The Home Front: Quick and Easy Decorating Hacks for Your Home

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When you decide it’s time for a home refresh, the high-traffic areas of your home that see a lot of activity are the areas that will catch your eye the most.

When you replace worn materials, used furniture or broken components, use this opportunity to update the style, color, comfort or quality as well, says Lydia Thammavong, head of design, styles and trends at Rona. With a little putty, a coat of paint, wallpaper or decorative panels, you can easily fix marks and dents on your walls. A new color or pattern can give these areas a fresh coat of paint.

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Thammavong says a review every season (or at least mid-year) with some quick changes is a good time frame.

“This includes bedding, accent pillows, throws, rugs, curtains and towels. Lighter fabrics, colors and prints for spring and summer or warmer, heavier, darker colors and prints for fall and winter. Let’s not forget to decorate for Halloween and Christmas to give your home a welcoming and cheerful mood.”

Warm neutrals and earth tones such as warm greys and browns, greens, ochres and mustard yellow are currently the trending colours in decorative pillows. And woven natural fibres, which add texture and coziness to any decor, are also very popular, says Thammavong.

Where can you look for inspiration?

Social media and home design magazines are a helpful source of inspiration and can provide good ideas, says Thammavong.

“I also like to look around in high-end stores, as they often have a trend or decoration inspiration department. Star designers, architects and design companies are also a safe place to go for great ideas,” she says and also recommends the content of Rona’s Workshop for information on current trends, inspiration and DIY.

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Door handles and drawer handles

When choosing doorknobs and drawer pulls, Thammavong says that knobs and cups add a vintage look. For a clean and modern aesthetic, opt for slim drawer pulls and doorknobs.

Mixing shapes can be quite fun, but stick with the same finish to achieve a unified look. Hardware dimensions should be proportional to the size of the drawer, she explains.

Peel and stick tiles

You can easily upgrade certain areas of your home with self-adhesive wallpaper or tiles, but make sure you choose quality. Wallpaper with leaf and flower motifs is currently on trend.

“Textured neutral wallpapers are also popular because they follow the same theme but are a little more subtle visually,” says Thammavong.

Clean up before you start

If you want to feel more comfortable in any area of ​​your home, decluttering and organizing your storage spaces is a good place to start. Start with one room at a time, or even just a part of a room, like a closet, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

“Create one box for the things you want to give away and another for the things you want to keep, and sort them by category. When you’re left with just the things you want to keep, you can put everything back faster because you’ve already sorted the things by category,” she says.

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If you want to keep things in order, everything in your home should have a place. And when something comes in, a good rule is to throw something out.

Carpets can make a big difference

The right rug can instantly freshen up any area of ​​your home. When choosing, consider the dimensions of the room and furniture placement, Thammavong says.

In living rooms, a rug is often chosen that is large enough for all the front legs of the furniture to rest on, creating a unified look. In smaller living rooms, a rug that fits just under the coffee table and leaves some floor space all around may work well.

In dining rooms, the rug should be large enough to accommodate the dining table and all chair legs, even when the chairs are extended.

“For bedrooms, a rug that extends at least two feet beyond the bed on both sides provides comfort and creates a balanced sense of space. In hallways or entryways, long and narrow rugs are ideal,” says Thammavong.

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