Nothing beats walking into a home that feels and looks dull, but with some easy solutions you can quickly transform your space from dull to fabulous in no time.
Hang framed photos of friends and family to add a personal touch to your office, along with strategically draped plants for an inviting ambience.
1. Paint the Walls
If the colors in your room were chosen by someone other than yourself before moving into or purchasing the property, painting it can quickly make it feel more personal and add drama and focus to architectural features like molding, mantels, arched doorways, wainscot and windows.
Paint can radically change our perception of space by making it seem bigger, smaller, taller or wider. Lighter tones tend to make walls seem further away while darker hues can bring things closer or push them back away.
If you want to give the impression that a room is bigger, try painting its ceiling a light shade while its walls remain dark – this trick tricks the eye into thinking there is more space available by drawing its focus toward light walls while darker ones fade into the distance visually. This trick works particularly well in narrow rooms or making small bathrooms seem larger.
2. Paint the Ceiling
An extra coat of paint on the ceiling can add the final touches to your room’s decor. From classic white hues to more unexpected choices, adding new hues can have a major impact on its overall look and feel.
Specialized ceiling paint typically features a flat or matte finish instead of the typical eggshell or satin wall paint, providing greater cover from imperfections due to reduced reflection of light. To make things easier when covering stained ceilings with traditional painting methods, stain-blocking primer should also be considered as part of your plan before beginning painting projects.
For best results when painting ceilings, choose a high-quality roller with dense nap. When cutting in and rolling, cutting into first will help minimize visible lap marks; apply in sections approximately 10 linear ft squared at once before immediately rerolling to keep new edges from drying prematurely.
3. Paint the Trim
Though it might seem like an unimportant detail, painting trim and molding can make an enormous difference to a room’s atmosphere and visually tie in all the colors used on walls.
Trim and molding often comes in white hue, but other hues such as gray, black or another shade can add depth and make small rooms seem larger by creating visual depth.
When painting trim, make sure the pressure is kept light to avoid unsightly brush strokes; the paint will self-level as it dries. Furthermore, do not brush over one area too frequently as this will spread the paint thin and cause visible streaks.
Use of a high-density foam roller can also make painting faster and smoother, though for smaller areas it remains best to use a brush. Be sure to lay down plenty of drop cloths and tape to protect carpeting from splatters, and before starting load your brush by tapping its tip against the edge of the can rim in order to reduce dripping.
4. Paint the Floors
Painting the floors is an effective home improvement project. Not only will it give your home an updated, new look, but it’s also an eco-friendly alternative to replacing flooring. Many concrete floor paints are specially formulated to endure heavy traffic and abuse better than traditional interior wall or exterior house paints, saving both money and resources when applied correctly.
Painting floors is also an effective way to create some creative optical illusions. If you want your room to appear larger, try painting its walls and ceiling in unison to give the sense of an open, expansive space.
Use painted stripes on the floor to visually make an elongated room seem taller, or paint one short wall dark to visually condense a lengthy space. Whatever your choice may be, always use an epoxy floor paint designed specifically for concrete floors so it will withstand heavy wear and tear.
