Purchasing and moving into a new home can be a truly wonderful time. It can also be exhausting. Moving away from your old life, driving potentially hundreds of miles, moving all of your valuables and adjusting to a new area is pretty much the most world-shifting thing you can do, at least from a personal perspective. After all of this, it’s not hard to imagine that decorating your property could be low on your priority list. This can lead to you putting off the decoration for weeks and weeks, and before you know it your motivation to stamp your personality on the property interior is diminished.
If this sounds like you, then we have some brilliantly practical solutions to redecorate and refurbish your home in that ‘low-maintenance’ way. Not only are these methods easy to install, but they require little upkeep after they become an implement. Perfect for those who prefer enjoying and living in a home first, and worrying about it second.
Exposed Brickwork
If you feel your wall is simply not up to scratch, you might need to fix this first. Old textured or smoke-stained wallpaper, chipped paint or general cracks in the decoration might lead you to completely return the wall to a state of rustic beauty. Instead of debating what colour to choose for the new wall (this is always a sticking point for couples,) ridding the wall of its wallpaper, paint and plaster, and exposing the brickwork underneath can bring a beautiful rustic flavour to your home.
The kicker? Only one wall needs to be exposed, and a simply repaint of the other walls in a neutral colour can help the one exposed fully stand out, becoming a ‘focal piece’ for the room you inhabit. This could be the living room wall around the fireplace or the kitchen wall that supports the oven feature. This balance between modern and rustic is all the rage right now, so you’re sure to receive plenty of compliments praising your taste. Not only that, but provided the bricks are in good condition, they will require little to no upkeep.
Flooring
Flooring can also suffer the same fate as walls, especially if they’ve been in the home for years before you moved in. Stained or simply outdated carpets, or damaged and unsafe floorboards can lead to a pretty sour walking experience. It’s not customary for us to desire wearing steel-toe-capped safety boots in our living rooms, so restoring the flooring could be a high priority of yours.
The busiest room in the house
The kitchen can be the busiest room in the house and needs to be functional but also feel good, for everyone that uses it. You may move into a house with a kite hen that you love, and are happy to live with or you may feel that it’s the first room to be dealt with. Finding a company to work with your ideas and budget is important. Multiliving can help from planning to installation and make the kitchen the heart of your home.
Solid Materials
Modern furniture is often made from metal, plastic and even acrylic. This can become damaged easily, particularly plastic seat holders or coffee tables without much structural support. It’s important to find solid materials to decorate your home with, as they often have the strongest lasting power, are resistant to all forms of wear, and if you have the right know-how, can be repaired at a whim.
For example, marble countertops aren’t at a risk of scratching or denting in any way, while thick walnut tables can be varnished and sanded where needs be. This is especially important if you raise children, as they often find the best ways to break select home furniture, admittedly accidentally. To use a practical example, would you rather your young children sleep on a small bed frame make from weak steel framing, or solid wood? The more premium the material, the better its lasting power, and the less you need to maintain it or check the structural integrity.
Craigslist/Freecycle
If you’re simply looking to stock your home with quality pieces, freecycle or craigslist can help you out to begin with. Old sofas, bed frames, ornaments, tables and chairs can be found through these websites, provided you are able to vet the seller. You might just find some easy and cost-effective methods of filling your home with wonderful items. Who knows? An old massage therapist might have some beautiful Himalayan salt lamps going free. Examples like this help you find some beautiful, novel, and interesting items you might not have found in the standardized home furnishings section of your local utility store.
With these tips, decorating your home in a low-maintenance way will allow you to get to the good part – living and crafting memories with your family.