It may be a new year, but while the weather is still cold outside, and the Christmas festivities are over, most of us are enjoying staying in a little bit more, perhaps even doing Dry January. And it’s officially a trend – the latest John Lewis & Partners Retail Report has just been released, and it’s showing that JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) has officially replaced FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) as the top home trend. So with more of us choosing to experience the pleasures of staying at home, naturally we want to make the environment as beautiful and welcoming as possible. With the new year, is it time for a new look in your home? How do you go about creating a chic environment without breaking the bank? Read on for some top tips on glam interiors you can achieve in your home.
Dress Your Windows
It’s amazing what a difference the right curtains or custom blinds can make to your room. Oversized curtains which pool to the floor look luxurious and can visually elongate your windows, while smart blinds always look chic. Slatted wooden blinds can give the appearance of the far more expensive wooden plantation shutters if you’re hankering for a bit of French chic in your living space.
Try Some New Materials
Sometimes, adding a dash of the unexpected to your home design can be as simple as switching up the materials you choose to use. Using something unexpected is a great way to experiment because you can make it as neutral or as a statement as you like – the material choice alone is enough to elevate the design before you even begin to layer in factors like color and proportion. The materials you choose to use can enhance the look you’re going for. Unrefined textures and raw materials can bring the great outdoors in and create either an industrial chic or quite a rustic home look, depending on how you choose to use them. Successfully incorporating unusual materials is all about creating enjoyable design contrasts – like silk tasseling on a lampshade paired with an exposed brick wall. Textured wallpapers are making a comeback too and are a brilliant low key way to add a subtle impact to a space. Embossed or leather effect materials can be used for headboards or feature paneling on the ways in a very effective way. Polished concrete floors can look hugely luxurious as well as being the ultimate in practicality for those with small children or family pets. You can think outside the box and achieve amazing results – what is to stop you using those amazing floor tiles as a wall display, or even using artificial lawn as your hallway floor covering. Daring to be different here can really bring the wow factor.
Change The Trimmings
Often it’s the small details in a home that can make it look expensive or second-rate. This is great news because changing up these little things is much less costly than a whole redesign, and you’ll be surprised by what an impact they can have. For instance – unlined curtains let in too much light, aren’t as good at regulating the temperature, and don’t look as ‘finished’ – so buy some curtain lining material and it’s an instant win. Likewise getting handy with a screwdriver and changing the facing plates of your plug sockets and light switched to a brushed metal finish, rather than plain white plastic instantly makes the house look more pulled together. You should also consider adding moulding to a room. This inexpensive finishing, frequently made of plastic is easy to install and when painted makes a room look so much more expensive and pulled together in a very low-key way. You can also add moulding to the tops of kitchen cabinets and around doorways to give that luxury finish for a small amount of money.
Consider Your Lighting
As well as maximizing natural daylight, designing a great lighting scheme for your space will definitely help it to be both functional and beautiful – the very definition of an elegant home. Most people don’t opt for enough separate sources of lighting, but having options allows you to create a layered, subtle look that can suit any need. Try a combination of brighter LED spotlights in task-focused areas, with floor lamps and downlighters in areas where you relax. A statement light fitting such as a cluster pendant or a modern chandelier instantly make a space look more expensive, while fitting strip lighting in bathrooms or kitchens goes a long way to giving that luxurious hotel look without costing the earth.
Show Your Personality
Your home should be all about you and showcasing what you love, so turn a collection into a talking point by presenting it properly. Into vintage china? Use shadow box frames to create a striking display of your favorite patterned china pieces and give them the focus they deserve. Grouping similar objects together can give a room a real focal point and elevate a normal space to something that feels more high-end. If you collect beautiful shoes, source a vintage armoire, cover the interior with patterned wallpaper and display your most gorgeous pairs. Or if you love family history, how about creating a stunning wall of framed black and white portraits of family members through the ages – a modern version of the ancestral oil paintings. If photos aren’t your thing it could be a collection of vintage movie posters. When similar objects are grouped together, rather than scattered around your home, they begin to look far more intentional and make much more of an impact. It’s a great talking point for your home which is highly individual and injects a huge dose of personality into your space.
Update Ugly Furniture
When starting out, especially if you’ve made the leap from a small rented space into your own home and suddenly you need a lot of furniture. A lot of people end up taking old pieces from family or picking up freecycled or cheap second-hand pieces to get something in place, intending to go through and replace everything later when they have the cash. The trouble is, often it can take a lot longer than you think to replace everything. So what do you do about that violently patterned sofa in the meantime or those stained dining chairs? Throws can be your friend in this case. Choose a colour and pattern you love, get creative with draping, add a few statement cushions, and you could almost forget what’s underneath! Similarly, it’s easy to recover dining room chair seats with a fabric you like and a heavy-duty staple gun. Touches like this can really alter the whole feel of a room.
