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5 cost-effective ways to refresh your home

January 19, 2013

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Interior designer Lorena Gaxiola shares 5 cost-effective tips to refresh your home this New Year, from painting a blackboard wall to incorporating the colour green.

Interior designer Lorena Gaxiola
Interior designer Lorena Gaxiola

โ€œOur home is the perfect place to start when it comes to kicking off a successful new year. Itโ€™s our bedrock, our retreat and for many of us, the centre of our universe. It makes sense to spend some time making it a place we feel good about,โ€ says Lorena.

Try one or more of these five ideas!

1. Create a personal masterpiece

Our homes are extensions of our personalities, says Lorena. โ€œSimple DIY jobs like re-birthing an old bookcase with a splash or paint, reframing old photos, or reupholstering a chair if youโ€™re feeling really adventurous, are so satisfying.

โ€œYou can make them social projects by including friends or family.โ€ When it comes to colour, Lorena says go bold! โ€œBrights make us happy and feel energetic.โ€ย Transform a favourite piece of furniture and make your mark. Look to brights to lift the mood โ€“ and take a lead from the catwalks and consider a splash of neon to add vibrancy.

Dulux Species

Dulux Wash & Wear Indoor Paint in Species, RRP $44.45 per litre. Available from Bunnings.

2. While weโ€™re on colour… green is the new black

Green is so hot right now that Pantone has elected Emerald as its official 2013 colour of the year. Green generally symbolises prosperity, fertility, nature, self respect, wellbeing and life itself.ย โ€œGreen is BIG this year in all its forms and thereโ€™s a hue to suit everyone. Think laterally about how to bring it into your home. Make it work for you.โ€

Introduce luscious green plants inside to invite nature indoors; review your soft furnishings and see how you can incorporate a sheen of green into cushions or throws; scour junk or secondhand stores to create a mashup of green items to create an eclectic collection.

Boskke ceramic Sky Planters. Small pots RRP $49.00. Buy online at Design for Use.

3. Create the new world order

Even in a matter of months itโ€™s easy for clutter to build up โ€“ including knick-knacks that may have no real โ€˜homeโ€™. Clean up and throw out! Then focus on the precious things worthy of highlighting.

โ€œCollections are great, but often not given the credit they deserve. Put them front and centre. Whether itโ€™s framed photos of loved ones or favourite places, stamps, snowglobes, teaspoons, owls, old playing cards โ€“ create a special display that keeps them in order and shows them off,โ€ says Lorena.

Try displaying your collectables on modern white shelves to enjoy them every day or create a wall-mounted display by using the same coloured frames and grouping them in a favourite spot.

Corban & Blair โ€˜Mixed Frames Collectionโ€™ in black, RRP $273. Available from Corban & Blair.ย 

4. Honour the inner child

Create a space for tapping into some whimsy and fun. โ€œLife can be really serious, so dedicate some space for letting your hair down creatively. Iโ€™ve loved watching how much the kids in the house let loose on the blackboard wall in our kitchen. Itโ€™s not only an artistic outlet, but it becomes a place the whole family leaves messages for each other.โ€

Paint a wall in your kitchen with black chalkboard paint and encourage everyone, young and old, to use it. Itโ€™s a great spot for simple masterpieces or beautiful messages of love, inspiration and affirmation โ€“ even from you to you.

White Knight Chalkboard Paint 250ml in black, RRP $12.90. Available from Bunnings.

5. Resolve to turn your travels into a new art collection

Travel for fun is one part planning, one part experiencing and one part reminiscing (and that can often be the best part!), says Lorena. โ€œA long time ago I resolved to bring a piece of art home with me from wherever I travelled and now I have a really eclectic collection.โ€

Travel doesnโ€™t have to be to farflung places for the art to be worth hanging onto either, she says. โ€œSometimes a simple weekend away a couple of hours from home will unearth an unexpected gem. There is always a story attached somehow.โ€

Dig out the treasures youโ€™ve brought home from a trip but may have left languishing in a dark corner somewhere. A carving, painting, sketch, postcard, statue or oil painting are all enough to get your personal collection started.

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While we featured a gloriously colourful home on M While we featured a gloriously colourful home on Monday, this one is a masterclass in serene neutrals! And how good is this bunk room?!

