Have you recently moved into a new home? Settle into comforting spaces that express your identity and bring you joy! Here are tried-and-true tips for creating a home that’s uniquely yours, regardless of your budget.  

1. Customize With Color

Adding color to a room is one of the most effective ways to personalize a home. A fresh coat of paint is an affordable DIY that can enliven a space or use wallpaper as an easy way to create a print or pattern. Here are a few ways to use color to personalize your home:

• Accent walls
• The fifth wall or ceiling
• Trim
• Color drenching (using the same color or different shades of the same color through most of a room’s features)

Integrate splashes of color with elements of the boldest color in your room’s color scheme. Create a focal point with a richly hued sofa, and add pops of lively hues with colorful throw pillows, curtains, an area rug, or decorative objects. 

2. Elevate the Lighting

The right lighting is not only functional but also sets the tone of a room and helps tie decorative elements together. If you moved into an older home with outdated fixtures or a new construction home with builder-grade lighting, it’s time for an upgrade! 

To get started, think about how you use each room and its overall style. A lighting plan is a helpful tool a lighting showroom can create with you to identify activity zones that need illumination to guide your fixture selection. Before your showroom visit, here are a few things to consider when upgrading your home’s lighting:

Room dimensions: How big can you go? Your room’s dimensions will guide your fixture size requirements. 

Ceiling height: Can you get away with a dramatic chandelier in the living room, or is the space best suited for a flush or semi-flush mount?

Fixture finish or color: What fixtures complement your room’s overall style and color scheme?

Color temperature: Do you want cool daylight, a warmer feel, or the ability to transition between variations of the two?

Lighting controls: Do you want ultimate control over the brightness of your lighting? Then dimmers, smart lighting, and automation technology are right for you. 

3. Make a Statement With Art

Wall art can reflect your style, communicate your interests, or tell a story. Art can be highly personal and a wonderful way to make a room all your own. And the great news is that you don’t have to be a serious art connoisseur or investor to make a statement. 

There are many places to purchase quality, affordable art that doesn’t cost a fortune. Some lighting showrooms also offer wall art, and lighting specialists can offer recommendations on how to use lighting to highlight your favorite pieces in every room. 

4. Add Architectural Details

Spruce up walls, ceilings, and room transitions with architectural details that create a one-of-a-kind feel. While some of these features are on the higher end of a budget because they usually require professional installation, there are several DIY-friendly options too. Built-in cabinets and shelves, window seats, and custom millwork add instant charm and increase a room’s functionality.

If you prefer doing the work yourself, consider adding molding around a room’s ceiling, create dimension with board and batten, or add texture and visual interest with wainscoting in a bathroom or bedroom. 

5. Create Natural Connections

Being surrounded by nature boosts our mood, enhances feelings of contentment, and increases our sense of wellbeing. Welcome natural elements inside the home to recreate those benefits, from materials and colors to textures and decorative features. 

Bring on the green: Add potted plants and small trees to add vitality to a home with strong connections to the outdoors. 

Welcome natural light: Keep window shades open or install light-filtering curtains to bring in natural light while offering some privacy. 

Integrate organic features: Warm up a room with solid wood elements, like flooring, beams, paneling, furniture, and accessories.

6. Display Personal Items

Your interests, hobbies, and life experiences are unique to you. Put them on display throughout your home to make spaces that are meaningful to you.

Create a gallery wall of photos of family, events, and travels. Display a special collection on a bookshelf. Add a family heirloom to a vignette on a console table. Your choice and arrangement of these treasured pieces are what help transform your house into a home that authentically reflects your life, personality, and memories. 

7. Upgrade the Hardware

If a cabinet replacement is not in the budget this year, consider giving them an update with new hardware. Like painting a room, a hardware upgrade is a simple yet noticeable improvement to a kitchen or bathroom that matches your style preferences. 

Take a look at your interior doors, too. If they take you back to the 80s or 90s or are noticeably builder-grade, it may be time for an update to something more contemporary or modern. 

Create a Home You’ll Love

Make a home your own with customized spaces full of meaningful and personal elements. Whether you own or rent, member showrooms can provide customized lighting recommendations and other design elements (like wall art, textiles, and decorative pieces) to help you create a home you’ll love. Use our showroom finder to contact a location near you.