Home Mortgage Alliance Corporation (HMAC)

Small decor (and habit) changes can lead to large impacts in your new year

___

Published Date 1/11/2024

Unlike health and weight loss goals for the new year, giving your home an update with a slew of Pinterest ideas can be done quickly, beautifully, and inexpensively if you know where to look.

Cosmopolitan Magazine offers some cute tips on “Interesting” your home, the first of which may not be a surprise. Paint an accent wall. “Painting an entire room is a lot of work. But painting just one wall? Not nearly as bad! An accent wall is a fraction of the effort as well as the price but pays off big time when it comes to aesthetics.” Cosmo says to go bold with a vibrant or dark paint color, or really make things funky with some patterned wallpaper.

Next, bring in a standout chair. One interesting piece of furniture can breathe new life into any room, and if your spaces are small, you know how important that is. “You can never go wrong with a comfy reading chair (doubles as a Netflix binge seat) or a cute convertible chair if you want something that doubles as a place to nap,” say the Cosmo writers.

Appeal to ALL your senses by bringing in an air freshener you can change up according to your mood. An affordable one is called Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works—there are seemingly endless fragrance options and they diffuse super well in smaller rooms. Pura also offers a smart diffuser you can control via an app on your phone.

While you’re celebrating the aromatic moments of your life, go ahead and hang some cute curtains. “Curtains have many purposes,” says Cosmo. “Yes, they’re good for blocking out sunlight when you sleep past noon. And yes, they’re good for making sure none of your neighbors see you naked. But they also can soften up a room, make it look a little more put together, and add a pop of color all at the same time.” Affordable, too.

Tech is always an investment, even if it gets replaced in a few years with something more “techie.” Monitors, speakers, keyboards, extension cords, mice, and other necessary tech accessories may not be sexy, but you might as well make them aesthetically pleasing. While you’re at it, hide your cords, as they are one of the biggest eyesores in any room—especially big tangles of them. “Cord boxes exist, and they're designed to help manage, cover, and hide the cords around your TV, computer, kitchen products, and more,” says the Cosmo folks.

Organize at last. “An organized home is a happy home, and If you’ve ever found yourself in deep on OrganizationTok or The Home Edit’s Insta page, you know there are a few key products that you need to keep clutter in check,” says Cosmo. “These items include turntables, risers, bins, tiered racks, canisters, and so much more. Try out the iDesign collection by professional organizer Ria Safford, who has worked her magic in the homes of Chrissy Teigen, Paris Hilton, and other A-lister.

Bring in the green. Even the tiniest succulent in your space can make the overall room aesthetic a lot nicer. And having to care for those plants can also make you a more responsible human. So, overall, plants are wonderful! Then reflect all that green in a mirror. That one touch can get more light bouncing around in the room, which can make a room look bigger.

Speaking of light, how about a changeup or two to your lighting scheme? Cosmo says overhead lighting is fine, but if it's your only light source, you could be doing better. “Get a table lamp or a floor lamp to get light coming from different heights around your room. Candles are great for romantic mood lighting and can make your room smell phenom.” Of course, there’s nothing much more fun than rearranging your furniture. A lot of people have been doing that since they were kids in their own rooms. Move it around. Place that bed under the window. Shove a dining table toward a wall and add a sleek bench to give yourself more space. Place that desk in the middle of your office instead of plastering your face against a wall every day. While some rooms only work with furniture organized in one specific way, many can handle a radically different arrangement.

Other ideas include putting down a rug to give structure to a space wherever you throw it while softening footfall and adding warmth and texture to the floor, accessorizing a surface without over-tchotchke-ing it — perhaps your mantel, vanity, or bookshelf, and/or tossing a throw pillow here and there. It's always fun to add a few decorative accessories to make a vignette.

Cosmo says this may all sound dumb, but the payoff for doing one super-tiny thing can be huge — like making your bed each morning. “Waiting to clean your room or your house until it's so shameful even you can't bear to see it anymore is maybe a bad strategy. Take a few minutes to put clothes away instead of leaving them on the floor or on your “clothes pile chair”; wipe off countertops each time they get disgusting (and not after, like, the 10th time), and clear up the clutter whenever it starts to build.

Small changes, whether it’s replacing furniture knobs or bathroom pulls, making an organized gallery wall of photos in your hallway, or even placing a cute welcome mat outside your front door that says, “leave now” can add a smile or chuckle to a day as long as one’s sense of humor is alive and well.

Cosmopolitan, TBWS

All information furnished has been forwarded to you and is provided by thetbwsgroup only for informational purposes. Forecasting shall be considered as events which may be expected but not guaranteed. Neither the forwarding party and/or company nor thetbwsgroup assume any responsibility to any person who relies on information or forecasting contained in this report and disclaims all liability in respect to decisions or actions, or lack thereof based on any or all of the contents of this report.

View the full disclaimer and licensing details at https://homemac.com/mortgage-banker-disclaimer.