Decoration can be the key to making your property feel like home. It’s also a clever way to entice buyers, should you be in the market to sell an apartment or house.

You’ll be amazed at how a few small changes, a little budget and a bit of creativity can transform your living space.

Here are a few easy (and affordable) ways to make your house really feel like a home - and look like it belongs on Pinterest!

Some fresh paint

A fresh coat of paint might not sound like the most creative of ideas, but it’s all about what you paint and which colour you select. Right now, ‘lifestyle colours’ are in vogue, those which reflect the way modern families are living and spending time in their homes. People are trying to live more mindfully and conscious of the environment, so ‘woodland shades’ are very much the in-thing. Think greys, fern greens and mushroom tones. Also on-trend are ‘energising corals’ (coral is Pantone’s colour of the year for 2019), unisex hunter greens, deep berry reds, rich muted purple, dusty blush pinks and saturated moody hues such as charcoal and navy. Once you’ve selected the perfect colour, you then of course must decide what to paint. If you have a house, the front door is a fantastic option to immediately welcome visitors to your home. There is even an app (‘Front Door Paint’) to help you select the ideal shade for your door.

If you live in an apartment or somewhere where you can’t alter the exterior of your home, use a trendy paint shade to liven up a feature wall (here is a great article on feature walls) or track down some vintage furniture pieces and liven them up with a colour of your choice.

The great thing about painting, especially smaller areas, is that it is quick, easy and affordable way to update your home - and increase its value.

Handle it

Changing the handles on kitchen cabinets and other furniture items can instantly make a piece look much more expensive than it actually is. There are lots of beautiful, vintage-style handles available online like these on Amazon. 

Mason jars 

Gone are the days when the simple mason jar was a means to store sugar, flour or grains. Nowadays, cafes and trendy establishments the world-over are using these humble jars to turn smoothies, coffee and breakfast items into instantly Instagram-worthy meals and beverages or even utilising them for decoration. A quick Pinterest search will reveal the countless ways mason jars can breathe new life into just about any room. Some great ideas we found include:

• Coating jars with chalk paint and using them to store kitchen utensils 

• An alternative storage solution for toothbrushes, makeup brushes and other bathroom items or art and craft supplies 

• Potting them with indoor plants 

• Hanging decorations 

• DIY candles 

• Hanging jar lights or fairy light jars 

• Cute tissue holders

• A herb garden with a difference 

• A creative way to store pet treats 

You can pick up mason jars in most dollar shops.

Create an indoor jungle

Indoor plants are another great way to brighten up your kitchen, living space, bathroom or bedroom - and are relatively affordable, given you actually remember to water them! Inside plants have also been proven to improve your mood -and purify the air you breathe. Some great varieties that can thrive inside include:

• Devil’s Ivy

• Peace lily

• Fiddle-leaf fig, weeping fig and rubber fig

• Sansevieria trifasciata

• Philodendron

• Chlorophytum comosum

• Succulents 

• Orchades 

When deciding where to place the plant, it’s best to do a quick Google search first to find out whether it requires direct sunlight or not.

Make a real-life Instagram wall

With the likes of Facebook and Instagram now the primary way in which we interact with imagery, it’s easy to forget the value of having printed photographs in the home. There is nothing sweeter than decorating your space with some of your best memories. 

Why stick to traditional frames, though? There are lots of more creative (and even cheaper) ways to display your pictures, such as:

• This hanging photo branch and vine 
• A polaroid wall 
• A photo ‘tree’
• Fairy Light photos
• Clipboard frames
• A literal photo hanger

Bring the bar home

There’s no need to pay £10+ for a cocktail out when you can just as easily enjoy one in comfort of your own home, we say!  A DIY bar cart is a cheap and easy way to make your living area look ultra fancy. There are lots of examples online, like this one using an IKEA cabinet. 

Ladder up

Nothing says minimalist chic like a ladder or two in your home! There are countless ways to use ladders as simple DIY home decor - store blankets on one; add extra storage space to your bathroom or even make a super unique shelving unit .

These are just a few of the ideas we came across while browsing Pinterest. The options are endless. Happy decorating (and Pinterest-surfing)!

Who are GWlegal?

GWlegal are a property solicitors based in Liverpool, specialising in buying or selling, remortgage, declaration of trust, bridging and buy-to-let landlords.

If you have a legal matter you wish to discuss don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on 0345 373 3737 email us hello@gw.legal with your question.

Who are GWlegal? We’re a national firm with local values.

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Content correct at time of publication.