Breathe New Life Into Your Old Home

Your house probably isn’t perfect, but if you are starting to feel like it’s dated or uninteresting, it may be time to breathe new life into your decorations. You don’t necessarily need a new house or to add on a wing. Sometimes, all it takes to transform your home into a place you love are a few updates.

Add Lights

Lighting can truly be transformational. It can change the whole look of a room. For example, if you have low ceilings, add in canned lighting instead of a fixture that hangs down. If you have a room that doesn’t receive much natural light, switch out your bulbs to white light halogen bulbs which mimic natural light. In addition, add interesting lamps to each room as well as a whole house surge protector, so that the lighting is flexible depending on if you’re reading a book or entertaining or something else. Add flickering wall sconces to create a warm glow in the room all the time. String fairy lights in hallways or half-baths to create a magical look.

Repaint Walls

It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to update a tired room. Once you start with one room, it will be difficult to stop until the entire house is complete. Don’t just repaint the same white walls, though, choose an accent wall in each room and jazz it up. Accent walls can be bold, highlighting your favorite color or soft, creating depth and warmth in the room. Choose an otherwise bland wall without windows and paint a design that draws the eye without overwhelming the space. Soft geometrics are popular as are murals of outdoor scenes. Take a risk. It’s just paint. If you hate it, you can paint over it.

Hang Mirrors

Almost every room can benefit from a mirror. Mirrors make rooms look bigger and reflect beautiful color or natural light back into the room depending on where they are placed. Look for mirrors in antique frames or create your own antique look. Mirrors don’t have to be the focal point of the room to make the space look special. Hang a collection of small mirrors facing each other in a corner, creating an interesting collection of constantly changing reflecting surfaces.

Add Houseplants

There is nothing quite like entering a room filled with greenery. The air feels fresher and the atmosphere more inviting. There are many plants that thrive in low light and on little attention. Snake plants and spider plants have beautiful two-tone coloration. The leaves of bird’s nest ferns and monstera deliciosas are unusual and textured. You can build a single color scheme of pots and planters or mix and match for interesting color pops throughout the house.

Install Statement Art

If individual rooms seem to lack pizazz, consider buying a statement art piece from a local artist or to commemorate a special vacation. Statement art doesn’t have to be a giant pelican sculpture, but it could be a smaller one to sit on your coffee table to remind you of your week at the beach. Wall hangings and hand-crafted furniture also make great choices. If you are unsure what will work, enlarge a nature picture from a recent trip and get it cloth-mounted like a professional photograph. It’s sure to be a conversation starter for whomever walks in the room.

Refresh Accent Pieces

A quick way to change the look of a tired room is to grab a hamper and fill it with all your accent pillows and small rugs. Put them in a labeled box in the garage. Head to the nearest discount or home furnishing store and buy the first 6-10 pillows and 1-2 rugs that appeal to you. Don’t worry if they match perfectly. Just grab what jumps out at you. At home, put them on the sofa and chairs and arrange. The ones that don’t fit, return. What’s left will create a new look.

It’s much less expensive to keep your house and redecorate it rather than to buy a new house. If the décor in your home is looking bland, spice it up to create a new look.