You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to make your home into a sweet sanctuary space, nor should you go broke trying. Ultimately, whether your homestead takes the shape of a studio, condo, apartment, house, private bedroom, a yurt, or an igloo, maintaining your home, and the items within it, will always be a thing. But when it comes to refreshing your space, you, like most people, may have an untapped cavern of décor just waiting to be discovered, and it exists in the long-lost and forgotten items you’ve accumulated and stashed away.
Refreshing your sanctuary space may be much easier than you think. The following shortlist of hacks was designed to inspire you, and your own inventive genius – which might just surprise you should you adapt and embellish upon them.
GO FOR DRAMA
While there are no rules for setting up your Thematic Design Debut, planning out theme(s) ahead of time, will help set your intention, which will bring focus, promoting consistency as you work. For more on this topic, check out a detailed how-to guide on setting up themes.
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY
The only store you need to shop at for this task is the Apple store or the one at Google Play. Downloadable products like Homebyme, Feng Shui 911, and Décor Matters: Design & Shop, are free, or offer a free trial. To find your own apps, search terms like Design, Home Decor, or DIY. You may start with a few downloadable tools (such as a tape measure for sizing up dimensions). But don’t forget to check out programs that utilize Augmented Reality technology, since with these, you can literally upload your interior decorating ideas right into your space.
LEVERAGE NATURAL BEAUTY WITH HERBS AND WILDFLOWERS
Singular sprigs of lavender, thyme, rosemary, perhaps coupled with baby’s breath, or mint, look beautiful anywhere. Try putting these springs in glass containers, and line them up in a row lengthwise, down the center of a dining or library table, to make for an amusing centerpiece. Herbs for cooking can adorn your kitchen in a potted arrangement, or else dried and dangling from hooks for easy access. Wildflowers that grow seasonally in your locality can be cut, arranged, and placed in any environment. Some flowers may last up to a week in a water-filled vase before wilting.
Fun Idea: Try hanging a sprig of Eucalyptus in the shower for aromatic therapy.
WINDOWS AND COVERINGS
Although cleaning windows might not be your idea of fun, it’s a requirement for your space. Be sure to remove curtains and blinds before you begin, and clean those, as well. Then, get a good handle on how to clean cloudy glass windows, and throw a BBQ or dinner party, in exchange for a little window cleaning work. Friends and neighbors won’t mind helping, and their many hands will decrease the workload.
JEWELRY TREE
Great for nature fans, the finished product is as pretty as it is functional, even if you get hands dirty in the process. Fill a container with small stones or pebbles and find a fitted branch that can it can support. Place it on a flat surface and weight the bottom with heavier rocks and/or sand. Your branch should have a few smallish twigs growing from it; these will act as tiny ledges, from which earrings may dangle.
THROW RUGS
Revitalize throws and area rugs by simply turning them over. Or, rejuvenate them with a good cleaning (always check labels for washing instructions). When cleaning them, use boosters and additives to rejuvenate and re-brighten faded colors.
THROW PILLOWS AND FABRIC COVERS
Throw pillows are also easily revitalized by a simple cleaning. The same goes for sofa cushion and table covers, too. Laundering the covers with vinegar and light detergent, for example, can really improve the quality and coloration of fabrics after just one laundering or spot cleaning cycle.
Hint: If the fabric covers on your pillows or cushions are stained or dingy, try covering them with pillowcases, or scraps of fabric.
TRINKETS & TREASURES FOR STYLE AND STORAGE
Knick-knacks, China, strung lights, candlesticks, and other trinkets, are the types of items you may have lying around that are not being utilized. Egg cups placed in the medicine cabinet might hold cotton balls and Q tips, where a flea market flask or an antique decanter, stores mouthwash. LED lights will add pizzazz to any space, indoors or out.
