How to Make Your Old Home New Again

If you’re anything like us, our four walls of our home have been closing in lately, and we’re itching for a change of scenery! Here are a few easy tips that we have come up with to help make your space fresh and exciting again:

1. Deep Clean/Spring Clean/Declutter whatever you want to call it. Clean it.

You would be surprised how amazing a space can look after a really good declutter and clean. If nothing else, you will feel better about the space. Having less stuff around clears clutter from the room, your mind and also your time. BONUS by doing a big chuck out, it clears away things for you to put away/clean later on as well. Cleaning also keeps your furniture and materials in good nick for longer and keeps your home healthy.

2. Lighting

Changing light fittings can be a quick and easy way to modernise and add warmth to a space. Even just changing your bulbs to LEDs (always choose Warm White for a homely, inviting space!) adds more light to your home and makes such a difference. Watch out though, it may highlight some of the spots you missed in your cleaning…

3. Greenery

We are huge fans of plants, particularly those hardier ones we can’t kill! They do great things for the air quality of your home and add so much life to your space. Particularly in houses which due to trends, tend to have a lot of charcoals and greys. A bit of advice, go against your usual instincts to either Google what is the right plant or worse just picking a plant that looks cool. Save the plants, and save yourself the time, ask for help! I know most of us tend to say “Just browsing thanks” when someone offers us help in a store, but unless you have a green thumb, take the experts’ help! Tell them the space you are working with, how good or bad you are at watering things and get them to steer you in the right direction. 

4. Shake it up with a new piece

By adding on thing into a room you can completely transform the space. I know it sounds too simple but it really works. Add in a new bedhead to your bedroom, a cushion to your couch that needs a pop of colour, a beautiful mirror will make your space look larger, a new lamp will add light and a homey touch to a room. Think about a room that isn’t really floating your boat anymore or feels like it is missing something. Look at the room and try think about what is missing.

5. Make an old piece, new again!

It is amazing what paint can do… An old table will seem new again especially if you look on Pinterest at some of the great upcycling, re-covering and cool transformations that people do. A great hack for the kitchen so that you don’t have to buy a whole new kitchen, is simply painting the cupboards and drawers, adding new handles and maybe even a colourful splashback and voila! You have a new kitchen.

6. Add some personal touches

We all have those ‘rainy day projects’ like framing family photos, buying art and putting it all up etc – that inevitably get pushed aside for Netflix when the rainy day arrives. We encourage you to ‘bite the bullet’. You will feel great for accomplishing something and it brings personality and interest to your home. If you are in a rental or scared of making holes in the walls, you can use 3M Adhesive hooks. Decals are often a great option too and they are less work! Pickawall, Alex and Me or Snapfish are great. The same goes for art, wall decals are a great option if you can’t paint a wall or hang a hook. Places like Wondermade, Love Your Walls are a great place to start. Just make sure whoever you go with, that you can take them off and re-stick them again on other walls and make sure they don’t damage your walls.

Good luck! And we’d love to see your creations and celebrate your success, so feel free to tag us on insta (@martinifurnitureau) with photos.