If you have recently enlisted the services of an NYC mover or other moving service in your city or locale for that matter, it is safe to assume you are considering tweaking the décor in your new place to better reflect your tastes or personality.
Home improvements like this are often better struck when the iron is hot – you know, before you start settling into a daily routine.
There is no shortage of home décor advice out there, but these tips take you right to the very basics of it. After all, spaces (never mind rooms) differ; so do preferences. So, what may be good for Madge may not work for Andy.
That in mind, here are some tips on how to decorate your new home without emptying your wallet.
1. Eliminate the Clutter, Crap and Chaos
Humans love familiarity, but your home (and sanity) will be better off without the crap.
If you brought along the clutter from your old pad, you might want to cut it out from your life, and there is actually no better time than now.
This is one of the few single-biggest things you can do to your home to give it a fresh look, and the good news is that it can take you as little as a day to sort everything out. OK, probably a week for some of us hoarders.
The Marie Kondo method is a good place to start – if an item no longer warms your heart, then out it needs to go.
Strip everything to a bare minimum and start from there.
2. Rearrange
Another often overlooked aspect of home décor is rearranging the furniture we already own.
Good home décor is not just about disposing the old and replacing it with the new, you see. Sometimes, all we need do is work with what we have. And the results might surprise you.
Try a different setup with your existing furniture – swap the end table to the opposite side of the chair; put your bed on the opposite wall; rearrange the living room and adopt a completely fresh layout...
When moving very large items, don’t forget to factor in the lighting and placement of wall hangings and artwork.
3. Apply a Fresh Coat
A fresh coat of paint can breathe a new lease of life into even the most humdrum of spaces. You don’t need to hop onto the ‘paint of the year’ bandwagon. Work with colors that really do it for you, although sometimes going unconventional can awaken parts of us we didn’t know existed.
Just make sure to try out a hue you aren’t too sure about first! Many stores offer sample paint bottles.
In addition to the walls, other areas that could do with some fresh paint include plant stands, end tables, flower pots or vases, and even the back of book shelves.
4. Accent Colors and Accessories
Assess the space you want to spruce up and select some contrasting colors to add some life to it. This need not be on the walls but rather, could come in the form of tieback ribbons on curtains, placement items that come in a contrasting hue etc.
Simple accessories like pillows, throws, and art and decorative objects can also punch up a room and give it some nice pop.
5. Create Visual Symmetry
Most people buy decorative items in matching pairs – which subconsciously brings balance and serenity to a room.
When you don’t have pairing partners and are working with dissimilar items, try matching up these items. For instance, a shorter lamp to coordinate with a taller lamp on a book stack and so on.
