Top Design Tips and Home Hacks
We’ve all been there, wanting to radically transform the look and feel of our home, only to be held back by finances or lack of interior inspiration.
Here at C&S we’ve got bags of ideas to help you add some style to your space in the quickest, easiest and cheapest way possible.
Shake up the Stairs
When thinking about ways to jazz up your décor, stairs may not spring to mind, but you can get really creative with design and clever with storage solutions in this part of the house.
For colour and interest, why not paint the back panels of your stairs?
Top Tip
Get a couple of tester pots to paint these and add an ombre effect using slightly different shades, getting lighter as you move up the stairs.
Alternatively, you can turn your under-stair space into a place of storage dreams. With some shelves and an easy-access door, you’ll create a plethora of storage solutions in no time and be one step closer to your stylist’s dreams.
Enhance Traditional Features
Living in a house with its traditional features is a great stepping stone to adding style elements to your home. Take a look at the current characteristics of the home, such as fireplaces and alcoves, and think about how you can enhance them.
This can involve adding a fresh lick of paint or making them a feature in your room.
Don’t forget!
If you’re painting wooden features, you must use a primer first: this will stop any paint seeping into the grains and help to maintain the authentic wooden look.
Update Your Kitchen
Sticky-back plastic just became your best friend. No, seriously. We’re about to create a masterpiece that even Art Attack would be proud of.
With kitchens being one of the most expensive renovations, not to mention the most considered purchase that you’ll make at home, you may be happy to know that you can update your kitchen by keeping existing carcasses and just changing fronts by adding sticky back plastic. If you have wooden worktop just sand down and apply five to six coats of oil and it will look again like new.
Choose Colour
It’s a simple one, but adding colour to any room can really transform the way it looks. You can do this by painting walls in one colour, adding patterns such as geometric prints to your walls or upcycling old pieces of furniture to give them a facelift.
If you’re looking to freshen up your room, giving your walls a make-over with neutral shades can add light and space to any area, so all you need to do is add a lick of paint and you really open up your space.
Consider Chairs
Got old wooden chairs that are no longer making the style cut? Then why not upcycle?!
It’s an economic and eco-friendly way to update your furniture, not to mention a great way to put your personal touches on your interiors.
If you want to upcycle your chairs, simply sand down the original wood, add a primer and, after allowing this to dry, paint them in your chosen hue. Don’t forget to do this in a well-ventilated area.
Or, for a way to stand out for the crowd, why not sand down the wood and dip the legs in paint? This gives you a nod to the Scandi trend and it’s a look that won’t overpower the room.
Add Art
One of the easiest ways to update a room is to add art to your walls or add a cluster of frames to a shelf; this is the perfect means of adding some personality to your décor on a budget.
If you’ve got a large, blank wall, it can be tempting to add a big canvas to cover it, but sometimes this can take over the room, so why not change it up with a selection of frames in different shapes, sizes and colours? This way you can add whatever imagery you want for a fully bespoke look, and it’s easy to change the layout any time you want.
Small Changes, Big Impact
Throws, cushions, rugs and tie-backs are all little updates that can dramatically change your interior style.
Bin the old, dreary blankets and lacklustre cushions and inject some colour and pattern into your room.
Top Tip
For colour cushions on a tight budget, why not pop your old covers in a tub of warm water and material dye? You can create your own bespoke look or add a daring pop of colour.
Add Life
An easy way to breathe some life into your space is by adding some foliage. House plants have made a big comeback, and it’s easy to see why: they add subtle style, colour and interest to a room.
Go big with large, leafed plants or opt for a collection of small cacti and you’ll be surprised how much this can change the room. You can even throw back the trend with a selection of hanging plants: hanging terrariums are back with a bang and quickly add interest to the room. You can even knit your own hanger as another way to save some pounds.
Your Tips
Whatever look and feel you’re going for, be sure to try out some of these tips, tricks and hacks and enjoy endless style on a budget.
Let us know if you have any design tips for the home, as we’d love to know more.
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