Creating the perfect home is, above all else, for ourselves to enjoy. We need to create a haven, a sanctuary, in which we feel comfortable and able to relax in. Each person’s taste will differ, so decorating to suit your own is of utmost importance and must always be the priority. However, adding a little ‘wow’ factor to impress our guests as well as ourselves can leave us feeling like we’ve created a space to envy.
Incredible effects can be easier to achieve than you might realise. I’ve put together three of our best design ideas to impress anyone setting foot over your threshold, including yourself.
Light up your life
There is little more breath-taking than walking into space which is resplendent in light. A bright and airy home will instantly make anyone in it feel uplifted, particularly on a day which seems gloomier from the outset. While this effect can be mimicked with smart artificial lighting, it’s far better to achieve it with the real thing.
How can this be done? Ensuring your windows are large in the first instance (and clean!), then checking to make sure they are unencumbered by any curtains or blinds which might partially cover them. This will bring light into the room, but the key to making your house glow is to allow the light to pass throughout it, and this can be achieved with internal glazed doors. There is a multitude of styles to choose from to suit your personal taste and the windows in them come in a variety of sizes. The positioning of the doors in the appropriate places will ensure that glorious natural light circulates your living areas to stun any visitors.
Dare to be different
Feature walls became popular several years ago and remained on the desirable ‘must-have’ list. But their prolificness means they are less likely to impress. Instead, take it one step further and have different features within the same environment. Choose, for example, a bold print wallpaper for one of your walls and then a heavily patterned sofa to sit directly in front of it working in perfect contrast.
Sometimes items that initially seem to jar ultimately end up complimenting each other perfectly.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
This is never truer than when spoken of about art. It can divide friends and family and what is one person’s perfection is another’s poison.
However, we are likely to appreciate someone else’s tastes, even if it is not to our own, and if the artwork suits its surroundings, then it can look dramatic and necessary all at once. If you’re investing correctly in originals, never buy it for anyone but yourself. Indeed, choose pieces that you feel you cannot live without, rather than what you can live with. If you’re on more of a budget, you can choose pieces that you love knowing that if you don’t appreciate them in situ, they can be replaced in due course. But it’s unlikely you will need to if you choose carefully. Large pieces hung in the right space will never fail to amaze any visitor.
With so much inspiration available and accessible ways to purchase, it’s never been easier to dress your home to impress. Just ensure it excites you most of all as you’re the one who has to live there!
