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Fall in love with your home even if it is not your dream home or without buying new decor or taking on a renovation or an expensive room makeover.
Follow my doable decorating ideas for your living spaces and home decor tips you may not have thought about doing in your home that can make a big difference and bring you happiness.
Before you know it, you will be turning your home into one that you truly love a little bit more with each passing day.
Do you love your home, like really, really love it? I do. I love my home, my home- sweet-home.
Even though it is an older home with many imperfections and aspects I would have never chosen myself.
I have been able to change each room of the house using creative solutions, small touches and by adding real comfort that make the house more than four walls with an attractive interior – it is a home that has soul, purpose, and has become a meaningful place that feels just right.
Over the last 6-1/2 years of living in the house and making it over to fit our style and the way we want to live, I thought I would share what goes on in my head when I make changes to the house.
By making a few changes, some simple – others a bit more complex and looking at your home with new eyes, you can change the entire atmosphere of every room in your home to one that you love without a huge expense or tons of time or skills.
How to Love Your Home
The place you call home is one of the most important aspects of your life. It is literally where your life revolves – the hub.
Home provides security, control, belonging, identity, a gathering place and privacy. But most of all, it’s a place that provides us with a place to escape from the busyness and intrusiveness of the world.
Even when out and about, traveling for weeks at a time or going to work daily, your home is your base where you always return to relax and enjoy your family and favorite pursuits. Getting it just right can make your life all the more better.
When you want to love every inch of your home, keep in mind that your house is the framework – your home is the life you live in the house. They work in tandem.
To create a home you love will take some thought on your part. It requires first figuring out a few things and then putting them into action.
If you’re ready to create a home you absolutely love, here are a few ways, ideas and simple tricks to start making it happen.
What is Most Important?
Ask yourself, what is the most important aspect for you to have in the house or a room?
Do you need more counter space in the kitchen? A larger dining table for your family to fit around comfortably? More closet space? Updated flooring?
Some items may be costly and require a contractor to do, but other smaller things can be done with what you already own.
Make a checklist to figure out what would make life in the house better. If you can’t afford what it is you want yet, then create a savings plan for it.
I love the look of a wall of doors or windows in a room like in this vacation rental home I once stayed in. Open and airy makes me feel my best at home.
To make it happen in my house, we had to remove a wall between two rooms and hire a contractor. This was important to us so we put our time and money into getting it done so we would get the look we dreamed of having.
There are always options that are doable, try to keep an open mind to find them. Find ways to make what is most important to loving your home a priority. The rest will follow.
Focus On What You Like About Your Home
Even if you don’t love your home, focus on the parts of it you do like. Build on what you like and as time permits, remove or change what you don’t like.
Maybe you love your large kitchen, but not the cabinets. You can remove cabinet doors to create the look of open shelving or replace the doors under the kitchen sink with a pretty fabric skirt hung on a tension rod in a color or pattern you love that will make you smile.
Try to bring out the best in what you love and build on it through other spaces.
Don’t Overlook Crafty Budget Friendly Decorating Ideas
When working within a small budget, decorating or updating a home using traditional methods is not the only way to get the look you are after.
Don’t think crafty or creative measures means low quality or that if you do them they won’t last. I have done many crafty techniques in my home that cost a few dollars and lasted year!
When you want something changed on a small budget – use out of the box thinking to come up with a way to get the look you for a few dollars.
- Did you know you can change the colors on a tile backsplash design with nail polish. I did this for a friend who had an orange and brown design on her kitchen backsplash. With pink and blue nail enamel we changed it in a few hours.
The diamond blocks on this vinyl floor were originally green. I wanted them to be black and found a way to cover them without using paint for a total of $10.
The floor lasted for over 5 years and may be still going strong, but I moved from the house so I don’t know after this the 5 year point.
A craft store product that can also be found on Amazon is one of the best crafty decorating I have ever done. I did it front and center in my previous home on the sidelights around my front door. 20+ years strong!
Shape Your Surroundings to Fit Your Life
Shape your surroundings to function for your life, family and the style of living you want.
Don’t let a builder’s floor plan, Instagram, Pinterest or a decorating magazine’s current “must haves” dictate how you use and decorate each room in your home.
If the builder’s plan has a room marked as a “formal living room” and you have no need for it since there is a large family room in the home, designate the room for your needs. You can change the function of a room at any time.
You may need to add a door in a open concept area if the room doesn’t have one, but don’t let that stop you.
I did just this and created a fun rolling door from bifold doors found at Habitat to close off the a formal living room that that I turned into a craft room that was opened to my family room in my previous house.
Maybe you always wanted a music room, home gym or a craft room or even a full room clothes closet with a pretty chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Make it happen.
Let Your Personal Style Shine
Your home is personal and it should reflect your personal style and tastes. To make your home one you will truly love and feel comfortable in, hone in on your style likes and dislikes.
Don’t feel you need to follow trending color schemes or decor that you see in someone else’s home, in interior decorating magazines and on websites.
The interior designer’s style may look pretty and catch your eye. I know when I see a room I like, I look at every little detail until I figure out what really is catching my eye.
When looking at a room or photos that you gravitate. Go over them with a fine-tooth comb to find exactly what it is about the space you like.
