[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen you’re ready to transform a blank canvas of a home into your personal masterpiece, where do you start? Well, it depends! Filling up your brand-new home with furniture and new accessories and paint can be as exciting as it is intimidating. So, it’s important to break it down into manageable steps instead of trying to decorate your entire home in a single weekend. Below, we’ve compiled some of our favorite tips and tricks for making your new house feel like a personal reflection of yourself and your aesthetic. Keep reading to learn more!
Finance Your New Home
First and foremost, you need to figure out how you’re going to pay for your new home. After all, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to buy your property with cash outright. Instead, you’ll need to investigate your financing options. For example, if you’re a service member, you might be able to qualify for a veterans home buying program.
You can also look into traditional mortgages and USDA loans. Just make sure you fully understand the terms and conditions before you sign on the dotted line.
Paint the Walls and Add Furniture
Painting the walls of your new home is one of the easiest ways to transform a space. It can make you feel warm and cozy – so it should be one of the first things you do. After you choose your color palette, then fill in with your furniture.
Finding affordable furniture is incredibly easy these days. You can go to big box stores like Ikea, go for something handcrafted on Etsy, or even attempt to DIY a solution.
Make a plan for each of the rooms in your house. For example, do you need a place to work-from-home for your job? Dedicate a room to being your office so you can focus and be separate from distractions.
And, don’t forget art! Places like Society6 are a great place to start. You can find wall art, tapestries, and other unique accessories that give your home more personality.
Speaking of personality, a great way to add additional flair is to place plants around your home. If you can’t be trusted with the responsibility of these leafy friends, you can always opt for a realistic fake plant too.
Paint the Exterior of Your Home
The outside of your home is the first thing you see, so it makes sense to put a little effort into it. If the exterior is dirty, rent a pressure washer and remove the layers of grime. You can also clear the gutters and tidy any leaves or grass cuttings.
You might also want to give your house exterior a fresh coat of paint – but before you go wild with crazy colors, make sure you know the accepted color palettes allowed by your HOA association if you have one. Nobody wants to get a mean letter from the HOA board and deal with the hassles associate with resolving the issue.
Breathe Life Into Your Landscaping
Landscaping is something that’s easy to forget but it’s also something that makes a huge impact. Consider adding planters around the outside of your home. You can grow your own vegetables, plant seasonal flowers, or year-round hardier species of plants that can withstand all types of weather.
Don’t want to deal with a lawn? We don’t blame you. If that’s the case, consider xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is a type of landscaping that is specific to drought-ridden areas. Typically, the lawn is ripped up and replaced with special river rock or otherwise aesthetically-pleasing stones. You can use the rocks to create patterns or even make a meditation sand garden. Again, this is something you’ll need to run by your HOA if you have one!
Conclusion: Building a Home that Feels like You
When you have a new house, it can be intimidating figuring out where to start your decorating adventure. If you need inspiration, look at Pinterest or Instagram. Follow architecture and interior design accounts to get inspiration for what you want your home to look and feel like. And, don’t forget to add a few fun conversation pieces in the form of art or funky, handmade furniture. At the end of the day, the most important part of making your house feel like a home is having fun! So, get out there and start decorating!
