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Improve your home with these 5 budget-friendly tips

By Guest Poster โ€ข Leave a Comment

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With people isolated in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has undoubtably been an increased awareness and desire to improve how our home space looks and feels. Bearing in mind budget constraints and accessibility, Katrina Garrett and Millie Alison, co-founders of The Design Paddock, have compiled five attainable and cost-effective ways to revamp, uplift and refresh your interiors!

The Design Paddock’s Katrina Garrett and Millie Alison, Sheri McMahon Photography
  1. The power of paint

One of the most effortless ways to reinvigorate and transform a space is a fresh coat
of paint. A spot thatโ€™s often overlooked is the hallway or the entry to the home. These areas are important as they connect to the spaces you live in and can set the initial impression of the home. Over the years, walls, doors and trims can look battered and more commonly adopt marks or cracks. A fresh coat of paint can make the biggest difference here. We recommend a gloss trim paint to contrast against a matt or low sheen wall paint. Youโ€™ll be surprised with the impact it can make.

This doesnโ€™t only apply to the interior. Consider redesigning or repainting your front
door or even the garden pots in your entry for a powerful change. This can instantly
achieve a more inviting entry!

2. Rearrange the furniture

Itโ€™s quite common to find that people become too comfortable in their home to realise that a slight rearrangement could transform a place and in turn, may provide a better layout. Many people tend to use the TV as the centrepiece of the living room, however, this should not be the case. Living rooms should be centred around conversation and comfort.

Between the warmer and cooler months, the perfect opportunity emerges to rearrange your home spaces. Fireplaces are the perfect centrepiece to arrange your furniture around in winter where the television becomes less of a focal point! Also consider moving your armchair beside a window to create a reading corner or a spot to wind down and enjoy some sun.

3. Switch up your lighting

Lighting plays a big part in determining the atmosphere and ambience within a room.
Considering subtle changes in the home can have a dramatic impact on the way a
space feels. Warm light globes around the home are a must in our books! Furthermore, consider where your lighting is focused and adjust it. You may like to highlight an artwork or incorporate a new feature pendant above your dining table.

It is important to note that lighting should be both beautiful and functional; thus, a directional light in a hallway is a great way to not only light up an artwork but will reflect onto the wall and light up the space beautifully. When considering your feature pendant, one should not only love it but include a suitable globe for illuminating the table appropriately when gathering around it in the evenings.

Alternating lighting throughout the house is another way to make spaces feel cosy.
Incorporate varying scales and heights in your lighting such as table lamps, floor lamps, wall lights, dimmable ceiling lights and pendants in soft textures to create
interest and an overall lovely ambiance.

4. Reprioritise and declutter

With the extra time people are spending at home recently, there is no better time to take charge and rid your home of clutter! Explore new ways to store and conceal possessions in cabinets or boxes and if there isnโ€™t space and you no longer need items, let go. Interiors should feel full but not cluttered. Less is more!

Organising the bookshelves can bring life to a forgotten area. Itโ€™s always good to
start with larger items such as bowls, jugs or artwork โ€” this will help achieve the right
scale and balance. Books are a beautiful inclusion to an interior. Try stacking books
in varying directions on the shelf to add interest. Most importantly, the bookshelves
are a reflection of your life and style. Add your treasured keepsakes on top of piled
books – different heights can help balance your shelf styling.

5. Reinvigorate with soft furnishings

Soft furnishings present an opportunity to incorporate colour, texture or
pattern to a space without the intensive labour! You can soften your bedroom with a rug beneath the end of your bed, introducing a bedhead, re-covering a chair or new throw cushions.

Deciding on your favourite fabric can often be difficult, particularly if you canโ€™t afford your favourite. Be clever with the way you use your fabric. A cost-effective way of achieving a similar result may be to upholster the back of your cushions or bedhead with an affordable plain fabric. You can use some beautiful tea towels or fabric cuttings to frame for some affordable art!

–The Design Paddock is a unique interior design and decorating company that revamps interior landscapes for people in the bush and beyond.

5 cost-effective ways to refresh your home
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. โ€œOur home is the perfect…
How to update your kitchen with just a splash of paint
Colour always packs a punch and by simply painting yourย splashback to be bright and bold you can instantly transform dated tiles into a modern feature wall. In this kitchen, I…
BEFORE Nikki Parkinson in her living room
Before & after: Blogger’s $500 living room revamp
While we’ve always believed in the transformative powers ofย paint, this latest โ€˜before and afterโ€™ proves, yet again, just how wonderful it can be. The lounge room of stylist and blogger…

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June 26, 2020

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Please don't show my boys this room or they'll wan Please don't show my boys this room or they'll want one like it!

How gorgeous is this Brisbane kids' bedroom?! 

@brittwhitestudio worked closely with the boys (aged 7 and 9) to understand their needs with a bespoke bunk bed solution crafted by BRC Cabinets, featuring ample storage as well as an under-stair hidey-hole, a useful reading nook for books and a built-in charger for electronics. Local craftsmen Emmettโ€™s Ropes designed and hand-tied the ropework on the top bunk and the supporting pillar beneath.

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see and read more!

#bunkroom #bunkbed #bunkbedsforkids #bunkbeds #bespokebunkbeds #custommadebunkbeds #sharedbedroom #sharedbedroomforkids #boysroominspo #boysroomdecor #junglebedroom #kidsroomstyle #kidsroomstyling #childrensrooms #theinteriorsaddict #interiorsblog #interiorsaccount #interiorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #brittwhitestudio #highriseliving #apartmentlifestyle #penthouses #apartmentlivingwithkids #newsteadbrisbane 

Pix by @joebrosnan.photo
Comment your fave: 1, 2 or 3? Just 3 of the kitch Comment your fave: 1, 2 or 3?

