Easy facelifts for tired-looking spaces
You don’t have to spend a lot, nor tear your home apart, to get a fresh look for summer, says interior stylist Janette Ewen
In the lazy, hazy days of summer, you might be looking around the house and discovering some of your wellused spaces looking a little worse for wear.
Changing the look of the kitchen, bathroom or living room, in particular, doesn’t have to involve a fullfledged reno, but can be done by installing new hardware, adding a coat of paint or just switching up the cushion covers.
Even if you’re on a budget, “there are a lot of things that you can do,” said interior stylist Janette Ewen.
Here are Ewen’s top tips for re- freshing those high-traffic spaces in the home without breaking the bank.
Backsplash One of the quickest and easiest ways to freshen up the kitchen is by adding or changing the backsplash.
“People think it’s super expensive,” Ewen said. “But because it’s a smaller area, this is where you can splurge a little on a fabulous tile because you don’t need a lot of it.”
Installation is also fairly easy, she noted. You can DIY with a couple of YouTube videos.
A sophisticated alternative is to use wallpaper in a bold print and protect it with a cover made from a custom- cut piece of plexi-glass.
“Prints really add luxury to a space,” Ewen said.
Splash of colour If you are looking for a more dramatic change, painting cabinets is cheaper than installing entirely new ones. This can be another DIY project, or remove them and bring them to a painter who can spray-paint them quickly, Ewen advises.
While all-white kitchens have been popular in recent years, dark colours are becoming de rigueur.
It’s become the showpiece of the home, Ewen says of the kitchen, especially if the space is used a lot for both cooking and entertaining.
Just looking for a pick-me-up?
Consider changing hardware such as faucets, or bring in new tea towels, oven mitts and utensils to add a splash of colour.
Fun space The bathroom or powder room is the space where you can quite literally afford to have a little fun.
A marble floor may sound luxurious and expensive, but in a tiny powder room, you won’t need much, and it will immediately lift the look of the entire space, Ewen said.
“Powder rooms are where you can have so much fun, because they are tiny and you can have the best of everything and you’d still spend next to nothing, because the square-footage is so small,” Ewen said.
Other options include regrouting oft-tread tiles, or changing the sink or faucet.
Small accessory changes can tide you over between big projects, especially if a regrout isn’t in the cards and you want to draw eyes away from wear and tear, Ewen said.
Switching out accessories — towels, shower curtains and bath mats — can add a pop of colour or touch of whimsy. Ewen added a Jonathan Adler zebra bath mat (about $98 U.S.) to a powder room recently, and it became an instant focal point in a tired room.
Replacing a mirror is also a quick job, and can be done on the DIY. Pick up a basic low-cost version from a discount or big-box store, Ewen suggests, then buy some crown moulding to make a more dramatic frame. Easy conversation The living room is another well-used space that can be spruced up with easy and inexpensive quick fixes.
Cushion covers are an easy update and can be done on a budget by asking for samples at a fabric store, which will sell them for “next to nothing,” Ewen said. Or, consider changing lampshades. For something more unique, full wallpaper jobs may be too time-consuming, but consider wallpapering the ceiling, or painting it sky-blue to create an outdoor feel, Ewen said. Even adding crown moulding can revamp a tired living room.
Work with what you’ve got The cheapest update option?
“Moving your furniture around doesn’t cost anything,” Ewen said.
To get an idea of how a fresh layout might look, sketch out different options for furniture placement. One of the most important factors to consider, she says, is traffic flow.
You will likely find ways to open up the space, make it more cosy and inviting and renew your love for some furniture pieces that perhaps seemed stale.
“It changes everything and it makes you so happy,” Ewen said.