Expert tips to make your new house feel like home
moving into a new home can be one of life’s biggest stressor s – the packing, the paperwork, the unpacking and of cour se finding the nearest coffee shop.
Making your new house feel like your home can help alleviate some of this stress and provide a safe-haven for some much needed relaxation.
“Ever yone has a different sense of what home is,” said Elizabeth Lindmier of The Ar t Institute of Colourado.
So while the same aesthetic won’t work for ever yone, she offer s her t op five tips to star t you in the r ight direction.
1. Texture and textiles
Instead of having a bunch of hard surf aces, cozy up your home with something soft or textured.
This could be a blanket, cur tains or area r ugs. These items will also provide some acoustical value so noises aren’t echoing in an empty space.
2. Comfort
Have some place in your home where you can relax, recharge and feel at ease.
“Make a space where you would like to spend time,” Lindmier says.
3. Colour
A monochromatic scheme with pops of colour s can br ing you into a place where you feel comfor table and happy.
“Do your research on colour theor y before painting any space,” said Lindmier.
“Different colour s can spark different moods, emotions and even behavior. Discover what you’d like a g iven space to accomplish, and use colour s as a tool to create such environment.”
4. Lighting
There should be aesthetically pleasing lighting. Look at the difference between war m and cool lighting colour s to decide what helps achieve the l ook you want.
Also consider task, ambient and accent lighting for your space.
“Lighting plays a key role in any home,” Lindmier says.
“Through lighting design you can highlight design and architectural features, create lighting which is more useful to the human eye, and work with natural light while keeping energy use to a minimum.”
5. Clutter/stuff
“Less is more, but make it more meaningful,” says Lindmier.
Get r id of your clutter. When sitting in your space, make sure you can look around and adore the things you see.
“Mies van der Rohe’s old adage, ‘less is more,’ cer tainly holds tr ue here,” said Jackie Bar r y, Inter ior Design instr uctor at The Ar t Institute of Houston – North.
“Select significant pieces of fur niture and ar t to move. You don’t need to have or show ever ything you have all in one room.”
Bar r y also advises incor porating a concept called biophilic design, which recognizes the inherent need of humans to interact and affiliate with nature to achieve and maintain optimum health and wellbeing.
“Br ing the outside in; don’t neglect good views to the outside, accentuate them,” she says.
“Let your garden and l andscaping work for you on the inside. Connecting with nature can also have a calming and a comfor ting effect.” (BPT)