If you’re sitting on your couch right now, take a moment to survey your living space. Is it looking a little outdated, or perhaps simply worse for wear? Is there any clutter, culminated by the hustle and bustle of everyday life? It can be tricky transforming a space that’s used so often as a space for laziness and lounging, but the fact of the matter is that your living area plays a major role when it comes to a guest’s first impression of your home. Here are a few small ways you can keep your living areas feeling fresh without sacrificing your own comfort.
1. Clean deep
It’s important to start this process from the ground up, which means giving your flooring a little TLC. Have your floorboards feeling fresh with a nice sweep, hoover, and follow it all up with your steam mop to ensure your surfaces are totally disinfected. If you’ve got carpeting, be sure to give them a thorough treatment too, also preferably with steam. Once you’ve done your floors, move on to your windows and window coverings.
Another fantastic pro of starting with your foundation is the fact that you’ll need to move your furniture around in order to thoroughly complete this first step. Yes, it’ll be a little more cluttered initially, but the whole point of revamping your space is to change it up, so it’s recommended you don’t feel tied to your current arrangement. Don’t be afraid to find your feng shui!
2. Clear the clutter
Now that your floors and windows are taken care of, it’s time to address your clutter, but we’re not talking about your larger pieces of furniture right now. What you should be focusing on are the areas of the room that are most prone to becoming cluttered. Assess the sources of that clutter, and mitigate its potential to grow cluttered in future. For example, if you’re seeing a lot of coats or jackets draped over chairs, it may be worthwhile investing in a well-placed coat rack. If there are magazines or even board games or puzzles scattered about the place, create a space where these items can be stored and still accessible. Consider the underside of your coffee table or perhaps a storage compartment in your TV unit. Addressing these sources of clutter now will ensure that you’ll be cleaning less often in the future.
3. Identify your style
You’ve taken all the steps to make your living space fresh and functional. Now it’s time to think of your interior design style guide. What kind of atmosphere are you looking to cultivate in your home? Are you going for funky, or classical? Minimalist or industrial? Or have you got a specific fusion in mind? Be sure to check out some interior design style guides to give you a few preliminary ideas on potential elements you can use in your living space. If you’re retaining your old furniture, it would be worthwhile taking some time to discern where these retained pieces would thrive. Monochromatic furniture may perform perfectly in a contemporary minimalist setting, whereas patterned may be more at home in Scandinavian or perhaps a bohemian designscape.
4. Add some flair
Now it’s time for the finishing touches: accents and personal flair. Here’s where you can get creative with the smaller elements of your designed space. Think of fabrics, textures, and colours. Are you all for boho patterns and hanging tapestries, or are you loving the comeback of velvet? Similarly, when it comes to accents and decor, you’ll want to make sure that accessories like frames either adhere to your chosen style or work as statement pieces. If you’re struggling to find balance, maybe try using the 60-30-10 colour rule, with 10% of your chosen palette being for your accent pieces.
It’ll take a bit of finetuning, so don’t be alarmed if you’re still thinking up ideas a week or so after this process. Just let yourself stay bold and creative, and your living space will be sure to blossom.
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