Moving from your parent’s house to College was a big move. You went from having everything safe, secure and done for you, to having to manage by yourself. It was one big kick out of the nest and into the real world – or so you thought. College is just as safe as living at home with the folks is. You are in accommodation that is cheaper in rent than regular housing, you’re not having to worry about whether the electricity gets switched off if you can’t afford the bills, because the dorm is all inclusive. You can even take your laundry home to your parents if you want to.
But when you finish college and need to move into a home of your own, you are faced with a whole new set of overwhelmingly exciting tasks. One of those tasks is choosing a house, which can in itself be a huge decision. You need to pick an area to move into that has access to the job that you’ve spent four years training for. Finally settling on the right house is a huge process. You have spent time looking around, assessing what you will need for yourself and checking out the distances from the homes you are looking at to your new job. It’s stressful, exciting and takes some time, but once you sign on that dotted line, nothing else will matter. Then you get the fun of decorating your new home too
So, you’ve got your first home in the bag – now what? The house is bare – which makes it a blank canvas for you to work on. The house you’ve signed for needs colour, flooring and furnishing from top to bottom. It’s a huge job to get done, and you are the person in control of what you want here. The furnishing and decorating of a new home is very exciting and can be very expensive. Don’t panic though, furnishing and decorating your new home doesn’t have to be pricey if you don’t want it to be. Designer furniture isn’t a necessity, and you can gather a group of friends to help you get it painted and up to scratch, saving you the money on a decorating company. It takes some careful planning, list-writing and budgeting to make that new house of yours a home. Try not to plan ways to decorate that are going to get you into debt, and try and come under budget as much as possible. If you are clever about your furnishings, you can get some amazing discounts and you can look here for more info about buying the right mattress for your new room. Being smart about where you shop for your furniture is a good place to start, and you can save yourself the sleepless nights thinking about it!
So, how do you get started decorating your first home?
Start Neutral
Your home is a blank canvas, we’ve said this already, and a good starting point for your house is making the decision to keep it as neutral as possible in colour when it comes to the basics. the walls, ceilings and floors shouldn’t be too bold, because then it will clash with the furniture or accessories that you put into the house. Dressing up neutral tones with colour is how you make your home pop and you can do this with rugs, cushions, curtains and even paint. Paint is your best friend when it comes to your decorating, because you can paint statement walls, fake headboards in the bedroom, and even dip your table and chair legs into it to unify the room. Don’t underestimate the power of bold coloured paint!
Love Paint
Nothing transforms a space as well as a fresh coat of paint, and the beauty of paint is that you can do literally anything you want with it. Want a statement wall that looks abstract? Grab the masking tape and get making patterns on the walls of choice. Fill in the gaps with your chosen colours and you can really make a difference to the room you are decorating. Always remember to get the painting done before your or your furniture move in. Check out these palette and colour ideas for your home. Paint is going to change the entire feel of a room, so choose wisely from the beginning and you will be living in the perfect colour wheel!
Lists Are Your Friend
You need to decorate the interior of an entire house, so making it easier on yourself is a must. Lists are your friend here, because you can choose to list things by floor in the home, room or even colour. You need to carefully plan and budget, and that means listing where you get your furniture from and how much it costs. It means listing all the things you own as well as all the things that you need. You can’t just wing it when it comes to décor, and if you try, what’ll happen is you end up with a bunch of mismatched rooms and furniture that doesn’t quite fit. The beauty here is that you can take as much time as you need to plan out the house before you get stuck into the shopping part of the program.
The Power Of Rugs
If your new house is all hardwood flooring, you may be wondering how you can warm it up a little. Rugs, rugs are your friend! Colour, thickness and size can differ room to room and give the room an entirely different look. Don’t underestimate the power a rug has to instantly soften harsh flooring and colours. You can do it inexpensively, or choose to be plush with it – either way, your home can benefit from rugs in all rooms if you wish!
Quality Over Price
Some of the more expensive furniture items may feel like they are beyond you. If you shop around for second hand pieces, you can find some excellent quality items for less than you expect. However – before you get going with the second-hand thrift stores and websites, you need to be very aware of the fact that the quality may be as low as the price. Furniture should be shopped for carefully, and if you do decide to furnish with chic and vintage items, always thoroughly check for damage in the fabric or wood before you go ahead and part with your cash. When you furnish your bedroom, invest in good quality bedding, regardless of the cost. We spend a third of our time asleep, so it makes good sense to ensure that you are comfortable.
Keep To A Budget
When you decide to list everything that you need, you need to decide on a budget. Once you choose your budget, you need to stick to it. You have just dumped thousands of dollars on a deposit and have moving costs to think about, so you need to think about sticking as close to the budget as possible. Where you can, try not to get over excited and overspend, even when you do see gorgeous kitchen sets! Salespeople will always try and encourage you to spend more cash, but you need to stick to your guns and focus on getting the best value that you can.
Measure Up
Before you go shopping for furniture, measure up each room and take your lists of measurements down to the stores with you. This way, when you go to buy the furniture you can make sure that you don’t buy a sofa that won’t fit through your doorways. This is the same when it comes to beds and dining tables and you would be surprised the number of people who buy furniture before measuring up!
Take Your Time
Don’t try and finish your house at the same time. Make a plan to do one room at a time in decorating, then add the furniture bit by bit. Trying to do it all at once can mean you end up spending all your budget and end up with an unfinished house. You don’t need to try and ‘get it right’ straight away, either, when you could take your time and have a beautifully finished home. Doing it all slowly makes it far more manageable for you and your budget.
Lastly, buying your first home is a big responsibility and it isn’t something to mess about with. However, you only buy your first home once! You should have fun with your plans and get it right in your own time. You may have endless freedom to make the changes that you want to make, but you should be embracing this freedom and rolling with it instead of getting stressed. If you make a point of relaxing through the process, you can truly enjoy the whole thing and decorate and furnish to your heart’s content. Your house is going to be your haven, making it as beautiful as possible is a given. You want to be proud of the space that you have decorated and spent time and money on. Grab that list and make it count!
*This is a collaborative post*