Our home is one of the most comfortable places on the planet. It is the place where we relax, eat, laugh and enjoy a good time with our loved ones. It is not just a place where we live, but it also displays our lifestyle and our personality. Some of us love to keep our home simple while others have eclectic taste when it comes to decorating their home. No matter what your unique style, these 10 tips will help you add your own personalized ‘wow’ factor to your home:
Tip1: Add Greenery
Did you know that research by Nasa revealed that houseplants can remove up to 77% of air toxins in a day?
Beyond just health benefits, adding greenery is one of the simplest and easiest methods to enhance the beauty of your home. It will not only gives you a pleasant feeling, but also adds positive energy in your home.
For inside the home, choose indoor plants that can thrive in a living room or bedroom. Herbs that you can use in your cooking make a great choice for your kitchen.
Outside, get started with a small garden or hanging plants in your balcony. Add colors through fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Tip 2: Choose Good Flooring
Undoubtedly, a beautiful floor can change the overall look of your home. There are several options available like wooden flooring, tiles, carpets etc, you can choose anyone according to your preference and affordability. A good-looking floor not only adds a lot of value to the floor but can also beautify it.
When choosing floors that are built to impress, there are 3 things to consider:
- How well it handles wear and tear. Certain porcelain can chip easier and if your wood floors are too perfect looking, they’ll reveal scratches easily. Sometimes it’s better to opt for tiles with some texture built into them and wood flooring that’s already been a little distressed because it will hide any imperfections that arise from everyday use.
- How easy it is to clean. A dirty floor instantly trumps any ‘WOW’ factor. The easier your flooring is to clean, the more likely you are to do it. Laminate, wood, tile and even carpet are reasonable enough to maintain, depending on how you like to clean. If you hate mopping, tile isn’t for you. If you prefer vacumming over sweeping, you’ll be better off with carpet. Whichever product you choose, make sure they have protectants for spills and stains so they don’t set to easily.
- How aesthetically pleasing it is. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there are a few universal truths about good looking flooring. For one, it fits with the decade – out of style flooring and patterns will only date your home. Also, the flooring color, material and pattern you choose should blend well with your home décor and overall style; otherwise it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.
Tip3: Follow A Theme And Try To Keep It Simple
To enhance the beauty of your home, following a single theme throughout is a great idea. You can get several ideas on the web with sites like Pinterest. A solid theme will help you to choose complimentary furniture, layouts and colors that work well together and don’t feel inconsistent. Avoid gathering random items together and don’t overdo it for risk of having your space feel cluttered. Choose items that occupy less space and are highly functional.
Tip 4: Give Your Bathroom A Makeover
The bathroom is not only one of the most used spaces in your home, it’s also a place where we seek retreat. From long relaxing baths to beautifying morning routings, it’s the place where we primp, pamper and unwind. For this reason, it shouldn’t be the one room you neglect.
The 3 most important features of a bathroom are:
- Cleanliness. Since this is usually where we go to get our bodies clean, we obviously want the room to be clean too. Choosing a layout that makes cleaning easy is key.
- Functionality. Because this is the place for self-care, we want it to be functional. We want to be able to quickly reach the razor, toothbrush or hairdryer without fuss. Ensure that faucets and valves are working properly and there is no water leakage.
- Beauty. As a place for retreat, the bathroom should feel aesthetically pleasing. It should reflect your style, feel calming and also look like new. That means having windows that let light in and ensuring that fixtures like the tub, tile or sink aren’t showing a lot of wear and tear. If you’ve got a tub or shower that’s chipping or worn down, consider a tub, tile or sink reglazing service to restore it like new.
Tip 5: Don’t Ignore The Maintenance
Although there are several tips to add wow factor to your home, the best tip is to maintain what you already own and notice the little things, like:
- Do walls need a fresh coat of paint?
- Does wall or door trim need to be finished?
- Are door handles and hardware operating well?
- Do windows still need dressings?
- Do kitchen and bathroom fixtures need fixing?
- Are t-moulding tracks secured in the floor?
- Are railings loose or secure?
It might be the boring stuff, but these are the basics of a well functioning house and likely the details you and guests will notice. Before you start investing money into major home improvement projects, make sure the main features and functional areas are operating and looking good first.
Tip 6: Fix And Organize Your Kitchen
Your kitchen is an essential part of your home and, thus, it should be highly functional and pleasant to work in. An updated kitchen plays a crucial role to enhance the beauty of your house. Start by fixing issues, deep cleaning and organizing your pantry. Get rid of things that are not in use and taking up more space. Manage the stuff you need and fix all your carpentry problems. If you pay attention to the details in your kitchen, it will become one of the most attractive features of your home.
Tip 7: Add Artwork
Let’s be honest –the art you choose can make or break the mood of the space. If you want to create an immediate impact on the space, choose oversized art that sets the mood you want to feel when in that room. To make a statement, you can add one huge piece of art on the walls. Choose something bold and big. Something that has a certain meaning behind it. It will transform the overall look of your space wherever you add it.
Tip 8: Declutter Your Spaces
This is probably the most overlooked, yet most powerful, tactic for giving any home that WOW factor. Excessive clutter can turn any beautiful space into an overwhelming, unappealing room. The best way to control the clutter is to have well-designed storage, so you and your family have a place to put your things. You need to take into account what has to be stored on a routine basis, such as excess blankets, keys, paperwork, book bags, shoes, coats, clothes, books, tools and hardware etc.. When designing storage, it is important to consider what you are planning to store.
Start first with closets: bedrooms, coat closets, linen closets. This is where most of your storage space will be, so it’s a top priority. Keeping extra items out of sight is easy to do with closets. Then, consider open concept storage in common rooms, such as shelving or furnture with buillt-in cubbies and drawers. Anywhere you can turn décor and furnishings into functional pieces, it puts you one step closer to a clean, minimal looking home.
Tip 9: Paint Smaller Rooms With Lighter And Softer Shades
The right paint color brings good vibes to a space and makes the environment feel fresh. And when you have smaller rooms in which you don’t want to feel cramped, selecting light and soft wall colors can make your room feel much bigger. It is the best option if you are lacking space. While white is the obvious choice, it is not the only option. There are several color options available like gunmetal grey, beige, blue-green, coffee, straw, blush and more. Even neutral muted greens and peaches can do the trick. You can choose any shade according to your preference and give a spacious look to your small room.
Tip 10: Repurposing
Repurposing or reusing not only saves your money, but also helps in saving the environment and adding beauty to your home. For example – you can reuse old cups that are no longer being used by putting some soil into them to planting succulents. You can place these cups anywhere and add a ‘wow’ element to any area.
Creating that WOW factor in your home doesn’t require a total home remodel. With simple updatining, ongoing maintenance and organization, you can transform your space into a beautiful retreat anyone would want to spend time in.
Cole is with St. Charles Bathtub Refinishing Co., a company that restores tubs, tiles and sinks to look like new with reglazing, resurfacing and repair services in the Fox Valley region of Illinois.
