The art of creating a home you love with what you already have.
What If Your Home Doesn't Need More?
When something isn’t quite feeling right with our home décor, we often start searching for new things to buy. A new sofa, new artwork, perhaps even a whole new dining set. Maybe the answer isn’t in buying more things. Maybe we simply need to look at what we already have with fresh eyes.
A beautiful home isn't necessarily a newly decorated home. It's a thoughtfully lived-in one.
Start With What You Already Own
Before reaching for your phone and spending a huge sum of money on redecorating, how about trying a ‘home edit’? Move furniture around. Bring a lamp from another room. Put artwork somewhere unexpected. Take things off shelves and create a little breathing space.
Look at what you already have and ask yourself:
Do I still love this?
Does this have meaning?
Is it useful?
Would I miss it if it disappeared?
Could it look better somewhere else?
You might be surprised by what you rediscover.
Upcycle an old lamp to freshen up your space.
The Magic of Moving Things Around
When I was little and feeling a little bleh, I absolutely loved gutting out my bedroom and moving everything around. I would feel invigorated and refreshed afterwards. Sometimes a room feels tired simply because we've looked at it the same way for years.
Try:
moving a chair to another room
changing the position of a mirror
rearranging books by colour or subject
bringing flowers into a different room
moving artwork
changing lampshades
swapping cushions between rooms
creating a small reading corner
You don't necessarily need a new room. You might just need to see your existing room differently.
Add a little reading corner to relax in.
Add Character, Not Clutter
Rather than buying an entire matching room, add one or two things with history.
An old wooden stool. A vintage mirror. A beautiful ceramic jug. An antique oil painting. A little chest of drawers. A collection of old books. The contrast between old and new can make a home feel much more personal.
Most people have a local antiques shop or reclamation yard nearby. Why not spend a Saturday browsing these, along with your local charity shops, to find a piece that calls out to you? There are also plenty of online options, such as Lorfords Antiques, who offer an Approval Delivery service that allows you to view items in your home, or desired location, so you can feel confident that they fit your scheme and complement the space.
La Boheme is an online antiques and vintage store with a carefully curated collection of beautiful pieces at reasonable prices. They offer UK and international delivery.
eBay is still an amazing marketplace for vintage items, too.
If an antiques shop is a little too expensive, why not spend a fun day at the car boot sale? CarBoots.co.uk offers a directory of car boot sales throughout the country, so you can find one near you and make a day of it.
Let Your Home Tell Your Story
Your home shouldn't look as though it has been lifted from a showroom. It should contain evidence of your life and who you are. Books you've loved. Something inherited from your grandmother. A bowl picked up on holiday. Family photographs. A piece of furniture you've had for years. Something you've made yourself.
The most beautiful homes aren't necessarily the most expensive. They're the ones that tell you something about the person who lives there.
Choose Quality Over Quantity
Rather than replacing something simply because it's no longer fashionable, consider whether it can be repaired or reupholstered, moved to a new room or altered. Half of the fun can be in the creative process of doing this.
Reupholstering furniture with a fabric you’ve found, or even designed and had printed yourself, can be a creative and rewarding way to spend a weekend. Online fabric printers such as Contrado and Maake are easy to use and reasonably priced. There are also lots of tutorials on Pinterest to help you get started with upholstery. Check out our Pinterest page, where we have many saved.
And if you eventually do buy something, wait for the right thing. What’s the rush? Take your time and collect your home slowly.
Before You Buy Anything New…
Before buying something for a room, spend 20 minutes looking at what you already own. Move something. Remove something. Rediscover something. Or perhaps upcycle something.
And only then decide whether you actually need anything new.
You don't need to buy a new life. You can create a beautiful one with the life and the things you already have.