5 Easy Ways to Update Your Home
We live in our homes and can sometimes become numb to our surroundings -- not really seeing the little things that might be dating our spaces. Not to worry, here’s a quick checklist of five things you can do right now to update your home for little cost or sweat equity.
1. Update your lighting
It’s such an easy fix and chances are the light fixture you’ve had for 20+ years needs an update. There are so many options for you to choose from starting with big box retailers to specialty lighting stores to online options. Look at pictures of rooms online that reflect your style preferences and begin shopping around. I’m sure you’ll find something you love. Think long term and classic. What will you love 10, 15 years from now?
2. Check furniture proportions
I see this all the time. I’ll work with a client who has a massive sectional and two tiny chairs filling a large space with cathedral ceilings. Proportion is key. The verb definition of proportion means to adjust or regulate something so that it has a particular or suitable relationship to something else. Proportion and size matters in these areas. Consistency is key. When choosing furniture pieces, you want to stay in the same family of sizing, etc. Personally, I’m a fan of standard size furniture pieces (not massive ones we’ve seen in the 90’s and 2000’s and not tiny furniture we’ve seen more recently for smaller space housing). One way to get around things here is to buy only what you need and perhaps fewer right sized pieces.
Example of furniture (a sectional couch) that is not proportionate to the size of the room. Image source Houzz.com
3. Paint
Paint is probably the best way to improve and update the look and feel of a room or exterior of a home out there. Lighter neutral colors are always safe bets and literally lift the mood and feeling of freshness in a space. I think painting most if not all rooms (particularly in a smaller home) is a wise decision and less to keep track of in the future when you need an update.
Benjamin Moore paint color 1563 image source Benjamin Moore
4. Update Hardware
Replacing and upgrading your door knobs, cabinet hardware as well as bath and kitchen faucets can instantly give your rooms a lift. Mixing metals is A-ok as well. Great combinations include a champagne bronze (brushed brass) with polished nickel or oil rubbed bronze. You can use up to three in one space, but my preference is to use two. Less confusing and easy to implement.
5. Avoid Decorative Themes
I have a condo on Cape Cod that I love for its ease to get to from Boston and the escape it provides me. I’ve been in so many homes here that go full throttle with the ocean seaside theme . . . it can be too much of a good thing. A touch here and there is a-ok in my book, but it’s also totally fine (and preferred) to simply decorate without a specific theme but with classic furniture pieces and colors that stand the test of time and reflect your personality. Theme’s are more appropriate for amusement parks and Disney. My two cents. Try to resist the urge to go all in on any “theme.”
Although my vacation home has some elements of the sea, it has a bit of an Asian aesthetic as well, with grasscloth wallpaper, fret wooden panel and four chests stacked on top of each other from China. It’s an interesting mix that surprises some because it works so well together.
Taking a look at these five areas will give you a great starting point on how to make affordable updates that up-level your home. Incorporate your taste and preferences combined with classics for a long lasting decor that you’ll love for a long time to come.
Loving your home’s interior space is more important than ever. Contact Nancy at nmichaels@nancymichaelsinteriors.com if you would like to schedule a 20 minute virtual consultation to discuss how she can help you fall in love again with your home.