Take the tour on the blog now. Via link in bio.

#neutralhome #neutralhomedecor #bunkroom #bunkbed #bunkbedsforkids #builtinbunkbeds #skylights #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #realhomes #holidayhousesofinstagram #nswsouthcoast #wollongong #wollongonghomes

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๐Ÿ“ท@the.palm.co
Washable rugs, eco-friendly play mats, reversible Washable rugs, eco-friendly play mats, reversible linen, gorgeous wallpaper and the chance to win a beautiful bouclรฉ recliner chair!

Today's kids room roundup is full of loveliness if we don't say ourselves!

Via link in bio now.

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A glass shower screen is not the only option! In A glass shower screen is not the only option!

In this 80s villa reno, @trentinidesign took inspiration from an archway typical of the era and used it throughout the home.

The bathroom was transformed from a classic three-piece set up that included a shower, bath and vanity. Kathryn removed the bath and split the room in half and designed an arch to sit between the two zones. 

โ€œI wanted something spectacular. Rather than having a vanity with a piece of glass like you would typically see, I was really trying to push myself as a designer. It was costly but it worked out well and the feedback has been great."

Swipe for the before and follow the link in bio to see the rest of this home.

#bathroomdesignideas #bathroomtrends2023 #showerscreen #showerscreens #archways #apartmentrenovation #interiorsblogger #interiorsaccount #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #realreno
One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavet One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavetimeforthis, turns out former Neighbours actor @gemma_peanut is even more multi-talented than we thought! Will you check out the joyful and colourful reno of her holiday home (and airbnb) @yo_caba_caba?!

Head over to the blog via link in bio to read all about why she went bold and full of pattern in this project, which is a stark contrast to her zen and neutral Northern Beaches abode.

There's also plenty of details about where things are from etc.

"Iโ€™m not an interior designer so I just chose what I liked and followed my gut. Ultimately this home has been an opportunity to explore my alter ego โ€“ it allowed me to do things that I wouldnโ€™t normally do.โ€

๐Ÿ“ท @tanikablair_photography 

#interiorsblog #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #gemmapeanut #wedonthavetimeforthis #parentingpodcast #parentingpodcasts #holidayhousesofinstagram #cabaritabeach #airbnbstyle #airbnbstyling #colourandpattern #wallpapergoals #patternedtiles #featuretiles #poolgoals #sparkjoy #yocabacaba #boldinteriors #funinteriors #colourfulkitchen
Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial family category and they're a special gift. So ends three weeks with @danisteve81 who left her husband and son in the UK (I'm forever grateful they lent her to me!) to come and cheer me up and help me in the most practical ways after I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital. There were tears and I miss her so much already but how amazing to have had all that time together as adults. Such a rare treat and would never have happened without having been through something so challenging. Silver linings and all that. So many other friends have also been incredibly thoughtful and kind. There aren't many times I'd say this without cringing but I am 100% blessed!

I still cannot believe we have been friends since we were 12! 12! Are you still close with your childhood besties?
The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_ho The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_house is a work of art and while almost every surface was updated, the decision to keep the original slate floor was genius if you ask us. 

Owner @clarehillier__ says: "With its purple, pink, red and brown tones, the slate was the starting point for our interior palette."

Come and check out the before and afters via link in bio now and read the reno story. It's a real beauty.

And you can book it for your next holiday too!

Blair Smith Architecture @kateshanasy

#slatefloor #slatefloors #80shouse #80sbeauty #camillohouse #interiorsblog #interiorsblogger #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #realreno #holidayhousesofinstagram #morningtonpeninsulahomes #morningtonpeninsula #morningtonpeninsulasmallbusiness #blairgowrie #blairgowriebeach #airbnbstyle
Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’— Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’—
Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for thr Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for three decades going out for a child-free dinner ๐Ÿ’“๐Ÿ˜
Excuse me while I die of a cute attack ๐Ÿฅฐ @damia Excuse me while I die of a cute attack ๐Ÿฅฐ @damianfrancis 

This doesn't happen often these days!
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About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

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Comments

  1. AvatarCharmaine (Charmant Interiors) says

    January 24, 2013 at 6:58 am

    Love the blackboard wall – a great idea!

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