They say that moving home is one of life’s most stressful events. However, the reward is the feeling of excitement and optimism when you finally get into your new property. But until you inject your own personality and tastes into your new home, it won’t feel like it’s truly yours.
After you’ve decluttered and organised, it’s time to start making the property your own, and these six tips should help to get you started.
1. Add texture to bare rooms
A quick way of transforming your new home into somewhere you can relax is to add texture. This might involve something as simple as the addition of a few throws, or the careful placement of some plush cushions. A thick rug on the floor or a new set of quality curtains can transform the look and feel of a room instantly. Adding bold and substantial textures to a room doesn’t just make it your own, it adds an element of luxury too.
2. Stage the rooms in your home
Moving into your new home may mean some of your existing furniture and furnishings made need to be replaced. Perhaps your favourite armchair looks cramped and awkward in your new living room. Or maybe the coffee table you once loved so much just doesn’t look right in its new surroundings.
Play around with different configurations until you find a set-up you’re happy with. Where things just won’t fit in, sell them and use the proceeds to find items that will.
3. Focus on attention to detail
Sometimes, it’s the little things that combine to make a house a home. Moving into a new property leaves very little time for small decorative details, so it’s important to make the time as soon as possible.
For instance, you might want to spend some time arranging your ornaments in different ways. There may be crockery, vases or other display pieces that can transform a room with the minimum of effort. You may even want to add a splash of colour to a wall in order to change its aesthetic. This process of trial and error may take a while, but it’s always a lot of fun.
4. Spend extra time on windows
Windows can be both a blessing and a curse. While they allow natural light to flow into a room, they can also leave the same room looking cold and bare unless they’re dressed appropriately. Perhaps the single most effective way to make a room your own in a hurry is to hang curtains, drapes or blinds.
Choose a thickness that is appropriate for the season, but make sure the curtains you choose blend in with the existing decor. To give yourself an added sense of security on your first night in your new home, choose ceiling-to-floor curtains.
5. Concentrate on a warm welcome
For the first few weeks, your new property may not give you the same sense of security and refuge that your previous property did. This is often apparent when you walk into your new house after a day at work. To combat this issue, make sure your first impression as you walk into your property is one of warmth and familiarity. Spend time playing around with different furniture, furnishings, accessories and art in your hallway. You might be amazed at what a lamp, a mirror and a familiar piece of art can do to your mood as you arrive home.
6. Perfect the lighting in your main living areas
The living room and the kitchen are likely to be the places where you spend the most quality time with your family. It is therefore important that these spaces are conducive to relaxation and socialising from day one. One way to achieve this is with the use of additional lamps. The careful placement of table and floor lamps will add an ambience of warmth and cosiness; it will also brighten up dark areas of a room that traditional lighting doesn’t reach.
