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Timeless Home Decorating Tips
To celebrate National Decorating Month in April, we ran a social media contest asking the public to submit their best home decorating tips.
The top 4 tips were selected to win a gift card to The Brick and have their tip featured in an Atlas Canada blog. We were overwhelmed by all the amazing advice we received and after much deliberation, narrowed it down to our 4 winners. Each tip was chosen for its practicality, timelessness and ability to give your home a unique touch. Keep reading to see what our winners had to say and don’t forget to check the Atlas Canada Facebook page for more monthly contests!
Tip 1: Don’t rush your design
“Decorate as you go and come back to your design after a while. Starting with a fresh mind will boost creativity every time to make your decoration a masterpiece.”
– Calvin F.
After looking at a room for a while it can start to look like a blur when trying to plan a theme and style you want. The best way to avoid getting frustrated or overwhelmed by the decorating process is to take your time! Maybe you’ve been trying to plan the look of your kitchen and with most kitchen renovations being expensive and time-consuming, you want to get it done as soon as possible. Taking a break and coming back to the design with a fresh set of eyes will spark creativity and help you create something you truly love. Shop around for the products and styles you like and look online or in magazines for some extra inspiration. In the end, you will be glad you didn’t rush through your design.
Tip 2: Reinvent old pieces
“We like to go to the Habitat for Humanity Restore and find recycled products to make changes to our house. We’ve repainted and/or recovered a new door, new cabinet fronts and a new chair all found at the restore. They look brand new all over again!”
– Melissa B.
When it comes to picking out some new décor for your home be sure to check out old finds in any local vintage shop, restore, or garage sale. You can find some real treasures in these places! Just by adding a fresh coat of paint or changing out the hardware you can easily modify the look of a piece and still keep its antique detail. You don’t have to go to a thrift shop to do this. It can also be done with old items passed down from family members or furniture you’ve had lying around for years. The makeover possibilities are endless!
Tip 3: Picking the right colours
“Pick colours and styles that are interchangeable. For example, grey, white and pink. If you create a room with the same flowing colour scheme, it’s easy to change out certain features to create a whole new look without breaking the bank. Change the drapes from white to grey. Switch up the cushions. Move your decor pieces around or even paint them. Before you know it you’ll feel like you’re in a brand new room because you made it easy to keep things fresh!”
– Estelle M.
It’s important to find a good balance between trendy and timeless when it comes to designing your home. Trends come and go so often that it can be difficult and expensive to keep up with them. The easiest and most cost-effective way to incorporate trends without going over board is to use trendy pieces as accent features that can easily be swapped out. For instance, small furniture, lamp shades, pillows, and throws all make great accents that can be changed each season at a minimal cost. Stick to neutral colours for your walls and larger furniture items as these pieces tend to be more permanent.
Tip 4: Test the rooms lighting
“Pay attention to the lighting in your house before you start. Natural lighting and electrical lighting can really affect the mood of a room, so you need to see how much light is present before you start choosing your colours. This will help create the best showcase for your space and save you time and money in the long run.”
– Jamie H.
When you’re picking a new colour for any room in your home you want to make sure to test the colour in different lighting. One mistake you don’t want is to paint the whole room and then realize the colour looks completely different than it did in the store. To save you some time and money its best to take a sample of the paint colour and test it on a portion of the wall. See how the paint reacts to different lighting in the room throughout the day. After all, a colour can look entirely different in natural light compared to electrical light and will also change depending on the shape and size of the room.