Happy Thursday, BDH. Mod R here, requesting Horde assistance.
I am moving house.
The new place is lovely, and I am very happy and grateful to have housing, but it has also been touched by the Fairy of Modern Rental Design (much less cooler than the Fish Fairy) and leeched of colour. Stark white walls, bright fluorescent lighting, black fittings, grey floors. Add windows that do not get direct sun and the usual English grey natural light, and you get the picture.
Very much a First World Mod problem, I am the first to admit. But the more I get to know myself and my ADHD, the more I realise how much my environment overstimulates me and makes me evil.
I haven’t decorated a home in more than a decade, and I ended up really hating what I did then, which was to work with the monochrome instead of against it. When I got rid of the bigger, greyer pieces, it was like my whole nervous system breathed a sigh of relief from tension I didn’t even know I was holding.
I do not want to get to that situation again.
Now I’m leaving all of that furniture behind and starting anew, with two limitations:
- I can only work with furniture, textiles, lighting, rugs, art, and renter-friendly tricks. The walls, floors, kitchen fittings, and permanent fixtures must remain as they are.
- More importantly, I have no measurable aesthetic sense. As in, I can appreciate it when I see it, but I have no idea how to get things that harmoniously “go” together.
My style is…pretty much everything they dig up at Pompeii? I’m not sure what to call that particular flavour of Mediterranean, but if I could live on an Ancient Rome set design, I would. Creams, terracotta, olive greens, pops of gold and sea blues.
My mission is to lighten and warm up the place by combining the two realities. “What if a spreadsheet became a home?” meets “You wake up on a sunny afternoon in Apulia. It’s 78 AD, and the olive harvest is plentiful.”
So I come to you, wise Horde.
Where do you look for inspiration and shop for home things? I’m in the UK, but please do not let geography stop you. The comment section has never respected borders before, and I see no reason for it to start now.
Is it Pinterest accounts? Design books by…? Instagram people? Specific blogs? YouTube channels? Secret witch covens that meet inside an ancient turtle and discuss where to buy good curtains?
Please advise, because I am currently losing a staring contest with a grey floor.
Living room: Spring colors/patterns (leaf greens, bright blues, yellows, pink, red orange) in rugs, curtains/drapes, artwork on walls.
Kitchen: Citrus/ sunshine colors in towels, tablecloth, curtains.
Bath: Oceans in pattern/ colors- turquoise, light blues, teals and a light splash of bright coral (pinkish orange). Curtains, rugs, towels, shower curtains. Have oceanic patterns (waves, fishies, sea shells, seaweed, etc.) in curtains, rugs, bath towels.
Bedroom: Darker forest greens with accents of lavender, purple, bronze/brown.
Houzz.com ’nuff said…
I love Pinterest for ideas.
Congratulations! Always exciting (and exhausting) to move house.
As a stop-gap measure, I found self-adhesive wall decor really useful. Cheap, fast/ easy to get, renter friendly aka easy to remove.
For instance, I bought a stack of fake tiles in Mediterranean design and used those to make colourfull decorative borders and patterns on my kitchen cupboards. That was a cheap thing I could do the first week, to get colour in and make the place mine. Then I had time to find out what I really wanted and where to place stuff.
You can find a lot of inspiration on Amazon or Etsy, though you might want to check if there are local businesses to buy from as well.
I enjoy reading various articles in sprucing up rentals from Wirecutter. E.g. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/how-to-add-life-to-plain-white-rooms/
Area Rugs can visually divide your space, anchor areas in a room, & will provide sound dampening. You can use one larger size or overlap a few smaller sizes to get the size you need. I prefer low pile rugs, but you can always look for thick/fluffy options to create extra cozy-ness.
Freestanding Pillars/Columns can display artwork, hold plants, or work as a small side table depending on height. Look for Architectural Salvage pieces (like an old porch column) at Thrift Shops, Estate Sales, &/or in Construction Dumpsters. You can always cut off a rotten end to make it functional (& the correct height).
Tension Rods can be really useful & multipurpose. Think outside the box (less unconventional usage).
Supported Tension Rods (aka Room Divider Curtain Rods)
Use to add floor to ceiling curtains (will help absorb sound, hold heavy curtains, & soften the harsh visual edges) without drilling for a wall mount rod.
Since you don’t need or want to block the natural light – but may want some privacy, use sheer curtains – but add extra panels.
My favorite (& cheap) way to do this is to use Net/Sheer Curtains like the Ikea LILL (EX: 3-5 pairs on a 3’ wide window).
If you also want to have the option to block all natural light, use a double rod to also include the sheers.
Hang blackout curtain panels on the front/outer rod.
(Each curtain panel should be the width of your window times 4 (approximately). Add an additional 6” to make sure you get full coverage. EX: 36” Window = 4 – 38”-40” Panels).
I’ve also previously used (something similar to) the thin light filtering Ikea GINSTMOTT (there used to be a really cheap thin white cotton like curtain).
