words Alexa Wang
As spring takes hold and summer beckons, this is the perfect time to think about brightening up your home in such a way as to welcome in more cheerful weather during the summer months.
Essentially, what you need to focus on are ways to make your rooms look bigger and filled with sunlight for longer, in keeping with the time of year when the days lengthen and the nights shorten. Luckily, this doesn’t mean that your home needs a complete makeover; instead, there are a few clever tips and tricks to help you along the way. Try out some of these easy DIY ideas, for a start.
Making space
The first thing that you ought to do is tidy up. If your décor is strictly minimalist, this may not be necessary; however, the odds are that your home might be in need of a bit of a declutter. You will find that you are freeing up lots of space in your home just by taking a clever approach to storage and clearing your windowsills, countertops and shelves of anything that doesn’t need to be seen. This simple beginning will cheer you up enormously because your rooms will immediately look bigger as the clutter disappears.
Lighten up
Candles are a popular feature of many homes. A wonderful way to create instant portable “candle lamps” for living and dining areas is to place a little tea light into a large wine glass and adorn the top with a paper shade. If you’re a crafty type, you can make the shade yourself from wallpaper, scrapbook paper or even fabric. As with all candles, just be sure not to leave your new “lamps” unattended.
Bedroom ideas
Do you want to brighten up the bedrooms but can’t afford a major decorating project? Worry not as there are some stylish touches that you can add that won’t break the bank. Changing handles on doors, wardrobes and chests of drawers is one budget option, while recovering existing ones in fabric is even cheaper. You can mix and match fabric scraps to your heart’s content until you achieve exactly the look that you want.
Solutions for any room
While changing your curtains or buying new blinds can help to cheer up your home temporarily, there’s an alternative solution that you can modify and update countless times, just by a change of colour. Wooden shutters are a handsome addition to any room in your home. They are timeless and flexible, and are available in a great range of colours.
Another useful ploy is to change your artwork, simply by moving your favourite pictures to another room. Your wall art will reinvigorate the new space, and you’ll be amazed at how much effect “new” paintings and prints have when you swap their location. Perhaps you’re a keen photographer – if so, try getting some of your favourite photos digitally enlarged and framing them for an artistic touch that’s truly personal.
Playing with mirrors is another opportunity to reflect more light inside your home – both daylight and artificial light. If your budget allows, buy new, large mirrors and place them strategically opposite or near to windows and lamps until you achieve the desired effect.
Bathroom beauty tips
Brighten up your bathroom by giving your accessories a makeover. It’s really easy to use wallpaper or fabric to wake up tired items such as a tissue box, toiletries storage or toothbrush holder. Whether these are wooden, plastic or glass, you can always recover them. Use the same pattern on everything, or mix and match complementary colours and designs, just as you please. If you have bathroom scales and a small bathroom stool, you can use similar techniques and products to revitalise them. The best wallpaper for this room, as with your kitchen, is naturally the wipe-clean variety.
Fun with your fridge
Fridge magnets are a fun way to brighten up your kitchen, and very useful for important memos such as shopping lists and family messages. For a unique take, why not make good use of any unwanted bits and pieces of jewellery by sticking magnets onto the back and turning them into sparkly alternatives? It’s a great way to clear out your jewellery box without throwing away your baubles.
If you’ve successfully decluttered, made the most of daylight in your home, and tried some of these nifty easy DIY ideas, you can be sure that your home is in great shape to enjoy a bright, cheerful and sunny summer season.
Easy DIY ideas to brighten up the home – Alexa Wang
