Save As You Spend: How To Update Your Home

Make Decisions Early On

First of all, it’s important that you decide exactly what you want before wasting money and then changing your mind – can you begin to imagine how many people have had to repaint rooms after realizing that the paint color wasn’t exactly what they had imagined? Decide what exactly you want from the room you’re redecorating before you make any big purchases and so you know precisely what you’re looking for.

Keep To Your Budget

With anything big in life – a wedding, a party, Christmas – you’ve probably already found that money stresses make it a whole lot less fun. This, of course, also applies to redecorating your house. Make sure that you’ve decided on a budget before you begin and make sure that you’re strict with yourself and that you don’t go overboard no matter how much you love some designer wallpaper or a super expensive light fitting. Some house updates like a bathroom renovation or a kitchen remodel will end up adding value to the price of your house, so they’re worth spending some extra money on – but make sure you calculate the cost of carpet before you make any decisions, that you consider exactly how much wallpaper you’ll need, that you think about exactly how much work will need to be done, before you make any hard decisions.

Go With Neutrals

One of the easiest ways to update your space is by adding small touches and splashes of color – but the only way you can do that is if you went with a neutral palette to start with. You might think it’s boring to go for colors like white, black, grey and shades of brown – but on the contrary they can often look modern and classic, and you can easily change the look of the whole room in the future with an accent wall, colorful pillows or a new rug.

Quality Materials Matter

In the long run it’s a better idea to splash out a little more on good quality materials that will last the test of time. Even though flatpack furniture might look okay for now, it probably won’t still be together in twenty years whereas if you spend a decent amount of money on a classic, plain dining table made from great wood then not only will you still love the way it looks in the future, but it’ll also be holding up great. You could also look for good quality vintage and secondhand furniture that’s already demonstrating it’ll age well.

Less Is More

Don’t bother spending too much money on little touches. Those are the disposable elements of house decoration that you’ll probably want to change in the future, so don’t fill your surfaces with ornaments and other clutter. Instead splash out on bigger items like a good quality couch and one piece of art that you love to be placed in each room. Choose a focal point that you want the eye to be drawn to in each space, and focus on that rather than adding a load of different distractions.