A decorating expert offers inexpensive ways to transform your home
The day you walk into your home and think it looks tired is the day you need to breathe new life into it. There are so many things you can do without leaving your home or picking up the phone and others that are either DIY or very cost-eff ective. Decorator Morgan Fry of Thrift tells us how to “be brave” with decor.
Home shopping Walk into each room and remove at least one item of furniture or frippery (items you no longer like or use). Look hard because when an item has been in your home for a long time, you barely notice it anymore. And don’t panic if it has sentimental value – you don’t have to get rid of it. Just put it away for now. You’ve given yourself some clean space in the rooms and that negative space is the start of a transformation.
Now look at those discarded items and rethink them. Is there anything there which would work in another room? Perhaps it needs to be sanded down and painted? Does it need a new frame? Play with these pieces, not necessarily immediately, and if you no longer have room for them in your life, sell or donate them. Less is generally more.
Colour me Colour is a major game-changer, whether it’s walls, fl oors or artwork. As a loose guide, remember the 60:30:10 ratio (predominant colour should cover about 60% of the room, usually painted walls; secondary colour should be 30% percent, usually window treatments, upholstery, rugs; and accent colour 10%, artwork, ceramics, accessories).
A splash of paint or a pop of wallpaper are great for transforming a room. Stand in the room with a handful of swatches and pick out colours you really like which feature in the carpet, a painting or something else dominant. Play before committing. You can create a single feature wall of a plain strong colour, stripe the wall with even or uneven bands (do it yourself with masking tape and paint), or even choose a photograph – your own or one you’ve bought online – and get it enlarged to fi t that feature wall (apply it like wallpaper) or, of course, use wallpaper (hunt down the sales). Wallpaper can also look superb behind open bookcases or shelves.
Hang it up Artwork can also have an impact and it doesn’t need to be an original piece. It can be interesting photographs of botanicals, inexpensive prints purchased online or even something abstract you might be brave enough to try. Mirrors can be as equally impressive as artwork, particularly if they have wonderful old frames or are really large. You can lean a mirror against a wall, refl ecting the fl oor or ceiling, to enlarge the space or refl ect greenery outdoors.
Upholstery art Fabric and upholstery can be expensive (trawl through the fabric waste centres), but much like a feature wall, choose a single chair in the room and make this your eye-catching feature. If you’re brave enough, go bold and bright or even a little crazy and have a single print on the seat of a plain chair. Make it a chair-cum-artwork.
Window dressing Windows treated diff erently can change a room – swap out your short curtains for a fl oor-to-ceiling one, or replace curtains with a fabric roller blind, wood Venetian blinds or old shutters (hunt them down at junk shops). Concentrate on the textures here – if you don’t need to block anything out, go thin and soft with muslin or voile.
TOP TIP:
• Swapping out lamp shades is an easy way to spruce up an old look.
• Use bright carpet tiles of different colours in a children’s room to create a chequerboard effect or make your own design.
• Inexpensive rugs in bold colours and designs can be used to demarcate areas within a room.
• Generally, bigger is better and bolder – remember scale.
Words: Anne Schauffer | Images: Supplied
