
When it comes to open plan dining rooms and kitchens, sometimes all that is needed is to declutter the space.
Packing away clutter will free up countertops and make the room appear larger. It’s amazing how clutter can make any room feel claustrophobic; only keep essential items on your countertops.
As with living rooms, a coat or two of paint can do wonders for rooms that are starting to look grubby or dated. White and ivory is a classic and timeless look for kitchens. Use a water-based paint like Plascon velvaglo in light shades to give dark cabinetry a modern finish.
When you think that a can of velvaglo will cost you around R400 and will be enough for the cabinets in an average-sized kitchen, it doesn’t cost that much to invigorate your kitchen. Complete the look with a few choice accessories, a bowl of fresh fruit, or a vase filled with fresh flowers.
If your living spaces are lacklustre and need some TLC, paint always offers an affordable and easy way to brighten and update a room.
Bathroom and Bedroom
Summer is the time to layer the bed with fresh cotton bed sheets, throw open windows and allow the evening breeze to circulate through the room. While neutral colours are perfect for any room in a home, in the bedroom they are just the thing for creating a cool and serene space.
If you are struggling to find the perfect bed linen to finish off your bedroom, make your own fitted sheets, duvet covers and matching accessories.
Even if you have never used a sewing machine before, fitted sheets are simple to make. A basic sewing machine costs around R600, and you will soon master the technique for simple stitches that will allow you to create your own accessories for every room.
Bedrooms are rooms where it’s easy to have piles of clothes and general clutter lying around. Find plenty of solutions for adding or organising your storage on Home-Dzine.
If you are in the market for a new bed, consider a bed frame that offers built-in storage drawers underneath, or make pull-out storage drawers on casters.
Making up simple boxes with wheels that fit under the bed provide tons of storage for clothes or bed linens, and you can easily conceal the drawers with a fitted night frill.
Don’t forget that all-important headboard to finish off the bed. Once again, making your own upholstered headboard is easy enough, and you can select fabrics that coordinate with the colour scheme or fabrics used in the room.
Before you begin your bathroom makeover, clean it from top to bottom, replace any peeling sealer around baths and basins, and restore grimy grout.
There are plenty of easy and affordable ways to give your home a cosmetic facelift.
In a bathroom tiled from floor-to-ceiling, something as simple as adding new accessories can instantly give any bathroom a cosmetic facelift. Replace tired towels with thick, fluffy bath sheets that add a luxury to your bathroom and your bathing experience. And don’t toss out your old towels – use them to make mats or rugs.
If you have opted to go tile-less in the bathroom, you have so many options for giving the room a new look. Use Plascon Double Velvet in pale, muted tones for walls. Plascon’s Urban Glow colour palette is perfect for creating a relaxed atmosphere, or you can go with Natural Balance and turn your bathroom into a spa room.
While wallpaper can be used in bathrooms, only use it in a bathroom that is well-ventilated and choose vinyl wallpaper that is thicker and less likely to peel at the corners and along the seams. Proper installation is essential when applying wallpaper to bathrooms.
Keeping the bathroom clutter-free and adding just a few coordinated accessories, is all that you need to refresh a bathroom.
SOURCE: www.home-dzine.co.za
