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We’ve all been there before — a quick look around the house proves that it is in need for a bit of a makeover. Yet, even while you’re keen to spruce up your home, you’re not sure whether the time, effort and cost that goes into a full blown renovation is worth it.
On the one hand, renovating your home means that you can start from a clean slate and are not limited to working within the current design of a space.
On the other, home renovation can be an expensive process, especially when you take into account that on top of buying new furniture, there are additional costs that come with hiring an interior designer, hacking of walls, or creating customised built-in features.
There is, however, another more affordable option that can be just as effective without breaking the bank: giving your home a style makeover.
Unlike a renovation project, the process of styling a home focuses on placing in loose pieces of furniture, soft furnishings, and decorative items to beautify a space. This works especially well if you’re looking for a quick home update, or if you’re a homeowner that has just taken over the keys of a new apartment from a developer.
In such cases, basic renovations for the homes have already been completed, all that is needed is some additional furniture and home accessories to complete the look.
Customers of Lifestorey for example, are eligible for its complimentary styling services that can help make the entire styling process a breeze. The designer furniture store even offers recommendations of soft furnishing (curtains and blinds), and wall coverings.
The Lifestorey styling service includes the following steps:
1) First, the in-house stylist will obtain the layout plan of the home, which is crucial as it helps to make sure that the furniture chosen are of the right size. This also enables the owners to visualise a ‘flow’ within the space so that the location of furniture such as the sofa and dining sets can be determined.
2) The stylist will do a compressive consultation with the home owner to discuss important considerations like budget, lifestyle and style preferences. This allows the stylist to better understand the home owner’s personality and lifestyle needs.
For example, homeowners who entertain on a regular basis might be recommended extendable dining tables such as the Versus Dining Table from Bontempi Casa or stackable chairs that are easily stowed away as in the case of the Più Armchair from Scab.
3) The stylist will do a site visit to take relevant measurements.
4) The stylist will draw up a proposal that includes recommendation of products based on the previous consultations and measurements.
Homeowners with children for instance, may be recommended furniture pieces with materials that are easier to maintain while those with space constraints may be recommended multi-tasking products such as the Nevada sofa bed from Softline.
5) The homeowner confirms which pieces they would like.
6) An order for the chosen products is placed.
7) Products are delivered and the home styling service is complete.
An additional factor to look out for when styling the home is the choosing of soft furnishings such as curtains and wall coverings.
According to a stylist at Lifestorey, using wall paper as compared to emulsion paint adds texture, resulting in a softer look. A good tip would be to use it on the main wall as a feature point, which is more cost effective than commissioning a built-in feature wall. Another option would be to turn unsightly columns into a feature structure.
In addition, you can use carpets to tie the look of a space together. Choosing a shaggy carpet brings a sense of comfort and a touch of luxury to the room while a patterned carpet (e.g. the Carpet Jane from Harto) adds a magical punch to any living room.
Even if you find yourself sans an interior designer or without a stylist on hand to give advice, you can still DIY the process if you bear the tips above in mind.
If in doubt, it is always best to take a timeless approach to design. What this does is allows you, as the home owner, the flexibility of making changes to your home simply by changing the odd piece of furniture here or there.
Just remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of money in order to achieve the home of your dreams. All it takes is a little imagination and the help of a great piece of furniture or two and you’ll be amazed by how far that can take you.