7 Simple Steps to Make Your Home Feel Like New

Home should conjure up images of safety, comfort, and relaxation. So, if it hasn’t quite been living up to those ideals lately, don’t worry—you don’t have to move or hire an expensive design team. People often think changes need to be drastic to make a difference, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that small changes over time can provide the impact you want on the look and feel of your home. Whether you want to elevate your home to relax on a night in, spend time with loved ones, or play on the top-rated casino apps for the US market, putting a little effort into the ambiance, furniture, and cleanliness of your house will turn it into a home.

Let’s go over seven simple steps to give your home a well-deserved refresh.

Step 1: Declutter By Following a Tried-and-True Method

Before you start picking out paint colors or take a trip to the furniture store, go through each room and declutter. Rather than making it a sporadic task and getting rid of random items you don’t need every once in a while, it can help to use a specific methodology and put a plan in place.

For example, maybe you want to use the KonMari Method, where you tidy by category and keep items only if they “spark joy” and speak to the heart. Or perhaps the Four-Box Method is more your style, where you label four piles as Keep, Donate, Sell, and Trash.

Step 2: Deep Clean for a Clean Slate

Once you feel like you’ve officially decluttered your way to a clean slate, you can now work on a deep clean. All those crevices, nooks, and crannies you’ve typically avoided in the past? It’s time to tackle them.

With everything sanitized, dusted, and free of dirt, you give your home a new baseline cleanliness that you can continue working to maintain. That cleanliness is the start of creating an environment you want to be in rather than one you have to be in—one that creates positive associations and that you feel healthy in.

Step 3: Refresh Your Walls

Walls make up every room in your home, which is why they’re naturally the first place to start when refreshing your space. Even if your walls aren’t stained and scuffed, a fresh coat of paint, new artwork, or an accent wall can all change the mood of a room entirely.

Whether you want to turn your bathroom into a tranquil oasis with a pale green or add a maximalist accent wall behind your couch, consider bringing in colors, patterns, and art pieces that add a certain personality or atmosphere. If you’re renting, peel-and-stick wallpaper and tile options can be lifesavers.

Step 4: Upcycle or Update Your Furniture

Furniture isn’t always cheap—but rummaging through garage sales or shopping at more affordable stores like IKEA could do just the trick. Certain pieces of furniture might be older or overly plain, but they present a great opportunity for upcycling.

Whether you end up buying furniture or want to use your existing pieces, you can get creative and reupholster an armchair or give a beautiful wood stain to an outdated dresser. These methods are also much more sustainable than opting for a furniture overhaul and can even add a personal touch to your home.

Step 5: Add Life and Light

Plants and carefully chosen lighting can make a massive impact on the atmosphere of a home. Just imagine a cold office space with harsh, fluorescent lights—that’s not an environment you’d want your home to have.

Pendant lights, task lighting, and ambient lights with dimmers and color-change options can all come together to provide both functionality and style, which you can alter depending on the time of day. Bring in some plants as well, and you can purify the air and make your space feel fresh and more inviting.

Step 6: Infuse Your Home with Scents

Scents should be used sparingly to not overwhelm, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to introduce pleasant fragrances in specific rooms in your home. Smell has been proven to be the sense that is most deeply connected to memory and emotion, meaning that fragrances can truly transform an atmosphere.

In bathrooms and bedrooms, potpourri is one of the most popular options, adding a consistent, gentle scent. In living rooms and communal spaces, scented candles can fill the main areas of the home and provide a calming flicker of light. In kitchens, freshly cooked meals can act as a natural scent, while citrus cleaning products can refresh that same space after mealtimes.

Step 7: Incorporate Functional and Non-Functional Decor

When it’s time to decorate, it’s all about finding a balance between functional and non-functional decor. While it can be nice to have photos, artwork, throw pillows, and quirky planters to implement some personal style and provide a lived-in feel, functional decor can both serve a purpose and look good at the same time.

Functional decor can include anything from shelving units to keep items tidy and together to entryway tables that give you a space to place your keys and mail and artistic knob choices that provide a pop of color while making it easier to open cupboards and doors. Both functional and non-functional decor should ultimately pair together to complement your lifestyle.