Popular Opinion: When you set out to buy a home, there are many important financial decisions to consider and take seriously.
Unpopular Opinion: How you plan to decorate and fix up your home is equally important to think about when venturing into homeownership.
The Truth: While the financial side of the homebuying process typically trumps stylistic features and interior design preferences in terms of significance in the grand scheme of homeownership, at the end of the day, your home is your sanctuary. You can dress it up or down and personalize it to your unique satisfaction – the degree to which you dive into décor and design doesn’t matter – it is all about having fun and being yourself. The garage, guest bedroom, spare room, basement, bedroom hallway, the corner near the staircase – there’s plenty of space to get creative!
1. Piece Together a Mood Board
If you’re new to interior design, the concept of a mood board may be daunting. Spoiler Alert: Mood boards can be detailed and intricate, but they don’t have to be. The thing is, a mood board is just a compilation of things you like – patterns, textures, images, styles, specific furnishings, colors, and so on. When you gather inspiration and have your preferences all in one place, it can help you visualize a space, expand on your creative depth, and ultimately, inspire you to piece together your home in a way that fits you. Make a physical board with samples, swatches, and clipped images, or experiment on an app or free online mood board creator.
2. Mix High End with Low End
While styling your home like a gallery, filled with one-of-a-kind pieces, would be a dream come true for a lot of people, for most of us, that’s not financially feasible. When you combine expensive finds, whether purchased or passed down items like family heirlooms, with affordable finds, you won’t break the bank (and the staging can still look picture perfect!). Staple pieces – think couch, floors, dining room table – are typically items that make sense (in terms of longevity) to allocate more room for in the décor budget, as opposed to more easily replaceable items like throw pillows, lamps, and frames.
3. Use Nature for Aesthetics and Functionality
Indoor plants are increasingly popular and for good reason. With so many shapes and sizes to choose from, you can find a plant that works for any space. Remember, there are options to hang plants, display a few on shelves, or have free-standing plants in your preferred spot on the floor. Indoor houseplants not only serve as décor, but they can also promote a healthier home by improving the air quality for you! Research plants like aloe vera, English ivy, pothos, snake plant, and bamboo palm to get started.
4. Anchor the Space with a Focal Point
Whether it’s an exposed brick wall, fireplace, columns, shiplap accent wall, wooden beams, or any other feature unique to your home, a good place to start from a design standpoint it by highlighting that. Center the design, furnishing, and wall accessories around the focal point. The good thing is, when you’re staging and decorating, you can move pieces around – even from other rooms – until you land on what looks good to you. When you play around with different layouts (for example, moving furniture towards the center of the room to create flow and passage from room to room), you may come across the perfect design!
5. Turn Trash into Treasure
Turning “trash” into “treasure” is a time for your creativity to thrive. There are no rules or boundaries. You can transform a smaller mirror into a candle tray for the coffee table. Maybe you want to paint a hand-me-down dresser, replace the hardware, and use it as a dining room buffet or guest bedroom console table. Try hanging old window frames or shutters above the couch for trendy wall art with character. By now, you get the idea. Work with what you have, never underestimating the power of making a seemingly bold design decision!
How to Fund Home Decorations and Renovations
We already covered the fact that interior design doesn’t have to cost you a ton of money. At the same time, though, not all homeowners and homebuyers have extra cash on hand for various home improvement projects. Sourcing money from your own home can be a way to free up cash to fund your interior design dreams. With a cash-out refinance or home equity line of credit (HELOC), you tap into your home equity and ultimately end up with cash in hand! A Newrez loan officer is happy to walk you through the financing solutions that make the most sense for you.
Ready To Tackle Your Next Project?
