Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have got us all stuck indoors and the DIY stores are all but closed. But that doesn’t mean your home should have to suffer as well. Many of us still have that little bit of paint or wallpaper left over from years of redecorating and now might be a good time to use it while you basically can’t do anything else.
Spring is near, so many of you might like to get a little head start on the annual spring clean which usually involves a little bit of decorating as well.
- Organise the kitchen
- Use leftover wallpaper
- Touch up the gloss
In most family homes the kitchen sees the most traffic so it’s easy for things to get out of hand. Wallpaper is set for a comeback this year so some leftovers could be used wisely while the door frames and skirting boards might have seen better days.
Use It or Lose It
The kitchen seems to take the brunt of the family’s assault on the home. Most of us have too many appliances using too much space and that needs to change. One of the predicted kitchen design trends for 2021 is minimalism.
Getting rid of anything you don’t use will free up valuable counter space that can be used for food preparation, storage or even an appliance you do actually use; the waffle maker has got to go. A cluttered kitchen can be dangerous as well since sockets might get overloaded, things may fall onto an open flame or wires (probably from phone chargers) can get caught on things.
Minimalism doesn’t just refer to items though, it can also mean decorating style. The use of no more than three light and clean colours and a touch of a pattern to break them up is all that is recommended. A good way to look at it might be, if it isn’t used for cooking, cleaning the kitchen or in food preparation, then it shouldn’t be there.
Colour Expression
There are always some materials leftover after decorating and wallpaper seems to be one of those things that just piles up. The great thing about wallpaper is that it comes with all kinds of prints, patterns and colours that can accommodate almost any room and style.
Tipped to be a contender for 2021, wallpaper with earthy tones and natural prints is expected to be widely by interior designers this year so as to reflect a yearning to get back outside into the world after being pretty much incarcerated for almost a year now.
Neutral-coloured paint has been all but decimated in any and all ways professional stylists could dream of so it’s time to bring back some colour into our lives. Just make sure to use wallpaper wisely because a colour or print mismatch can really ruin a room, perhaps a mural along a hallway or a feature wall might look great.
Good as New
Traditionally used for doors, frames and skirting boards, shiny glossing looks wonderful, but it has a drawback in that it is a haven for sticky oils and moisture, mostly from our hands. Because they are used and touched so much, a neglected door can look like the kids have started a finger painting project around the handles.
Many of you will almost definitely have some gloss lying around so now would be a great time to touch up the problem areas of your home. Give the frames, doors or boards you plan to paint a good clean first as dirt can still show through gloss once it dries.
That being said, gloss is so brilliant in its colour that once you have touched up the home, it can almost look and feel like you have redecorated entirely.
