18 Clever Interior Design Tips To Transform Your Home

BUNDLE: An inspiration wall of custom canvas prints adds mood to this little nook.

Perhaps you’re moving into your first new home. You’re in the process of buying new furniture and you’re trying to figure out how to fill all of that space! They say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do. After the tiring process of packing boxes, transporting everything and then loading all the boxes into the new house, it’s overwhelming to think that you now have to unpack all the boxes and arrange everything from scratch.

Or perhaps you already have the furniture, the books, appliances and knick knacks and you have no idea how to place them without making the room look cluttered and messy.

The reality is, whether you’ve just moved in to a new place or are already settled, if you’re ready to transform your home into something special you’re up to the fun bit! Decorating gives you the opportunity to be creative and add your own dash of personality. It’s something you can take pure pleasure in. If it becomes too stressful, you’re simply not doing it right!

One way to start planning your empty or undecorated house is to treat it like a blank canvas. Placing all the furniture and appliances around is like creating a work of art. Arranging and rearranging a home is something everybody can do, so while having the expertise of an artist, designer or interior decorator might help, no-one knows your own tastes better than you.

One of the secrets to creating something you’ll love for years to come is to read blogs like ours and visit Pinterest. The more you read, the cleverer you’ll get. In the meantime, here are 18 clever interior design tips that will transform your home in no time.

Living Room Tips

These tips will show you how to best turn your living room into a relaxing space filled with old familiar items combined with a modern touch, or one that combines similar objects of interest creating a themed room. Soon enough, you’ll be adding those final pieces to the puzzle and placing the last items in the perfect spots.

1. Mix it up

Sure, you can choose to make everything in your living room red and black if you wish, but don’t be afraid to mix patterns and textures or throw in a third colour – white. White is great to use as a basis for colour design as, no matter how dark or bright the others colours, it adds freshness and light. When considering textures, consider cushions, throws, wall art as well as contrasting furniture types – perhaps old meets new. Clashing is the new black!

2. Style with mirrors

Using strategically placed, decorative mirrors will add instant light to your living space. The reflective qualities will also make a room appear larger than it really is. The special bonus with mirrors is the sheer range available to suit your own unique style, so whether it’s unframed mirror art, a mirror wall series or something creativity framed, you’ll find a mirror to suit.

MIRROR IMAGE: Add light, space and beauty to a room with a strategically placed mirror.

3. Group similar objects together

Rather than theming an entire room with you favourite passion, consider finding a mantlepiece, sideboard, shelf or coffee table and focus your collection in that one space. This means, if you love the seaside, perhaps pick one area to feature your pelican prints and shell art. Consider what other trinkets match the theme and include those for complementary effect.

BUNDLE: An inspiration wall of custom canvas prints adds mood to this little nook.

4. Decorate with memories

You can create a photo gallery wall of family prints, nature prints and inspirational quotes or buy an affordable canvas wall display. Capture treasured moments on canvas and feature from three to eight different photos. The arrangements available will turn your home into a work of art.

CELEBRATE FAMILY: Remember the good times with a photo wall display.

5. Create open space

Rather like a magic trick really!

Floating furniture is furniture that’s not backed up against a wall. Floating your furniture gives you the opportunity to use wall space for function and decoration while creating open space that you can walk through and enjoy. Place your furniture on top of a large rug to creation a connection within the space.

OPEN IT UP: Floating furniture can often give you more room to place with rather than less.

6. Create a focal point

If your room is sparse, you can create a focal point using just one fine piece. Whether that’s a chandelier, a piece of wall art, a fireplace or a large mirror, the idea is that everything is designed around that focal point. No matter where you or your guest is located in that room, a focal point will give their eyes something beautiful to lock onto.

FOCAL POINT: This room uses a grand fireplace as its main focal feature.

Children’s Room Tips

Telling kids to clean their room is one of those classic annoyances of parenthood. Often parents have to step in and do the tidying if it gets completely out of hand. You often wonder how on earth your kids acquired so much stuff! Clothes, toys, books, musical instruments…

Storage is often the biggest problem in any home – especially in the bedrooms. One shelf or one wardrobe isn’t enough. So we’ve compiled a list of tips on how to keep those kids’ rooms clean and tidy, using great storage ideas like lockers, pin boards, shelving and even drawers built into the bed itself. There are even tips on how to display art work in a much neater and classier way than attaching it to the fridge with a magnet.

7. Have plenty of storage place

A decorative crib skirt around the base of the baby’s cot can act as a curtain to store and hide things away. For the older kids, some beds come with storage drawers installed – a big help in this area.

A rack of coat hooks on the wall can be handy when you don’t have enough wardrobe space.

Toys can be stored in a toy box at the end of the bed, but you can also get a play table that acts as an opening chest or set of drawers. A pegboard (like the ones used for tools) can be used to hang up dolls, puppets and toy trucks.

