Easy Home Improvement Ideas Guaranteed to Transform Your Living Space and Increase its Value
Most homes need a little sprucing up now and then, and yours is probably no exception. If you’re seeking cost-efficient, simple ways to improve the look and comfort of your home, then read on. We’ve compiled some of the best ways for you to improve your living space:
Need a Lift? Try Color!
Maybe you’re tired of looking at drab white walls. You may have thought of painting your walls a different shade, but felt nervous about making such a dramatic change. Well, fear not! With all the choices available on the market these days, you’re sure to find the perfect shade for your walls. Many paint providers will custom mix colors for you to come up with the perfect one. If you’re timid about painting, try a pale neutral like beige. Or, warm things up with peach. For the more adventurous out there, try a bright or jewel tone on your interior walls. Red is powerful and incites energy, so use it in small quantities. On the other hand, too much blue can be too frosty. Try to balance warm and cool tones in the room to offset any imbalances. For example, if your walls are a cool blue, try furnishings in warm gold tones to balance out the coolness.
Make What’s Old New Again
You can change your existing furniture to make it look like brand new pieces! Give an old table a fresh coat of paint. Try a faux marble finish or crackle paint for an interesting look. Give old lamps new life with colorful new shades. Add throw pillows in rich colors to your sofa, then top it off with a cozy throw or blanket in a coordinating shade. An area rug or two can give any room a fresh look. If your sofa or upholstered chair is ratty or even torn, use a slipcover to make it look great in a hurry! With a little creativity, you can find lots of ways to turn your old pieces of furniture into attractive new pieces.
Integrate the Elements
A good balance of the four elements can help any room feel more inviting. Try wood and houseplants to invoke the feel of earth and air. Plants are especially good because not only do they look nice, they actually improve the quality of the air. Candles are great to bring fire’s warmth into a room, as is a fireplace. And a gorgeous fish aquarium or tabletop fountain provides the soothing energy of water.
Add Beauty with New Flooring
If your floor is not in the best shape, then it affects the look of the entire room. Try replacing that worn-out floor with a brand new one. Laminate flooring is a fantastic option for someone who wishes to make a cost-efficient change that’s easy to do. Even a novice can install laminate flooring, as it is designed to simply snap together and can usually be installed over an existing floor.
You’ll find lots of choices as far as the look of the flooring. There are plenty of wood patterns, as well as stone, ceramic and slate looks in every imaginable shade. As far as cost is concerned, there’s everything from budget flooring choices to premium ones.
Alloc is a leading laminate manufacturer that produces a stunning range of floors like the Classic Plank Collection that features characteristic wood patterns such as Midwestern Oak, Country Beech and Walnut Allure to name a few. By choosing laminate, you can get the look of expensive hardwood without having to fork out a fortune.
Don’t Forget the Outside
With all the potential improvements you can make to the interior of your home, it’s easy to neglect the outside. But the outside of your home is the first thing people see. If you live in a wood home, make sure the paint is fresh and unchipped. Paint the shutters a new color to give your home renewed interest.
Plant some flowers in the front of your home if you don’t already have them. Try some soft lights along your sidewalk to light your path when it’s dark. One fantastic way to raise your home’s value and improve it at the same time is to install a pool or hot tub. Not only will you get the benefits of having your own place to splash around in, your home will be worth more if you ever decide to sell it.
As you can see, there are lots of different ways to add value and beauty to your home. Many of these options are easy and cost-efficient, and could be done in a day or two. Use your imagination and think of ways to turn your home from good to great!
By: Tom Willmar
About the Author:
Tom Willmar is a home improvement specialist and writer for The Laminate Flooring Co where you can find more information on the range of floors from Alloc.
Categories: Faux Marble Tags: Faux Marble, Rich Colors, White Walls
Faux Finishes with Acrylic Paints
The word ‘faux’ is a French word meaning fake or false. Faux finishing is the painting of a surface in such a way as to imitate the appearance of the actual object.
The history of faux finishing goes back many years to early days in Pompeii when artists painted faux stones. During the Renaissance period, Europe grasped the idea and formed two faux painting schools. At that time, a beginner studied and practiced for ten years or more to perfect the techniques. The results were (and still are) so precise that it was often nearly impossible to distinguish between the real finish and the faux finish.
Faux finishing to resemble marble has from that time to this been a very popular finish to duplicate. In fact, marble is the most popular stone to imitate. Faux marble can be used in many places where genuine marble cannot be used because of its heavy weight and high cost. A faux finish of marble is fairly easy to duplicate with the correct paints and tools. In fact, one can purchase a faux finishing kit which contains everything needed to imitate a marble finish.
There are many faux finishing techniques one can learn. Granite is another popular surface to
duplicate. Likewise, many varieties of wood finishes can be achieved through faux finishing methods. A piece of furniture may appear to be made of a design of various inlaid wood pieces when actually it may be a plain pine or other simple wood object, faux finished in great detail to resemble and imitate a handcrafted, carved piece of furniture.. A number of years ago I made several ‘antique’ rifles from plaster. After the ‘wood’ was painted with a walnut finish and the rest of the gun painted with a faux metal, from a short distance away these appeared very convincingly like the real thing. This did not take any special talent. I just had the correct equipment to create these faux finishes.
You can duplicate the look and finish of many metals with the proper paints and faux finishing techniques. Gold, silver, copper, bronze and lead can all be duplicated on wood, plaster, cement, plastic, metal – any paintable surface. And as hard as it is may be to believe, some craftspeople actually duplicate rust. Likewise, leather, tortoise shell and cork are popular items to imitate. There seems to be no limit to what can be accomplished with faux finishes.
Do you have a concrete floor that you want faux finished? You can paint it to look like brick, tile, stone, linoleum, wood, etc., with the proper faux finishing technique.
Occasionally, faux finishes can be applied to make new objects to be old or even antique, while others can make old objects appear to be new. Crackling, pickling, antiquing, smoking and spattering are just a few of the methods used to enhance a faux finish. You can find suitable items at thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales that can be faux finished and ‘re-invented,’ so to speak. For example, an old wooden picture frame can be finished to look like a metal one. On the other hand, another frame can be painted to look like wood, even old barn siding. Decide what faux finish you like and go for it!
Linda Walter is a housewife, homemaker who loves arts and crafts. Born and raised in Ohio, she and her husband now live in Florida where she enjoys painting and several other crafts, along with caring for her Chihuahuas.
Categories: Faux Finishing Tags: antiquing, crackling, Faux Marble, pickling, smoking and spattering