7th April 2015
Having your own home is an exciting time indeed, you finally have a space that is yours that you can do whatever you want with. Only problem is, what do you do first? It’s easy to get away with yourself and start planning like mad, but decorations tend to be the last on the list of things to do. Of course you do need to think first about electronics and furniture, but try not to leave out the decorating entirely. Remember, a house isn’t a home if you don’t have bits and bobs lying around, right? So what can you do with your new home, how do you decorate it? Below are just a few decoration ideas for new home owners to get you started and perhaps for some well needed inspiration.
Feature Wall
In most cases when you buy a new home it is presented to you bare, with white or cream coloured walls. You can paint the walls whatever colour you like, however you do need to bare in mind that every room should ideally have a feature wall. This is a wall that is painted in a bold, bright colour and is the centre piece to the room. For example, the feature wall in your living room could be where your TV is (if mounted on the wall) or it could be a wall covered in pictures and artwork. Generally a feature wall is quite tidy and crisp, so you can still see a good amount of colour to make the room pop. It’s suggested to go for lighter or more pastel colours for your walls and only using loud and bold colours for your feature wall. Why? Because you still want the room to be well lit. If you paint the walls black, the room will have nothing for the light to reflect off of, so pale walls are a must to keep your rooms nice and bright.
Canvas Art
You might be wondering why canvas art specifically, well the beauty of canvases is that they are not only super light but fairly cheap to buy and are replaceable. Everyone’s taste changes, so getting cheaper art stops you from breaking the bank every time you want something new. Having a light weight piece of art also means you can almost guarantee it’ll go on any wall, as it won’t be too heavy (even if it’s huge!). If these weren’t good enough excuses then this next one might just do it for you. Canvas art is readily available but you can also get your own made specifically with images you want. So large family photos can go on a canvas, as well as any landscape type pictures you might enjoy looking at. Many will use pictures from holidays and other travels for their canvas art, as it is personal without being overbearing.
Ornaments
Have you ever walked into a home without a single ornament? It’s pretty strange as many of us see a house as being a home where you can collect little things that you think are nice. You don’t have to go mad and start collecting as many parrot based ornaments you can get your hands on, you can find many simplistic ornaments that speak volumes without taking up lots of room. There are many ornaments that are so simple that they could fit into any environment. From white and black animals to random shapes, any ornament can make a house feel more homely. You can store your ornaments on a shelf, on windowsills and on fireplaces. Don’t go out of your way to have them, they should be few and far between and be fitted into odd spaces, not grouped together.
Flowers/Plants
Here you have 2 options: live plants or fake plants. Many years ago fake plants used to look quite tacky and were very clearly fake, but these days you can hardly tell the difference. The benefit of fake plants is that you don’t need to remember to water them at all, they always look great. However to make your home more homely, you really ought to have the odd live plant here and there. There are many plants you can have that require little care, cactuses for example are very easy to look after and can look incredible. The humble orchid is a very popular plant to have in the home, but many do not realise how hard it is to actually take care of them. If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t have the time to water your plants then do not get an orchid. If you do want a live plant then be sure to read up on them before purchasing. Make sure you know how much it needs watering and also if it needs lots of sunlight. There’s no point in having a live plant if you’re planning on keeping it out of the sun.
Candles/Diffusers
You could argue that candles and diffusers come under the “ornament” section, however these serve a higher purpose than to just sit and look pretty. Candles are a great way to de-stress and make your home smell fantastic. The same can be said for diffusers, though these are more for if you don’t want open flames within your home. You should only use candles when you’re in the home and use diffusers for when you’re out of the home. They both have the same effect, however one is much safer when left alone! You can find them both in various different scents, you don’t have to go for the typical magnolia or lavender fragrances. The best and most effective smells are that of citrus fruits as they are sharp and are long associated with cleaning products (so when you smell a lemon, you tent to associate it with cleanliness).
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7th April 2015