So you have a room that looks like a tacky tornado hit it, or Macaulay Culkin just protected it from home intruders with various traps. Either way, if you’re reading this looking for some help with interior design, we are going to give out some easy tips to make homeowners’ lives easier in Medicine Hat and wherever else we can.
We’ve all seen extravagant rooms put together with various decorations, art displays, and color schemes formulated by Van Gough himself.
Truth is, you don’t have to break much of a sweat or the bank, to spruce up a room.
For the most part, these will be more generalized tips to help the majority of rooms. For more specific guides like holiday decorating or specific styles, follow our future blogs. In the meantime, there is an interesting blog article on holiday decorating tips you may enjoy reading.
So here are a few helpful tricks to make a room more spacious, inviting, marvelous, intriguing, or whatever else your imagination can stir up.
Slap Some Mirrors on the Walls
Mirrors actually serve quite a few more of our needs other than our lust for vanity.
They can make a room look much larger than it actually is if used properly. If you have a small room that you want to seem more inviting and larger, use some larger mirrors on the main walls surrounding the room. This will give a sense of more room to be had, rather than walls closing in on you. Perfect to fight that claustrophobia.
You can also position them so that when natural sunlight spills into the room, it’s reflected into the rest of the room. This gives the room a beautifully vibrant glow.
Here’s a fun one, you can have mirrors on either side of a hallway or a small room to create the “infinite reflection” effect. Or you could simply “multiply” things in a room by positioning a mirror behind it. This is nice for things that will amplify any accent in the room.
Just have fun with it, mirrors add a ton of possibilities to any room, so try out some of these ideas, or come up with your own and let us know what you find works!
Wicker Baskets, Wicker Baskets Everywhere
We’ve all seen them somewhere at some point. They add a nice look and feel to any room. Also, they are usually quite easy to sneak into any room since their colors are easily blended and there is an assortment available.
Having them used for quick and easy storage also helps remove some clutter from the room, all while adding that nice look as well. Say you have a knitting station, a pile of pet toys, children’s toys, remotes and controllers for TVs and gaming consoles; there’s a ton of odds and ends you can throw into a wicker basket.
Keep it Simple
When it comes to colors, less is more! You shouldn’t have combinations of sixty-eight shades of colors. Too many colors are not only is hard to look at, but it’s going to be hard for you to manage.
You can get a lot done with just a small handful of colors. Making things much easier to match together and look cleaner. Choose three to five colors that work well with each other, you have should have a primary color with a few accent colors that compliment it. For example, you could have grey walls with dark black furniture and blue accent blankets and vases. These are just three colors, but easily work well with one another and give the room a clean and modern look.
Depending on your level of expertise and your eye for color, this may vary of course. Work within your comfort levels and if you need to, ask an expert for some advice for specific variations and color combos.
Smart Lighting
If you aren’t familiar with smart lighting, it’s a new trend of lights that can be controlled by your smartphone, tablet, or any other compatible device. These lights are usually color changing and have many interesting settings that work in tandem with other smart devices and smart assistants. This will change the way you experience light.
With these, you have some really interesting possibilities at your disposal! Set the right moods with your own choices of lighting. Set them with matching accent colors to accentuate the design of the room and compliment your color combinations.
You can also set them for particular moods. Say, for example, dim red lighting can add some extra ambiance to a scary movie night. You can have bright blue lighting during the day to add brightness in a different way. You could also instead go with warm and soft lighting for a more relaxing feel in the evenings. There are also party settings for alternating and flashing colors to spice things up. The options are almost endless, it’s all up to your imagination.
Clean up That Pile of Cables
Cable management is something most of us avoid. Over time, your stereo equipment may form a pile of cables stretching and winding all around your room. This looks messy and also makes things harder each time you need to update it.
Tidy up those cables by zip-tying large bundles, covering them with wall strips, tucking them under baseboards, etc. The goal is to hide everything you can and make things prim and proper. This makes your life easier for updating equipment since everything is neatly in order and easy to identify. All while giving the room a cleaner look without the mess of cords flaying out like a snake nest.
Go to a Yard Sale or Pawn Shop
Go shop around for unique items that may go well as a decoration in the room you are trying to improve. You would be surprised not only by what you find but also the ideas it may give you.
You want to make your home something unique and tailored to your liking so explore the options. Pawnshops and garage sales offer unique items people don’t want anymore, so take advantage of the different options available and try to generate some extra ideas from what you see.
In conclusion
There are a plethora of tactics, strategies, tips, and tricks to help you with interior design. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs covering other ideas and concepts.
The point is that there are many simple and fairly cheap options available to improve the look and feel of any room, so don’t overthink it. Expand upon these tips and tricks as you see fit, everyone has their own taste and opinions, sometimes you just have to trust your gut. If you are planning on selling your home, you may want to have a particular look or feel to sell better. If you are planning on staying for a while, then have some fun with it. As long as you are happy, that’s all that counts. Well… you may want to make sure the rest of the family is ok with it before you put a ping-pong table in the middle of the living room.