After getting approved for your first home loan and moving into your new, beautiful abode, one of the first things you’ll think about is furnishing it. After all, a well-furnished space is more livable and comfortable.
But styling a bare space is harder than we realize. It may be easy to picture the area with complete furniture and decor, but looking for those pieces and putting them in the home prove tricky.
So how could we make our new space look finished when it’s too hard to find suitable furnishings?
Do Not Buy Everything at Once
It may be exciting to rush to a home improvement store and grab everything that looks pretty, but using all your budget for furnishings is unwise. Doing so could lead to realizations that the budget could’ve been spent on something more practical, like a kitchen makeover instead of a statement art piece.
HGTV advises living in your new home for at least two months before making any significant purchases. The way you envision yourself living in the space is usually different from how you’ll live in it. Chances are you need to maximize your entertaining areas more than remodeling your bathrooms, so settle down first to assess what you should prioritize sprucing up.
Start With Your Bedroom
Since you’ll be spending nearly a third of your time in the bedroom, your bedding should be on top of your new furniture list. Choose sheets with the ideal thread count to make your slumbers comfortable. If you have more budget to spare, repaint the bedroom walls into a color that will complement your bedding. Add window treatments as well to complete the basics.
If you’re a morning person, light-colored drapes or blinds may suit you better, whereas if you’re a night owl, darker or black-out window treatments may appeal to you more. It’s important to furnish your bedroom according to your lifestyle and personality. Take your habits into account rather than the trend.
Hang a Mirror on a Bare Wall
A huge bare wall behind a sofa is an instant giveaway that the room is unfinished. But instead of buying an art piece—which can be tricky to choose—for that, hang an appropriate-sized mirror. In most cases, an oversize mirror is the best choice since it’ll fill in the blank space. Also, they reflect the light, making your bare area airier and brighter.
Consider Scale
When furnishing a living room, consider scale rather than look of the furniture alone. For instance, if you’re buying a three-seater sofa, pair it with a coffee that’s about two-thirds of the sofa’s width. Purchasing anything too small for the sake of completing the furnishings could cause you to have an awkward and even more bare-looking living room.
Layer With Rugs
Bare floors, even wall-to-wall carpeting, are another giveaway of an incomplete space. If you don’t have focal points and other eye-catching decors yet, draw attention to the floors, instead. Put down an area rug in your living room to define that space and make it inviting. If you have a solid cream couch and neutral-toned walls, choose a patterned rug with soft blue hues to highlight comfort.
Experiment With Throw Pillows
With a creative assortment of throw pillows, you won’t need to buy other decorative pieces right away. Choose brightly-colored pillowcases to make them pop on your sofa. Play with texture as well to add dimension, but be careful not to choose colors and textures similar to your area rug. Variety is important.
It’s essential to take time in sprucing up your space because, like any other project, a work that is rushed will show. Therefore, enjoy your new home first, however bare it is, and you’ll be happier with the furnishings you’ll eventually choose.