Most of the time what you like is not the room as a whole, but a parts of it. An open floor plan, a cozy mix of eclectic furnishings, or the use of mixed metals.
For instance, I always am drawn to white walled rooms. When I look further though, it is not just the white walls, but large windows, the casual feel of the space with large unframed artwork, a pop of color along with a mix of textures – wood, and natural fiber rugs.
Come Up With a Style Plan
Everything in this dark and very brown dining room came with the room or was a hand-me-down when we first moved in. I disliked everything, but made a plan focusing on what I wanted for the room.
Over time I changed EVERY single part and item in the room to fit my decorating style using mostly paint and fabric. The only thing I bought new was the natural fiber rug.
Whatever it is that grabs your attention, make a list of these decor items and accessories you like and start adding them to a room. Keep adding until you begin to love the room. It may not happen all at once, but overtime will evolve to a space you enjoy being in.
Look At The Rooms in Your Home From Different Angles
This is one of my favorite things to do when I want to redecorate or update a room. It is finding the potential in the space using what I already own.
I do what I call “the upside down and reversed trick”. It is a done by looking at the room with a mirror. It is a decorating trick that will help you gain a new perspective on any or all of the items and rooms in your home.
Best part of doing this, is that it is so easy to do, all you need is a mirror.
Find out how to do it in this post: Upside Down & Reversed Decorating Trick
Working With What You Already Own
When you come up with new ways to display and use what you already own you can reap huge home loving rewards without spending a dime.
Don’t allow home decor to become static. Rotate items seasonally and from room to room to change the look up.
Move an area rug from a bedroom to your home office. Change the pillow covers on the sofa. Move a bedroom dresser to use as…
…a sideboard in your foyer/entryway. Reward – you get a whole new look for two rooms without spending a cent.
You can do this with any furniture or items in your home.
- Group smaller items on a tray or in a basket so they don’t look like clutter. Instead offering smile worthy impact.
- Remember that unrelated smaller items can look like clutter. Group them to turn them into a pretty vignette.
- If you have too many small items in a room, try mixing in a few bigger pieces of decor or furnishings – doing this can make more of a statement.
- Gather like-items to create collections that you can display together to make a pretty display.
- Hang a group of family photos or empty frames together to create a gallery wall at the top of a staircase or in a boring hallway.
Add Purpose and Function
One of the things that can make your home feel off is failing to consider how you the space is truly going to be used when you’re decorating. Would a large round table be nice for game night make it more functional? More upholstered chairs instead of a sofa?
Know how much a room will be used by your family and for what purposes down to the actual tasks that will be done in the space.
Creating storage spots or designated landing spaces can also be decorative when you add some thought to them.
- A fireplace needs wood to function, make the wood look part of the decor by stacking it neatly or placing in a large urn or basket.
- Add a pretty tray to the top of a sideboard in an entryway to place keys in when you come home. As a plus, each door in the sideboard itself can be well-organized setup for each member of the family to place their shoes, totes or backpacks.
Set up purpose zones by making them look pretty. When everyday condiments are placed in a stylish lazy Susan, it keeps them handy and saves kitchen counter and cabinet space.
When everyone knows where items go, because the area has a specific purpose, they are much more likely to be returned to their home. This helps keep things tidy, efficient and you loving your home.
Get the Lighting Just Right
The lighting in your home can make or break how much you like the way your home looks in the evening. Don’t settle for a dimly-lit room or an overly bright one with a cool grey cast when you want a warm soft glow and cozy look.
Take the time to experiment with lamp placement in a room and the types of shades(transparent or opaque) as well as the lightbulbs you use. Nowadays there are are so many types of bulbs to choose from for you not to create a perfect ambiance.
In the evenings, having dimmers or smart bulbs on your lamps with soft white bulbs for overall lighting will make the room look it’s best.
- Look into ways to make a few changes to a light fixture without having to replace it. Try adding a new lamp shade or change up the glass globes on a chandelier that are sold at the home improvement store. No new fixture or electrical skills needed.
Read more here about how to get the lighting in a room just right for your needs.
Lastly Make Sure Your Home is Comfortable
When your house is a home you love, you know the feeling… it is the only place on earth that you feel true comfort.
Is the seating in your home truly comfortable or did you buy your sofa and chairs from a catalog to fit a certain decorating style?
When you are not feeling well or tired, where do you go to try to find comfort?
How about when you want to read a page turner or watch a movie – do you have a super comfy place that you can melt your body in or even better a seat that is designated just for you?
There is nothing that feels better and will make the room a favorite because it is the space that provides real comfort besides a bed where you sleep.
A few years ago, after Ed’s insistence, I bought two matching recliners for our living room that also rock and swivel – you know… the big, cushy kind with plenty of padding with a seat cushion to sink into for movie watching marathons, reading the latest best seller, taking an afternoon nap or to kick your feet up after a long day.
If you have one or more of these chairs in a your home, the comfort factor alone will make them your favorite place to sit.
At first the chairs made me cringe, but now they are my favorite pieces of furniture. They may not be stylish, but they are so comfy and where everyone who comes to the house wants to sit.
If you have uncomfortable seating – the best investment you can make to live comfortably in your own home is to remove uncomfortable seating and add new seating that every member of your family finds comfortable.
I can guarantee you will love your home even more after doing this.