Guest Blogger: How to Modernise your Home with Small Changes

Guest Blogger #784, Entry #1852, November 22, 2012

Most of us wish we could give our homes a refresher and bring it up to date, but often time and money constraints prevent us from achieving the results we really want. Here, we’ve put together some of our favourite tips to transform your home into a chic, contemporary living space with minimal changes.

Simple tips to modernise your home

Image via: gmkarch.com

Walls

A fresh coat of paint can bring any room back to life. For a modern design, stick to pale hues of white or off-white, to make the room appear larger and brighter. The same can be achieved with tiling in the bathroom and kitchen, giving you the chance to be a little more creative with linear patterns and mosaics. This change in itself will instantly give your room the lift it needs.

Lighting

LED lighting is a popular theme in contemporary design, particularly in the kitchen, where integration is key. Again, the idea is to make rooms lighter and brighter – if installing a new lighting system seems like too much work, place some uplighting lamps in dark corners to balance out the room.

Doors and windows

Updating your doors and windows will not only make rooms look more modern, but contribute to the energy efficiency of the whole house – a major concept in contemporary design! Go for something like these sliding doors from Ironmongery Direct for external doors, as these will help create a nice synergy and a focal point between home and garden.

Ornamentation

As a general rule, modern design takes on a relatively minimalist look compared to more traditional interior styles. Take a look at the decorations and ornaments around your home and think about what can be changed – switch ornate photo frames for simpler designs, remove kitschy items that you’re not too attached to, and keep the things you do want to keep spread out to avoid having “clutter areas” filled with knick-knacks and curios!

Use these helpful tips to add modern touches to your home

Image via: archipelagohawaii.com

Furnishings

While you don’t a complete overhaul of your existing furnishings, a few changes and space-saving solutions are a great way to open up some extra space in your home and make it appear more minimalist and organised. Making use of empty space such as on top of cupboards or in drawers under beds is a great way to keep things hidden away. If larger furniture like the sofa no longer matches your design, consider picking up some throws – these will allow you to add a different colour and a little texture to the room.

Brought to you by Ironmongery Direct

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.