Unlike cosmetic surgery, giving your home a facelift doesn’t have to be expensive. Adding some low-cost elements can make your interior magazine-worthy! Here are six decorating tips that bring luxury to any room.
1. Showcase an electric fireplace.
Add glamor to where guests and family gather. In your living or dining room, an electric fireplace extends a warm smile. Some homeowners tuck them into bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens, too!
Image source: DepositPhotos
This appliance is maintenance-free, and you don’t need a large space, chimney, or flue. Cool to the touch when operating, it poses no threats to children or pets. One unit can heat a 400-500 square foot room, powered by the electricity from a 120-volt outlet.
Electric fireplaces can be stand-alone units or wall-mounted, recessed, or inserted into unused fireplaces. Wall-mounted units are easily hung with brackets. Recessed units can be built into any wall material, including drywall. Replacements are inserted into the existing fireplace.
Most units offer the option of emitting heat or not.
For greater impact as a focal point, install a fireplace TV stand. Designed as a media cabinet, the mantel supports a TV monitor, positioned over a simulated fireplace. A remote control operates the fireplace settings and TV channels. Three mantel styles are available – traditional, contemporary, and corner units. Here are the reviews of the top-rated fireplace TV stands currently on the market.
Photo by Rosemarie Allaire Lighting Design
2. Feature window treatments.
Upgrade window frames with sumptuous fabrics and colours. Velvet is sophisticated. Silk rayon blends have a soft drape and can be textured. For a lovely sheen, there’s cotton sateen. Other opulent choices are floral chintz and embroidered damask.
In sunny windows, sheer curtains transmit their colour to your floors. Solid drapes in bold hues create exclamation points. Trending in 2017 are jewel tones, such as topaz, sapphire, emerald, persimmon, turquoise, and amethyst. Add pizzazz to drapes with braided tiebacks or golden tassels.
Also, consider exquisite styles, such as valances, cornices, and Roman shades. Valances embellish the top borders of windows. Fabric can be shirred, ruffled, pleated, or trimmed with beads. Valance edges are soft, hanging freely.
Photo by Coggan + Crawford Architecture + Design
Cornices also dress up window tops, but they’re rigid. Fashioned of wood or covered with fabric, cornices are shaped boards. A wood cornice can be enhanced with crown molding.
Roman shades offer the privacy of drapes, but their pleats are horizontal, stacking neatly when raised. The fabric can be patterned.
3. Accent with sculpture.
Appointing a sculpture is a simple way to lend grandeur to a room. Classy pieces can grace your tables, mantels, and floors. Animal figurines add dynamic presence. Table fountains murmur soft music.
Photo by Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders
Sculptures can also echo the theme of a given room. In your bedroom, a heart sculpture whispers romance. In your living room, angels announce protection. Floral sculptures confer peace in a nook or alcove.
4. Install layered lighting.
Illuminate your rooms from various heights and angles. The effect is like watching a movie with 3D glasses! Vary your light sources with swank options, such as chandeliers and wall sconces.
Beneath kitchen cabinets, lights cast a rich glow on counters. Positioned over artwork, they highlight details. Upgrade lamps with ornate shades and finials. For a modern makeover, suspend overhead lights from your ceilings. Also, install dimmer switches for illumination by degrees.
5. Decorate with flowers and plants.
Greenery adds a ritzy dimension. It’s one of the easiest decorating tips to employ. Place floral arrangements on tables, consoles, and mantels. You can find inexpensive bouquets at supermarkets and produce stands. Complement the beauty of your flowers with lovely vases. To keep blooms fresh, regularly trim stems and change vase water.
Also, showcase specimen plants in stylish containers. Houseplants with spectacular silhouettes are palms, Ficus, Schefflera, Dracaena, and Ming aralia.
Photo by Joseph Bergin Architect PC
6. Add panache with decorative moulding.
Detailing on walls and furnishings makes them look high-end. Moreover, they increase your home’s value. Many types are easily installed, making them ideal as DIY projects. There are six basic trim styles:
- Baseboard – Coverings run along floors and several inches up walls.
- Wainscoting – Panelling dresses up the lower section of walls.
- Chair Rail – A strip runs horizontally across a wall, roughly 1/3 high from the floor. The height approximates the upper back of a dining chair, giving the trim its name.
- Picture Rail – Trim runs horizontally around a room, from which pictures or plates are displayed.
- Casing – Moulding enhances the perimeters of windows and doors.
- Crown Moulding – The covering connects the wall and ceiling, “crowning” the room.
Photo by Paul Craig Photography
The most popular material for molding is wood, being lightweight and easy to paint. Alternatives are rubber, foam, polyurethane, and plastic. These options bend and resist moisture and are fashioned to resemble wood. You can install molding in any room or section of your home, including hallways.
Channel Your Talent
Do you have a knack for interior design? If so, you’ll be surprised to know that some famous designers never attended college. Vicente Wolfe, for example, didn’t finish high school. His favorite hobby was rearranging furniture, and meeting a designer launched his career.
Photo by Jennifer Brouwer (Jennifer Brouwer Design Inc)
Conversely, Colin Dusenbury told his folks he wanted to be an interior designer when he was 6 years old. At age 12, he took a summer internship. He was awarded a BA degree from Cornish in Seattle.
Other notable designers are Nate Berkus and Kelly Wearstler. Here you can read the fascinating stories of their beginnings and successes.
Photo by Eileen Kathryn Boyd Interiors
On the other hand, if you lack motivation for major changes, consider the benefits of do-it-yourself projects. Tapping into your creativity builds confidence. Your completed masterpiece summons pride in what you’ve achieved. DIY projects are also therapeutic since they keep your mind occupied.
The Magical Six
Transform your home into a posh abode with these six decorating tips:
- electric fireplace
- window treatments
- sculptural accents
- layered lighting
- flowers and plants
- decorative molding
You’ll feel like as a rising designer!