How to personalize your home and make it perfect for you?
Being a first time homeowner is tough, everything is so unbelievably expensive and complicated. You want more than anything to finally settle down in your house and feel comfortable but you just can’t get it right. Relax, here are five steps you must take to make your house a home and avoid the chaos.
Before we begin figuring out your style. Find images of interior spaces on Pinterest that you like and use them as inspiration to apply all five steps and personalize your home in no time.
Step 1: Select a style
Interior decor is one of the single most important ways to make your house a home.
Don’t make the most common mistake and just jump into the rest of the steps without stopping and determining the end goal. Think of it this way, if you don’t know where you’re going how will you know you’ve made it when you get there?
You want to feel comfortable in your home and love living in it, start by selecting a style that you personally adore and won’t mind coming home to daily.
Step 2: Furniture
Furniture makes up the core of every room adding ambiance and spice.
When selecting furniture it is crucial you have an end goal or concept in mind that will guide your decisions for the rest of the four steps. This concept should include your central theme (color, material, fabric) as well as parameters that will limit you to a certain amount of furniture pieces per room, only a limited amount of colors, and specific materials.
If your style calls for a rustic look ensure that every piece of furniture adds to the style and doesn’t distract. Use appropriate material, color, fabric, etc.
Instead of going on and on trying to explain every single style here simply Google or Pinterest the specific style you like and save ideas that you can use.
Step 3: Artwork
Basically going hand in hand with furniture, one compliments the other perfectly (when used correctly). Artwork can very easily be overdone and misused, so be careful. The most common mistake homeowners make is using artwork that doesn’t fit the style in a room just because they already had a painting or frame laying around.
Artwork and decorations must be tailored to a room not vice versa.
At this point you should have narrowed down the prominent colors you would like to showcase in your room. Follow this tip: select artwork with a primary color that matches or balances one of your prominent colors in the room.
Don’t overdo though, walls are not meant to be plastered with paintings, frames, and other decor gimmicks. You must leave empty space to allow some breathing room.
Step 4: Walls & Lights
Both go hand in hand, you can’t start changing one without considering the other.
Walls are an important aspect in every room. Moving into an empty house the walls are one of the things that come with the house. That doesn’t mean you have to keep them though. Probably the simplest and most inexpensive way to add character and a personal touch to your house.
When selecting either a wall paper or a paint color stick to the style that you have determined. With walls however the question you need to be asking yourself isn’t necessarily what color I want in the room, but rather what mood am I going for?
Consider visiting your local paint store and looking through the various trending colors of the month or year. Sherwin Williams offers color consultations with a professional color consultant for an affordable cost that can will help you select a color combination that will be perfect for your home.
In a living room you may like a casual mood that sets a tone of peace and comfort. Throwing a bold color onto the wall will only distract and irritate you and your family. A kitchen however may require some more zing and energy. Stick to a color scheme though and don’t choose a different color in absolutely every room that’s confusing.
Now for lighting… pay attention to lighting before making color selections. Some rooms have tons of natural lighting while others are closed in and dark. A room with tons of windows will look bright even with darker walls, while a room with no windows is tricky and requires light walls in order to maintain a similar atmosphere.
Once again pay attention to the mood, tone, and style of your room. If you would like a calm mellow environment you should not use bright futuristic looking lights but rather something casual. On the other hand in a place where bright light is required don’t use low light bulbs that produce a sickening yellow light that will give you a headache daily.
Regarding light fixtures, adhere to your style and use fixtures that match the theme of the room. The internet is your best friend with this one, you can find the perfect light fixture for any theme in seconds. Simple as that.
Lastly don’t be afraid to play around with various colors or different shades of a color in one room. Accent walls are increasing in popularity and it may be time to consider one. Before going with a specific color take a look at a few various shades of it first. You may decide to go with something lighter or darker that enhances the tone you are striving to achieve even better.
Step 5: Flooring
We saved this for last because it is one of those improvements that although is crucial may be a little difficult for a first time homeowner to change a ton about. We won’t lie performing extensive flooring improvements isn’t the same as repainting a wall or hanging up a painting.
This however doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t or can’t... even on a budget.
For those on a tight budget a few options to consider when trying to make your floors more cozy and personalized: hardwood refinishing, LVT, or Laminate.
If the home you have purchased or just moved into has hardwood floors, that is great news. Did you know though that you can very easily retouch your hardwood floors to almost any color and look by performing a hardwood refinish? Much less expensive than installing new floors and doesn't require any tear out and reinstallation either. Just something to consider.
If the current floors are simply too beat up or entirely the wrong color not matching the style that you are aiming to achieve you can always replace them. No matter the look that you are striving to achieve: Hardwood, stone, or tile. LVT (luxury vinyl tile) can replicate it all and prove to be more durable and long lasting as well. Laminate isn’t a bad option either, for just a $2-$3 per square foot you can have yourself a fresh looking floor that is almost identical to genuine hardwood.
Just like every other item on this list, flooring must be tailored to the style of the room not the other way around. Colors should match and each article in the room must work together to create a beautiful and homey atmosphere.
What we have found to prove popular with homeowners in the last year are DIY flooring projects. Solid hardwood and engineered hardwood is difficult to install and can get expensive. Laminate and LVT look just as great but are much simpler to install. Take your time, you don’t have to replace the floors in the whole house the first month you move in. Begin with the most important rooms of the house (where everyone spends the most time). Target the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms. Select flooring material that fits the theme and over time conform the rest of the house to your style.
Would you like to shop some discounted flooring material? Visit our new showroom location and shop our large selection of flooring options.
Homeownership is an experience not many are given the privilege to experience. As a homeowner (maybe for the first time) you don’t see how large of an opportunity you have to work with your home to make it truly yours. We would argue that more than half of all homeowners never actually get to the point where they are comfortable and proud to call their house their home.
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