Just 3 of the kitchens in the @duluxaus Colour Awards 2023 shortlist which will give you some serious inspiration!

Loads more gorgeous residential rooms to see on the blog this morning via link in bio.

Projects by @studio__bright @kaiko_design and Georgie Shepherd Interior Design. Pix by @arorygardiner @fiona_susanto and @christophermorrisphoto 

#duluxcolour #duluxpaint #duluxaus #duluxcolourawards #duluxcolourawards2023 #moodykitchen #allwhitekitchen #designerkitchen #sagekitchen #boldkitchen #colourfulkitchen #colouredkitchen #theinteriorsaddict #interiorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #interiorsblog #interiorsaccount
We're a bit obsessed with Cara Standen's balcony m We're a bit obsessed with Cara Standen's balcony makeover using @kmartaus stone tiles!

Nineties townhouse in Lennox Head or villa in Greece? You decide! All up it cost $2000 including all materials and she did the work herself.

Read all about it via link in bio now.

Love your work @twin_palms_lennox

#kmartaustralia #kmartdiy #kmarthack #kmarthome #modernmediterranean #balconymakeover #balconyideas #diybalcony #budgetdiy #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome
Wallpaper in every single room! What do you recko Wallpaper in every single room!

What do you reckon? You'd think it would be overkill but it isn't because so many of the designs are subtle yet still impactful.

Head over to the blog to see how @grafico_walls transformed this blank canvas Melbourne townhouse with their products, which you've probably seen on The Block over the years. And read how Damian Corney has grown this Melbourne business with wife Adele and a growing team. There's also a look inside the very cool Motley Hotel which has used a whopping 4km of their wallpaper throughout!

You can also watch a video tour with Bec Douros as the house featured on Open Homes Australia over the weekend.

Via link in bio now.

#wallpapergoals #wallpaperdesign #australianwallart #australianwallpaper #wallmurals #wallpapermural #wallpapermurals #wallpapereddoor #digitalwallpaper #digitallyprintedwallpaper #customwallpaper #wallpaperaesthetic #wallpapertrends #wallpaperaustralia #grafico #graficowallcoverings #melbournebusiness #melbournesmallbusiness #openhomesaustralia #theblock #becdouros
Kids and fluffy chickens. Does it get any cuter?! Kids and fluffy chickens. Does it get any cuter?! 

Braved the rain second morning in a row to feed the animals at @edenfarmescape because life's too short to worry about a bit of mud and drizzle!

Feeling relaxed ๐Ÿฅฐ
Did you see this cracking little transformation on Did you see this cracking little transformation on @sellinghousesaus last night?

We have all the finer details on the blog today via link in bio. Particularly love the kitchen refresh using the existing blue cupboards which really weren't doing anything for me before ๐Ÿ˜‚

#sellinghouses #sellinghousesaustralia #beforeandafterkitchen #beforeandafterrenovation #beforeandafterlivingroom #renoshow #realreno #interiorsblog #interiorsaccount #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #bluekitchen #budgetkitchenmakeover #budgetdiy #budgetmakeover
How's this for a compact back yard TRANSFORMATION? How's this for a compact back yard TRANSFORMATION?!

Our friends at @mintdesignau have done it again!

Homeowner Briony Marsh says: Itโ€™s totally changed our home lifestyle now we can sit outside on the lounge in the sun or shade, be in the pool, spa, sauna or cooking pizzas and hanging out with friends. It sounds cliched but it really feels like we are on holiday at home!โ€

Head over to the blog to see the finer details, including a sauna and a seriously good looking copper pizza oven. There's a lot packed into this space!

#backyards #smallpools #smallpool #homesauna #pizzaovens #outdoorpizzaoven #landscapedesigner #mintdesign #holidayathome #resortstylehomes #landscapeartist #backyard #exteriorinspiration #exteriormakeover #exteriordesigns #pergoladesign #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome
Swipe for before & afters of today's real reno. L Swipe for before & afters of today's real reno.

Located inside a 1912 sandstone villa in Adelaideโ€™s Kensington, this bathroom makeover combines classic and contemporary elements that complement the homeโ€™s original, period features. 

Designed by the homeโ€™s owner @designby_Tahirih, who is a property stylist too, the renovation came sooner than expected after water ingress made the makeover of their only bathroom an urgent necessity!

The whole project cost an impressive $20k, project managed herself.

Read all about it via link in bio now.

#realrenovations #realhomes #realreno #heartyourhome #renoaddict #freestandingbath #classicbathroom #classiccontemporary #classiccontemporaryinteriors #theinteriorsaddict  #interiorsaddict #jenbishop #homestaging #laundrymakeover #bathroomrenovations #bathroomremodels
Maybe it's an antidote to the grey weather but we Maybe it's an antidote to the grey weather but we find some of the most colourful interiors from my motherland, the UK!

This beautiful lilac kitchen is found in a renovated apartment by @llidesign in a grand mansion block in London's Bloomsbury. You can tour the rest of it on the blog now, via link in bio.

#londonapartment #bloomsbury
#bloomsburylondon #luxuryapartment #westendlondon #lilackitchen #colourfulkitchen #londonhome #londonhomes #londoninteriordesigner #londoninteriors #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsdaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #kitchenshelf #kitchenshelves #kitchenshelfie #openshelves #openshelvingkitchen
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