10 Ways to Spruce Up Your Space
In my line of work, decorating a space can take on many different definitions. Most of the time, projects involve major overhaul: purchasing new furniture, repainting walls, and buying soft furnishings to complete the look. But I’ve also worked with clients who are on a very tight budget and need their space redone in a flash. The great thing about decorating, then, is working within this structure of existing furniture and accessories.
Contrary to popular belief, there are so many things one can do with a pre-furnished space! I’ve compiled a list of my top tips, all of which can be completed within a weekend. These are all tiny adjustments to make in a home, but you’ll be surprised at how they add up to collectively create such a big change! For practicality’s sake, I’ve also broken down each project by time so you know what exactly to tackle if you’re crunched for time. Good luck and have fun!
1.
The first step is to declutter. I know this has been said many times, but decluttering is the first thing I do in any project, big or small, and it makes a huge difference.
Decluttering maximises your space and helps to clear countertops. The idea isn’t to clean out a space, but to create space for only the things you love to be displayed. This is what I call creating a vignette: think of it as what you see in magazines, where each corner and surface is intentionally styled or left bare to create a finished look in the space. When you declutter, you’re able to group your random, sentimental objects into collections that you can then cohesively display around the home. Be careful about cramming too many collectibles in the space. If you’re unable to whittle down your knick-knacks, consider storing them in a box and putting some out on rotating display.
Time needed: I recommend dedicating one weekend to each room, and make sure you thoroughly comb through every drawer!
2.
Decluttering is a big step, but the rest is much easier. The next baby step to work on is displaying your curios.
My biggest tip is to bring in something personal – it’s the little details that set apart a house from a home. I also find that people have difficulty grouping the right kinds of objects together.
While there is no right or wrong way to go about this, there are some tips to creating a simple but effectively beautiful vignette. An easy approach is to theme a collection: something that reminds you of a holiday you took in Greece, for instance, can contain coffee table books about Greek food and culture, souvenirs you bought, and even a vivid blue bowl to keep your souvenirs in. You can also try grouping collections by colour. Whatever you decide, bear these guidelines in mind: a collection is most complete when it incorporates various scales (tall flowers, small marbles) and different textures (soft, hard, reflective, matte etc.).
I also like to corral disparate objects on a tray. There are numerous benefits to this, but the aim of the tray is to visually neaten and anchor the pieces on display.
Time needed: Depends on how many vignettes you’re trying to create, but in general this can be completed within a morning (or if you’re super skilled, within two hours).
3.
Another easy weekend fix is to liven up your space with plants. If you have a space that looks a little cold and clinical, or is too flat for your liking, bringing in organic shapes and textures through plants will add dimension and visual interest.
Speak to your local nursery to see what will thrive in the space you have (low-light or plenty of sunlight), and it helps to cross-reference the approved list with what is suitable for pets or young children, if you have any. Tip to those who love succulents: get something that will make a large enough statement, so avoid the smaller succulents and go for the bigger, bolder ones instead.
Time needed: A trip to the nursery and an hour at home.
4.
Throw cushions in the living room are never a bad idea. Not only do they add colour and texture, they also create a warm, inviting space – exactly what you want in an entertaining space.
The reason why adding cushions work in a space is because they add texture to a room. This is always important in decorating a room, but especially important for those of you who currently have a monochromatic palette or are only decorating with very limited colours, both of which which can run the risk of being too lifeless and ‘showroom-ey’.
Time needed: Shop for cushions you like that fit your decorating style, then toss onto sofa with aplomb.
5.
Got a whole weekend to spare? Tackle your bookshelves!
Bookcases take up lots of visual weight, and from experience, are also breeding grounds for clutter. Unless you’re a bibliophile, I recommend styling your shelves like you would any surface: with a mix of accessories, personal items, and books. Don’t know where to start? Try these shelf styling tips.
If your shelves are stuffed with books, I recommend first doing a clean sweep of your collection to see if there are unwanted texts, before arranging by height and colour. I find this is the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement for large book collections.
Time needed: A weekend
6.
Speaking about visual weight, consider balancing your space by drawing the eye up through adding visual height.
The lack of visual height creates a bottom-heavy room, which, no matter how you declutter, will still result in a ‘draggy’ space. The solution? Incorporate decor to move the eye upwards (away from the floor or mid-level).
Do this:
1. Try moving a statement plant (larger and sculptural like a fern or orchids) onto a tabletop. The trick here is to really exaggerate the height so you can draw the eye up and out.
Time needed: Five minutes
2. Adjust your curtain rods to hang higher.
Time needed: One hour
3. Paint your ceiling. Dramatic, but this is a good trick if you’re dealing with a space that’s a bit ‘lost’. I recommend doing this in a room not commonly used, such as a guest room, which allows for more experimentation.
Time needed: A weekend
7.
Now, my favourite: assess your lighting. I never leave a space without adding ambient lighting, and this is a must-do for any space at home, including your hallways and entryways.
For starters, most rooms have general overhead lighting, but this should not be used alone. In any space, there should be three to four points of lighting balanced around the room. Incorporate task lighting (lights above the kitchen countertop, for instance, or a desk lamp in the office) and ambient lighting (table lamps on the console).
Tip: use pendant lights or chandeliers if you’re trying to increase visual height in your space.
Another thing I like to add around the home is candles. Soft, flickering light adds to the warm glow of a home, and scents help set the mood of a home.
Time needed: A weekend
8.
Badly hung art can throw off the composition of a room. Does your art seem lost on the wall, or does your furniture look comically large against the paintings on the wall? One of the biggest mistakes I see is art that is too small. Instead of running out to buy larger pieces, which can be very expensive, try collating smaller pieces into a gallery wall.
Time needed: An afternoon to rearrange art, although I would advise taking your time to collect art pieces you truly love.
9.
Here’s one for those who are caught in the small space/not enough light/ bare walls situation: bring in an oversized mirror.
I’m sure you already know mirrors can double the space you have, but they’re also great for illuminating dark rooms by bouncing light around. Try placing one across a window, if you have one, or look for where the light enters the room. Placing a mirrored surface opposite a window also has the added benefit of bringing the outdoors in – perfect if your room is looking a little bare and boring.
Time needed: One hour
10.
If you have someone to help with the heavy lifting, team up and play with your furniture configuration. The goal is to visually lighten the room by moving the visually heavy (often bulky) objects away from the entry of the room or at least around the room. Try to keep the entry clear, or if you have to, replace with something visually light or low.
This works because it gives the illusion of a lighter, airier space by keeping your eye moving around the room. Sometimes it also helps to move furniture from room to room. Don’t be afraid to move a chair from the living room to the bedroom or a lamp from the study to the dining room.
Also try adding or subtracting from your current equation. I find it easiest to do this with a rug. Rugs take up a lot of visual weight in a room, so refreshing a dated rug can perk up a space immediately. Sometimes, taking a rug out of space will help you with your design vision. Try removing weightier items — curtains, rugs, even larger pieces of furniture, then adding them back into your space one by one. This method takes a while, but it can also help you identify which elements don’t jive with the space.
Time needed: A weekend
