On average, hiring an interior designer will run anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000, and that doesn’t include furniture or décor. Want to change the appearance of your home but don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a total makeover? These clever interior design tips, whether you’re looking for a new living room design, or to change up the appearance of all the rooms in your home, can help you do so without costing you an arm and a leg.
Make Rooms Look Larger and Brighter with Mirrors
If you’d like to provide the illusion of more space, add mirrors to make a smaller room feel bigger. For a small room that doesn’t have windows, add a mirror that’s been cut and framed to look like a window to open up the space, preventing a claustrophobic feel. Even if the room is larger, or if you have rooms with limited natural light, by placing them directly across from the windows it will help to make it brighter by adding both dimension and light. You may want to use decorative mirrors or a neon wall sign rather than art to fill a wall that’s empty.
Add Lots of Greenery
Adding plants to every room of the house is an inexpensive way to change things up by adding texture and color. Not only will they make your living space look more beautiful, but they’ll also make you feel better too. That’s because by releasing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide, they freshen the air while eliminating harmful toxins and balancing humidity.
Have fun with pots, displaying your plants in beautiful copper and ceramic containers. You might add succulents to your windowsills and use plants like orchids or bromeliads in the bedroom, which emit oxygen at night for better sleep. If you’re a beginner or just don’t have a green thumb, spider plants are low maintenance, only needing water about once a week along with an occasional mist. They’re easy to propagate too, providing you with more plants as they sprout babies regularly from the end of their leaves.
Paint Small Rooms in Soft Colors and Use Darker Colors in Larger Rooms
Color is always a great way to change things up and it can also be used a enhance a smaller living space. Lighter, softer colors allow the eye to travel continuously around the room which makes it look more spacious. When you use different colors, the eye stops at the line where it changes, making the size more apparent, but by using the same color throughout, you won’t see the edges and the space appears to continue.
In very large rooms that don’t feel comfortable, by painting the ceiling a darker color than the walls, it will make it look lower, and give the space a cozier feel.
Change Flooring with Peel-and-Stick Tiles
Worn out floors can make any room look unattractive, but you can use inexpensive peel-and-stick tiles to totally transform the look of a kitchen, entryway or bathroom. Choose something that shows off your personality or use precut squares in simple colors.
