When it comes to making your house a home, there are many small inexpensive things you can do to improve your home’s aesthetics. Design shows, designer blogs, Instagram, and Pinterest love to show the beautiful perfect homes, the high dollar reno’s, the diy projects that take a good chunk of skill, money, labor or all of the above. But I’m here to tell you, there are small things you can do to improve the aesthetics of how your home looks and feels. Bonus! They’re cheap or even free!
So follow along friend as I take you through my top 5 tips to improve your home’s aesthetics.
Tip #1. Decant And Toss Out Store Packaging To Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics In The Kitchen And Bathroom
Nothing is uglier or ruins the aesthetics of a home than ugly packaging from the store. From bags of cotton balls and q-tips in the bathroom to plastic or netted bags around produce in the kitchen, ugly packaging is there to scream advertisement at you and look, well, tacky.
In the bathroom, use glass jars or votives to hold the cotton balls and q-tips.
In your kitchen, take your produce out of the bags, cartons and boxes. Look at what you have that could make a pretty container. I use a red kitchen bowl. I already have to hold a variety of fresh produce including bananas, tomatoes, kiwi’s etc…My glass parfait dish holds my freshly washed apples on the table, and when you open the fridge you typically see any berries sitting in glass mason jars. Plus if you give them a 2 minute rinse in vinegar water, dry and then put in an open glass jar with a paper towel in the bottom, they last longer.
Other things you can do is use real butter instead of margarine (goodbye seed oils) and place the unwrapped stick of button on a tea cup saucer, pretty plate or pull out your special occasion butter dish.
Tip #2. Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics With Linens and Cloth.
Use tablecloths, curtains, blankets and sheets to hide the ugly and add style. I have a number of tablecloths purchased at yard sales and thrift shops over the years. I’ve used these to cover end tables, hang over ugly pipes, act as closet doors and cover ugly furniture. If you don’t have pretty tablecloths or curtains, hit up the local thrift store. Basic white curtains can go a long way in covering up ugly wall or ceiling spaces. I recently purchased two basic white sheets for $2 each at the local thrift shop.
Have an ugly couch or chair? Throw some white sheets over it and tuck them in. You’ll have a fresher cottage-y type vibe.
Tip #3. Rearrange To Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics.
Rearranging Is Not Only An Inexpensive But A Free Way To Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics.
Growing up I loved to regularly rearrange my bedroom. It was the one space that was mine, and I loved how fresh and clean everything felt after I had moved items around for a fresh perspective. In the process I’d dust and wipe down surfaces. Everything just felt fresher and better.
Chances are, one or more rooms can be improved by changing the layout or moving furniture around. I recently moved two living room chairs into a corner of my kitchen to create a little cozy area to sit. These chairs suddenly get TONS of use. My husband will sit in them while I’m making dinner and chat with me rather than sitting in the living room since he now has somewhere comfortable to sit. The kids will grab a book and lounge there or hang and chat.
Even swapping the layout of the tv and couch in our basement made the room flow so much better and the space be better used. Plus, if you don’t love it you can always move it back.
Tip #4. Clean and Declutter To Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics
You had to know this tip was coming. But this simple move makes a big difference. Cleaning and removing excess can freshen up the way a space feels. Sometimes we have things we hang on to that we no longer love. It’s ok to get rid of something someone gave you, that you don’t use or are tired of.
For items you do still use, consider where they are stored. Maybe counter space can be cleared by moving something into a cabinet, and something in the cabinet can go to a basement or garage if it’s only used once a month.
In the bedroom put laundry in the baskets, pick up clothes off the floor and remove random items. Bedrooms should be sanctuaries but they can be catchalls for mess. Clothes strewn about does not a sexy bedroom make. While you’re at it, make your bed. It’s the largest piece of furniture in the bedroom. It makes such a difference when a main focal point like a bed is made.
Tip #5. Improve Your Home’s Aesthetics By Adding Baskets
Adding pretty baskets is a very simple way to contain the chaos, control the clutter and make various rooms in your home have designer touches. Baskets can equal improved home aesthetics by hiding the random crap we all have. Whether they’re in a linen closet, a kitchen or bathroom cabinet or out in the open, baskets add a touch of pretty and whimsy.
While buying new baskets can get expensive fast, you may have one’s around the house that can be repurposed. Yard sales and you guessed it, thrift stores, are my go-to to get inexpensive pretty baskets. If you need something now and don’t have baskets, the dollar tree and even Target can have some basic plastic white ones that look nice. Having all your baskets matching in a clean neutral color like white creates a streamlined fresh look.
When it comes to creating a fresh, clean, and pretty aesthetic, I hope these inexpensive tips guide you to creating a home you love.
Happy Homemaking!
Kaitlyn