Or how to make the best of the second lockdown – part 1. With the cold winter weather outside, this lockdown will require some extra cosiness. Luckily, I have just the thing for you, and it won't cost you a thing! Just check out my first 4 easy home styling hacks, and watch out for part 2 to get the full experience.
I’ve been up in the attic room, all by myself, for 3 days now. Self-quarantine.
Is it horrible? Not really. My husband and kids are bringing me food at regular times (mostly edible…), and lots of coffee. I’ve got a bed, a laptop and a cell phone, so I’d say the basics are covered:)
And who knew I could be this productive? It’s amazing how much you can get done with cooking, grocery shopping, and Netflix out of the way. Yesterday, for instance, I’ve looked up and categorised 180 of my favourite home design brands in a single excel sheet. So now, if you ask me where to find a medium-budget bamboo lounge chair from an eco-conscious Scandinavian company, the answer is only a couple of excel filters away:)
But of course, before I could get to any of that, I had to take care of one thing: the clutter! People, what on earth was going on in my attic room???
Years ago, this room started out well-intentioned as a guest room. But over the years, it gradually turned into an ironing room / storage room / home office / gaming room / sound studio and pyjama party hang-out. I call it the room for everything and nothing.
Now, I’m fine with self-isolation. But there is no way that I am going to just sit and wait for the test results in the room for everything and nothing!!!
So, the first thing I did, was to turn the attic room back into a stylish guest room.
And tadaaa, look at the difference!
That was what? Three hours, at most!
Budget? Zero!
So, what’s my secret? Well, I know how to do more with less, and I'm happy to share some of my magic with you. After all, this lockdown will require some extra cosiness. Between this blog and the next one, in 2 weeks’ time, I am going to list 8 easy, no-budget home styling hacks that can make a world of difference. Just follow through on them one by one, and see for yourself.
Ready for the first 4?
1. LOSE ALL THAT WEIGHT!
No, not you darling, your home:) The most common home styling problem has very little to do with sense of style (or lack of it), and everything with life getting the better of us. We accumulate, stack, and store much more than we could ever need. We keep so many things ‘just in case’, that when we actually need them, we can’t find them.
And then we wonder why we feel so heavy, overwhelmed, and tired all the time. Darlings, there isn’t going to be a better time than this one to detox, take back control, and lose all that weight.
So, put your favourite playlist on, and sort through your stuff. You’ll be surprised how much lighter you will feel.
2. TAKE OUT ALL YOUR HOME DECORATION, AND PUT ONLY HALF OF IT BACK!
The second most common home styling issue is that we clutter our house with home decoration.
Look what that does to my living room!
Again, this is not usually intentional, but just the inevitable result of gradually adding all sorts of travel treasures, garage sale bargains, and Christmas gifts.
With some exceptions here and there, most of us can easily take out half of our home styling items, and still have more than enough happening on our floors, walls, and shelves.
So, you just take out half of it then?
No, sorry, it doesn’t work like that. The ‘take-stuff-out’ method is not very effective. You can only see options that you didn't see before, if you start from scratch. So, pick a room, and take out all your home styling items, everything: the lamps, the pictures, the vases, the plant, the books, the rugs, all of it.
That was the first thing I did in my living room the other day:
Then, start adding one item at a time, each time applying my golden rule:
If it doesn’t look better with it, it looks better without it!
(This, by the way, is also a great rule for personal styling, so lose the necklace if it doesn’t actually make your outfit better…).
My living room certainly looks a lot better with less:
Trust me, if you apply this rule correctly, you will probably end up using only half of your home styling items.
But hang on, what to do with the rest? Not throw away, I hope?
No no, my friends, relax. I haven’t told you the best part of this hack yet. See, I’ve never understood how some people can carry on with the exact same decoration and lay-out for entire decades. I’d get bored off my socks. Isn’t it fun to switch up your home experience from time to time? Isn’t that how we evolve?
Well, with my system you have enough decoration to rotate. Just keep your left-overs in boxes in your cellar and pull them out every so many months. You really don't need to keep buying new things all the time.
“You see, we don’t need more decoration items. We just need to come up with new ways to combine them.”
Look how easy it was to instantly re-style my living room, using only left-overs from the box!
3. PUT TWO LIGHTS ON YOUR WINDOWSILL
Now, this little home styling hack here, is just as magic as it is simple. Basically, you just do what the title says: if you have a windowsill, put a light on it, possibly two.
This is how it looks in my dining room, from the inside and from the outside
Why is this so magic? Here's a list.
1. Inside, it adds a cosy, warm light to your window area, which tends to be a big, dark hole on wintery days like these.
2. Outside, it completely changes the allure and charm of your house. If it were up to me, streets would be cosy too. Imagine how lovely it would be if everyone would do this?
3. It adds style and interest to your windowsill, unlike any other windowsill decorations that quickly feel a little grandma-style-like.
4. The extra light at the window overpowers the light in the rest of the house, making it harder for people outside to see what I’m cooking inside:) Of course, I could also just close the curtains, but this is a little trick if you prefer to leave your curtains open at 4PM.
There, how’s that for a compelling case? Now, do you have any spare lamps lying around anywhere?
4. ADD SOME PLAYFULNESS AND CREATIVITY TO YOUR BEDROOM EXPERIENCE
I guess you could read a lot of different things into this title, but I am still on the topic of home styling hacks, darlings:)
Mind you, a room’s vibe has a huge impact on how we feel and behave, so if there’s one place in the house that deserves a little extra styling attention, it’s the bedroom:) You want your bedroom to say you are someone who likes to play around, switch things up, surprise and explore. And believe me, all you need is a couple of extra pillows, a throw, and ideally a rug to create that hotel luxury feeling and all the good vibes that come with it.
Check out my bedroom before and after!
Or look at my quarantine room bed styling. Not bad, is it? I think I might just stay here another couple of days:)
WATCH OUT FOR MORE TIPS IN 2 WEEKS!
I'm sure that's enough to keep you busy for now:) In 2 weeks’ time, I’ll publish part 2, with more easy, no-budget home styling hacks. Don’t miss it, because I always save the best for last!
In the meantime, you can share my blog post with your friends and spread some good vibes. Let's stay healthy and strong together!
Who am I?
I am Truus Yperman, Brussels-based Style Coach and Personal Shopper for women and men.
I offer joy, indulgence and empowerment in a very practical, hands-on way, through personal styling (fashion sense, look, wardrobe) and home styling (interior design sense, decoration, lay-out).
My style philosophy is simple: for me, style is not a matter of money, expensive design or luxury labels. It’s a matter of taste, and knowing how to do more with less. That is my special talent. You see, we don’t need more things. We just need to know how to combine them better.
Want me to work my magic on you or your home? Check out my website to sign up for your FREE initial coaching session!
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