Have you ever sat down in complete silence, looked around, taken a deep breath and felt like you could do so much better? Then something is wrong with this relationship! Perhaps you were once in love, perhaps you never truly fell in love, but settled, believing you could fall in love one day. But time passes and you’ve grown apart, still not in love, or maybe you even have feelings of regret, or loathing the way it looks. Maybe your taste has changed and you like new things, different things.
If you haven’t guessed by the title of this post, we’re not talking about your significant other, but rather your house! For most of us, we don’t get to buy the perfect house, it doesn’t exist and you have to make concessions, “nice yard, ugly kitchen, small bathroom but hey, it’s got a big master bedroom.” Perhaps some of us had our homes custom-built, but still, all those upgrades are more than what we can afford all at one time, so we put those wish list items to the side for a later date.
In our case, it’s a little bit of both, but we have decided to try and make this relationship work and try to better our homes, one DIY project at a time.
Here we share with you a few tips that will help you fall in love again with your home, you could even think of this as relationship therapy for your house.
TIP # 1
Take on One Room at a Time
It can become overwhelming and be unrealistic to try to change up your entire home all at once, but simply ask yourself which room irks you most, and start there.
Maybe it’s the room you spend the most time in, perhaps it’s supposed to be a functional space, like an office but it seems like its where junk mail goes to die. Therefore, focus your attention on making that space more enjoyable to hang out or work in.
You can apply any of the following tips to that room to help you achieve this. You can even draft up a list of the things you would like to change and do to that room and little by little cross them out.
Or maybe even go more custom and build what we call the closet-mudroom, like Erica did in her home with tons of storage for the busy family of 6.
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TIP # 2
Declutter
Let’s face it most of us have a hard time getting rid of stuff that we know deep down we will never use but keep around just in case (sound familiar)? It can really impact the way you feel as well. You don’t have to wait for Spring to do some cleaning, simply tidying up can be enough to help you feel inspired. Some things you can do easily:
- Get rid of or organize junk/old mail/bills that have been piling up.
- Clear up the kitchen counters.
- Create a nighttime routine by doing a “Ten Minute Tidy Up”. At the end of everyday set a timer for ten minutes, get the kids to help pick up any toys off the floor and put them in baskets, arrange those throw pillows…you get the idea. However, don’t use this time to attempt any heavy cleaning, this is just so when you wake up in the morning, you’re waking up to a neat-enough house, at least until the kids start “making memories” again.
- Create a morning tidy up routine; make the bed, put away dishes, wipe down the counter of the kitchen, and bathroom after brushing/getting ready in the morning, don’t leave clothes laying around.
- Get rid of things you have no more use for and donate those items, whether you go all out Marie Kondo style or not is up to you.
*** If you need help coming up with what duties to include in any of these ten-minute routines you can download our “Ten Minute Tidy Up“. Feel free to print them out and put them up somewhere you (and the kids?) can see them and that way you can check the tasks as you go. We are sure this will help you start taking back your home from the daily trials in life because we use these same routines to keep our sanity and our homes somewhat under control.***
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TIP # 3
Focus on The Entryway
Start with the entrance of your house and create an inviting foyer. This is the first part of your home, that which you and your guests walk into; it is the space that welcomes you and your visitors home, and the place that bids you goodbye. It should feel like a warm hug whenever you walk through the door. If this space is lacking in warmth, it would be easy to spruce up, with a few simple changes:
- If space allows you can place a console table.
- Decorate that table with some greenery, books, a lamp or a bowl for keys.
- Add a bench or chair.
- Change the light fixture.
- Also you can hang a mirror (it will make the room feel bigger too).
- Add an aromatic candle that will welcome you with a sweet scent.
- You can even convert a space within the foyer to create a more appealing, pretty and functional entryway, like Marian did with her foyer closet by opening it up and adding a seating area while still being able to hang coats.
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TIP # 4
Upgrade Furniture
- Take some paint to your existing furniture, or refinish the piece altogether. Follow this guide if you need tips for painting furniture!
- Change the fabric on an older piece of furniture like dining chairs.
- If money allows, maybe spring for a new accent piece, like a chair, or if you want to go all out, look into larger pieces of furniture.
- You can even build a piece, like this throw ladder that Marian has in her home.
Tip #5
Add Some Color
Walls can be well on their way to looking beat up, as years of kids and pets rubbing up against them, maybe taking crayons to them as they create what they believe to be masterpieces, or dings from furniture being moved around. Maybe the colors are just plain ugly. These are easy fixes that can be modified on a low budget while being time friendly to busy families. Try these ideas:
- Update Fireplaces: Fireplaces may look outdated, with old brick or odd paint color choices, or a stain that’s just not your taste.
- Why not give color psychology a try? Give the space an uplifted, calm, or creative vibe.
- Spruce it up with some Home décor: accent pillows, rugs, curtains, an indoor plant, or an interesting piece of art. Don’t be afraid to change with the seasons either!
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* Bonus* TIP # 6
Drink wine and relax!!!
(Everything looks better after a couple of glasses lol). Jokes aside, just take things a little at a time, Rome wasn’t built in 1 day, and not everything has to be perfect, just make it so that you are comfortable and happy where you are. Furthermore, home should be a place for you to feel cozy, in peace, filled with joy; your little safe haven at the end of the day, where memories are built for years to come. Simply enjoy this present time with your family, be thankful and have fun making your home work for you.
So, go ahead and give these tips a try or use some of them as inspiration and add a bit of YOU to it and let us know how it went, or if you have any more tips please share them with us, we’d love to try them out!