Paint Jobs Need an Opinion
If your deciding to paint the room, pick a color that your whole family agrees on. If it's someone's room, make sure to check with your 14 year old daughter about that light shade of pink, or your son about that deep navy blue that your about to paint his wall with. Once you and your family have decided on what color your going to paint a particular room, it's time to choose a shade. If you are positive that you are going to paint the room, then buy very small bottles of different shades of one color from a paint store and test it out on the wall. Remember, you are eventually going to paint over those streaks on the wall. If you'd like, maybe invite an interior designer over to your house to see if the furniture matches a particular shade. Make sure to get your whole family's opinion, before they bicker about how they hate that color and you have to buy two cans of paint, instead of one. If you are thinking about doing a design on the wall, like the picture below, it's better to let the interior designer do the job.
Let there be Light
You can't really see that wonderful new furniture of that great shade of light blue on the wall if it's to dark! Open the window shades more, letting in more light. Maybe even replace those old blinds with some curtains, to match the furniture and wall color. Sometimes, windows don't even have blinds, letting in light all the time. In rooms with high ceilings, putting window way up there can show off a lot of light, and be harder to get blinds on them, so leave out blinds (and definetely curtains) for those high windows.
Old is Sometimes Good
Sometimes, and old nighstand with chipped yellow plate, complete with silk flowers and books in the bottom shelf, will look really good in the corner of the family room. Or maybe an old straw basket to hold the fruit in the middle of the island in the kitchen. Things like these usually blend in with the modern furniture today because they create a vintage home-sweet-home look. Take torn jeans from the store, for example. If people will buy that, thinking it looks cool, it's probably the same with furniture.
Decorate
Sometimes, a room can look emty and dull. Not so good. Add a little furniture. Maybe to match the sofa or couch, possibly a rug underneath everything, or a rocking chair. If the room is disproportionized, Add or take away some furniture, just make sure that the final look will have cohesive style and color. Maybe instead of layers of paint, you can add wallpaper instead. Then add little things like books to the empty shelves, a lamp on this table, some fake flowers in a vase on that coffee table. Also remember that furniture is not there just to be seen, you need to use it too; you're not gonna have company all the time. Sometime, with people and there new furniture, they will not allow anybody to touch it, afraid that the $5000 leather sofa and coffee table set will get scratched, and I partly agree with them, be careful around that expensive furniture. But how the room looks is just as important as how you use it.
Personalize you Home
A house with just paint and furniture could be anybody's. Make it you home. Put beautiful framed pictures around the house, with a touch of your style. If you like classy, make it classy. Velvet table cloths, customized framing, and glass figurines can all be purchased at stores. You just have to add it along with your personal style, making your house truly home-sweet-home.
Generally Keep Things Clean
A clean house, is a happy house. If your daughter throws her coat to the floor, remind her to hang it up in the closet. Your floor gets messy after a week, mop it up. Do basic things every week like vacuum and wipe and generally keep counters junk-free, making sure to find a place for everything. Also make sure that while your cleaning, don't overdo it so much as that it doesn't look like anyone lives there. Keep out spiderwebs, dust, and make sure to know where things are. Also have a place for everything, just in case you have something like a party and have to move things around.
Set up and Design a Relaxation Spot for Yourself Somewhere in the House
Whether it's by the back door, breathing in some fress air, or in your room, curled up in a rocking chair with a book, we all have a specific place we like to go to when we want to relax. Making it look like a relaxing place is also good. If you like music, stack some CDs next to the stereo and some headphone (other people may get annoyed). For really calming techniques, burn some inscents in a shallow bowl or light some scented candles. Just be sure to make your relaxing spot look like heaven (to you at least).
Artwork
A lot of people like arts and crafts, knitting sweaters, sewing pillows, and painting. Showcase your artwork and your family's artwork. Frame your daughter's realistic sketches, use those homemade cushions on the leather sofa, making them look like a thousand bucks, and stick hooks on the wall to enphasize that beautiful art of beadwork that took you so long to make. Everybody will enjoy it, whether looking at it in awe, or just being proud of what they made.
Add Some Life
Plants make any room look better. From flowers to small trees to potted ferns, they always add a touch of vibrant color and organic feel to your house. Pick out violets, hanging from the ceiling in plastic pots, to compliment that wallpaper, or add a small ficus in a basket pot to add a little color to the cream colored paint.
Furniture Arrangement
You don't want all of your sofas to clump to one corner of the room and have a giant spot right there on the carpet for nothing! Spread out your furniture, arrangement smartly, and relax. It is always good to to not have too much or too little furniture in one room. Also when arranging furniture, make sure to have a little walking space big enough for at least two people. You don't want people having to squeeze through chairs and tables just trying to get somewhere.
