Lifehacks that everyone can repeat
1. Add more light and air
In “tired” apartments, I often see an overabundance of things accumulated over the years – furniture, souvenirs, carpets, etc. In most cases, because of them, there is literally not enough air. In expensive interiors, on the contrary, there is a trend towards minimalism: there is nothing superfluous, and even small apartments look quite spacious and airy.
Free up space: Look at your home with a critical eye and feel free to donate, sell, or throw away anything you haven’t used in years.
2. Tulle, curtains and textiles
In all modern apartments, I observe the same problem – short curtains up to the window sill and across the width of the window. Today this is an anti-trend. If you want to add shine to the interior, update the textiles on the windows, follow the rules:
- floor length (0.5-1 cm from the floor);
- width from wall to wall (replace the cornice with a long one);
- light translucent tulle veil, without patterns or prints;
- curtains of the same color;
- identical sets of window textiles in all rooms of the apartment.
The life hacks don’t end there. Any textile, be it curtains or an accent sofa, requires care. And of course, all textiles must be ironed and steamed, because untidy textiles will ruin any interior. If you want to refresh the space, be sure to iron the curtains, and also clean the sofa and other textiles in the house – the interior will change before your eyes.
3. Freshen up your walls
Update the color of walls and doors: many apartments are often overloaded with floral wallpaper and other colorful patterns that have long gone out of fashion. Absolute leaders among trends for modern interiors:
- lack of prints (walls of the same color without patterns);
- large contrasting color blocks as accents;
- natural shades, 1-3 combined, no more;
- uniform colors in all rooms of the apartment.
And to do this, you don’t need to change the wallpaper or make expensive repairs, because any wallpaper can be painted! My advice: choose matte water-based interior paints, always thick in consistency, and do not thin them, even if the manufacturer allows this to save consumption.
If your wallpaper has texture, it will remain, but it will still look much fresher. Look at the before/after examples and judge for yourself.
How to choose a color?
The topic of color in interiors is very deep and worthy of separate study. But on average, if you look at expensive modern examples from magazines, you will see that designers use 1-3 colors of natural shades per apartment.
By the way, radiators can also be painted to match the color of the walls with special heat-resistant paint for radiators. The main thing is to paint when they are turned off, that is, outside the heating season.
4. Repaint the cabinets
Today, storage systems should be as hidden as possible – as if they were not there at all. Ideally, they should be built with facades in the same color as the walls, but, frankly speaking, this is expensive.
But repainting an outdated tan cabinet is quite affordable. And another piece of advice – replace the fittings. Often it is the fittings that “get tired” the most because we use these handles every day.
5. Update your doors
In modern interior style, we almost never use doors and baseboards under laminate or parquet. In such projects, you will most often find doors and baseboards in the color of the walls, or in a shade that matches the color of the walls.
And again, good news – doors can be painted too! Buy primer and special paint for laminated furniture or wood. And, of course, update the fittings by analogy with the cabinets, just don’t buy handles with perforated dots – they are no longer in trend.
6. Light
A lone chandelier in the center of the room will kill the luster of any interior. But what to do if you are not planning a renovation by updating the ceilings for scenic lighting? Add lower light in the rooms – lamps and floor lamps. They give your home incredible comfort and allow you to adjust the number of light sources to suit different moods.
I also recommend updating different chandeliers in different rooms with the same model (or different models from the same series) for all rooms.
7. Tile
The problem with tile is similar to wallpaper – a riot of colors, prints, and textures that have long gone out of fashion. I know how expensive it is to completely renovate bathrooms, so I’ll tell you a secret – tiles can also be repainted. Even in the wet area. Yes, right where the water flows.
We boldly paint over dolphins, waves, tigers, and other characters – we see them off with warmth and love for a bygone era. Of course, this will not replace luxurious modern porcelain tiles, but it will definitely make your bathroom fresher and more modern.
What is important:
- buy specialized high-strength paint and primer for tiles and porcelain stoneware, resistant to direct water (I advise you to choose paints suitable for stairs and floors);
- follow dyeing technology;
- paint with a small velour roller;
- follow the manufacturer’s instructions and do not pour water, wipe or touch the tiles for four weeks – then you can;
- use the same color palette as in the rest of the apartment.
8. Plants
Remove plants from windowsills. I understand that many are accustomed to this, but:
- such a solution is not in trend, but we are talking about gloss;
- this is not the best place for plants in terms of their health, because in winter they are fried by the radiator from below, and in summer the sun is hot outside the window;
- they block the window and the room becomes dark.
We can talk a lot about the photo design of residential premises, but now let’s fix the main idea: large plants that stand inside the interior are relevant – on the floor, on open shelves, in racks, on the table, etc.
9. Decorative items on the shelves
Nowadays there is a trend towards everything large, so any little things like figurines, souvenirs, boxes, and other elements “clog” our shelves not only with dust but also visually. In other words, decorations create visual noise. Place all small items in storage boxes. Leave 2-4 large items, such as a vase, candlestick and plant pot.
10. Posters and paintings
We are returning again to the trend for large objects – especially those placed on the walls. Therefore, we remove the small frames (you can put a couple on the shelves) and hang large posters, for example, two measuring 50 x 70 cm or one 100 x 70 (+/− 10 cm to your taste). I advise you to avoid small modular paintings of 3-6 pieces of different sizes; such decor has also gone out of fashion.
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