PLAYTIME: Storage doesn’t have to be boring!

8. Create an art centre play area

You’ll notice in all the best childcare centres that every toy, paint brush, pencil and jar of play dough has its place. There are allocated containers and boxes, jars, drawers, shelves and baskets as well as things that open and things that hang. Bring some of this ingenuity home! All of your child’s paper and art materials can be neatly stored in a home play and creative area too.

Pinboards and framing can be used to display art. Nurture your child’s creativity while maintaining your sanity!

“Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment.” – MaryAnn F. Kohl

9. Design a learning space

A learning space can be as well organised as the office of an adult, with a sophisticated desk and computer. Invest in a clock, a globe or world map and shelving for books. There also has to be plenty of space at the desk to sit down and handwrite, with an open book of study materials.

10. Use built-ins

Built-ins are fantastic. Shelves, cupboards and drawers built into the wall of the room mean you don’t have to clutter the room with separate pieces of furniture. More space! Less dust!

Main Bedroom Tips

There’s a reason why they call it the main bedroom. It’s the biggest one in the house for starters. And also, the main owners or tenants of the house (or heads of the household!) spend their down time in there, so it needs to be very comfortable and tidy. The colours, the lighting and the décor need to be just right so that those who sleep there can retreat at the end of the day to a place where they feel their most relaxed. Storage tips are included here (wardrobes), decoration tips (wallpaper and art work), and also the type of bed and bedding (pillows and the bed’s headboard). It’s where you rest your head every night after a long day, so it might as well be as pleasant as possible.

11. Build a walk-in closet/wardrobe

If you can fit a small room within a room, go for it! Regular wardrobes are too small. A walk in closet gives you so much more space in the main part of the bedroom, helps you stay organised and hides away unsightly clutter.

ORDER ORDER: Built-ins help you get organised.

12. Create a relaxing bedroom

Rather than a big fluorescent ceiling mounted light, a lamp with soft lighting gives a room a calm ambience. Scented linen spray and soothing music are also good ways to relax. A sleeping mask, nail clippers and other pampering items are good to have nearby too, perhaps inside a ‘pampering station’ located in one of the drawers. Cuddly blankets and a robe are important. Make your bed as comfortable as one you might find in a hotel room. You need to relax and de-stress. Finally, make the bed every morning. You’re not a teenager anymore!

13. Go for pillows!

Sometimes it’s nice to have some decorative bed pillows laid out to make the room look nice. There are so many different ways to arrange decorative bed pillows. There are messy ways that work, but also plenty of neat and tidy ways. Rolled pillows can be included in this display too. And if you’re not keen on having six or eight pillows to arrange and remove every day, try just two stacks of two pillows. Flat and neat.

14. Add wallpaper

Wallpaper is back! Match some wallpaper with the colour of your bedding, curtains or furniture. Or you could simply find patterns you enjoy – stripes, flowers, trees, butterflies, art deco patterns.

SHE’S BACK: Wallpaper is back and she’s beautiful.

15. Add a canopy bed

Canopy beds are four post beds with curtains originally made to keep the warmth in and the noise out. These old fashioned beds are coming back into fashion again. They add some old world charm to the bedroom.

If you can’t afford to buy a brand new canopy bed, you can always do a DIY job. Attaching curtain rods to the ceiling to create a border for your existing bed is something you might like to consider.

Dining Room Tips

Rub-a-dub dub. Thanks for the grub! The dining room is a place for a couple, a family or a party of guests to sit down for a formal meal. It’s supposed to be a pleasant and relaxing space where everybody not only fills their bellies with lovely food and drinks, but talks to each other. No smartphones! With that in mind, like any place of meeting or relaxation, it needs to be clean, neat, well lit and visually stimulating. There’s so much more to a meal than the taste of the food. It turns out it’s ok to have seats around the table that don’t match each other! Everyone deserves a pleasant dining area to meet and eat in.

16. Use mismatched seating

Sometimes it’s OK to have seats around the table that don’t match each other. The use of mismatched seating, while high quality, can provide a welcoming feel. The art of contrast can be tricky to achieve, so be sure to check out Pinterest for more ideas.

MIX AND MATCH: This gorgeous, fresh dining area uses two different seat styles to create a contrast in textures that works.

17. Decorate with light

From fancy chandeliers to simple hanging globes, dinner time needs to be elegantly lit. By day, your home should utilise natural light. By night, it should ooze ambience.

BRIGHT: The stunning lighting in this bright penthouse apartment only needs to go on at night.

18. Add centrepieces

Whether it’s candles, a bowl of oranges or a vase of flowers, dinner table centrepieces are always nice to look at while enjoying a meal with family and friends. It’s not something you change around very often, so be sure to choose something you really love.

Happy decorating! And be sure to like us on Facebook to keep up to date with our special deals on canvas prints!