First Homeowners Guide to Decorating Your New Home

You’ve finally taken the plunge into purchasing your first home! Moving in can be a very exciting and liberating experience. It’s now your opportunity to express yourself creatively in terms of decoration, and to be truly independent in your choices.

Barnes Vanes

If you’re renting or have purchased an unfurnished property, you can start to fill it with your own furniture and begin a collection of furnishings that you can add to for the rest of your life. For those who find the decoration experience a little daunting, there are plenty of simple ways to ensure that you make sensible choices and stay on budget.

JMA Interiors

Clear Out Junk Before Moving

Before you move, have a clear out. Sell, bin or give to charity anything that you haven’t used or worn for over eight months. You might be surprised at what you find during a major de-cluttering session and you may even be able to make some extra cash from unwanted clothing, DVDs, games and music.

Barnes Vanes

The benefit of cutting down on what you bring to the new property is clear; it’s much easier to move a smaller amount of stuff, and you’ll avoid cluttering your new place with unnecessary items.

Barnes Vanes

Start Buying Bedroom Furniture First

Apparently we spend around a third of our time at home in the bedroom, so it’s an important room to get right during the decorating process. Sort the bedroom out first and ensure that you’re sleeping properly. You’ll be in a better position to tackle the rest of the house if this is the case.

Morgan Keefe

A high quality bed is an absolute must, so don’t be afraid to splash out on this purchase. Go with a long-lasting wood frame, available from retailers like Fortune Woods, and you will never need to replace it.

Hirsh Interior

Choose a restful colour scheme for the room, and match the tone of the walls to your bedding and the colour of your furniture. In the bedroom, every item should complement each other.

Tobi Fairley

Stick to a Budget – Buy Second Hand and Refurbish!

Don’t feel like you have to throw money at every problem. If you’ve just purchased a house, it’s likely that you’ll need to stick to a budget, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t make the place look wonderful. Look for large items of furniture like sofas,dining tables, and even outdoor patio furniture from second-hand stores, online auction sites or discounted furniture warehouses.

Tobi Fairley

You can always brighten old or dull items with a splash of paint, and change hardware like cabinet and door handles quite inexpensively. If you want a cohesive feel in one room, simply paint old wooden furniture the same colour, and add matching accessories such as rugs, lampshades and throws.

Tobi Fairley

Little things like a couple of bold cushions or having a dimmer switch installed can make all the difference in terms of changing the atmosphere of a room.

Caitilin Wilson