Look for light filtering vs sheer if you want a bit more privacy &/or a bit of draft protection/window insulation.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFH63QDM/]
[https://www.ikea.com/us/en/cat/net-sheer-curtains-700221/]
Use a multi section rod to create a ‘Floating Partition’ or ‘Gallery Wall’.
Hang artwork (use gallery style wire cables), plants (in plant hangers), & knickknacks (use hanging shelves or even a platform style plant hanger).
Hang everything at a variety of different heights (depending on ceiling height, everything should hang within a 5’-6’ space in the middle – that’s at least 1.5’ from the ceiling & floor).
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH2MF72R/]
You can also use a heavy duty tension rod (on the inside of your window frames) to hang plants, crystals, or stained glass.
Smaller (Thin/Lightweight) Rods used Vertically (2-3/cover the depth) between shelves &/or inside cabinets can be used:
– To keep multiple stacks of folded clothing or linens stacked neatly into sections (upper shelf in closets, linen cupboards).
– To store items on end (instead of flat/stacked) in the Kitchen: cutting boards, baking sheets, baking dishes/pans, lids, &/or shallow depth pots & pans.
– To store items (cookbooks, cutting boards) on the kitchen counter for every day access (on end + against the side wall or backsplash). Place the rods between the countertop & bottom of the upper cabinets.
i bought a REALLY large cheap piece of thin paneling and painted it up so I’d have something pretty to look at. specifically i grabbed 48-in x 96-in Smooth Hardboard Wood Wall Panel, but I’m sure they have similar on your side of the pond. 😜 Just make sure it hasn’t been treated out have a finish otherwise they frequently won’t take paint well.
if you don’t want to paint it, it can instead allow you more freedom to put up adhesives or other more permanant things without actually damaging/ being on the wall itself.
it can be easily either leaned against or attatched to the wall with minimum holes in said wall. also since it’s a woodish composite less worries about it accidentally tearing/damaging in transit to another apartment.
depending on how much storage space you have, you can also take the doors off the cabinets (or at least do it on the top ones only) and then pick up replacements that bring you joy.
or for a cheaper price (and less storage space) you can usually at least switch out the cabinet and drawer hardware (just make sure to measure well if it attatches with two screws instead of one so you don’t have to return things). I’ve had excellent luck finding really nifty ones at garage sales or clearance bins
https://greenivy.co.uk/ had some rather spiffy looking drawer and cabinet hardware.
don’t forget to look not only with the eyes but also with your hands. doesn’t matter how pretty if the aren’t comfy imo
I usually use Pinterest! Of course, my style is a mix of Ancient Egypt, Helenistic Rome, Middle Ages- Renaisance, and Science Fiction Fantasy…as in, I do me, and that’s what counts. People who come to my home may flinch, but my friends know me, and my home makes me happy.
I would still paint 1 wall in every room a cheerful color! When leaving an apartment it’s easy to repaint 1 wall white, but in my experience landlords tend to like it and you might not have to.
Rugs and carpet with all those lovely colors you mentioned!
Nothing like a nice cushy rug to sink.your tired feet into after a long day. Keep your list of colors in front of when you shop for draperies, bed linens, artwork etc.
Congratulations on your new place!
This is exciting news! I love your Pompeii inspired palette! (And the olive harvest is plentiful 🤣). Try checking out ApartmentTherapy.com https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/search?q=warming+up+grey+rental+apartments
When we we moved into our last house we gutted it and rearranged some of the rooms. I did the design work for the layout but I hired a designer to vet my plans to double check my work and make sure the measurements and plans would work. I really used her mostly to keep my color schemes on track. It is hard to keep everything harmonious and I didn’t want to do or buy something then have to redo it. I told her the colors I wanted and the look I wanted then she pulled color swatches together, fabrics and helped me plan my art on the walls. Then I used the colors and style when I picked out rugs, pillows, furniture, and all the other things that make a home feel like a home.It wasn’t expensive and worth every penny to keep my sanity.
I immediately thought of this image I saved: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrluaIZLFyw/?igsh=aWExYm93Y3E3MmJ1
This account might inspire you too. Good luck bringing light and color to your new place!
Look at artists you like and buy posters from them on Amazon. $30-50 gets you an awesome wall piece. That brings the eye from the morning stuff up to the wall.
Wow, a lot of comments.
I like a wall of books to warm up a place, a pile of books in every area, and large books stacked on the coffee table. You can’t have a sterile apartment with books. A neutral sofa with a terracotta throw, warm lightbulbs, a few side lamps , lots of art on walls, Roman pottery on the kitchen bench or on top of piles of books. And plants and a cat. Job done.
Congrats to your new home 🙂
If you like mediterranean table cloth, have a look at amazon for “Mintdecor”, their design is floral mediterranean, comes from Spain and lightens things up due to their design and colors. It is not overflowing but very harmonious. I have several of them and like them a lot. Also they are satin resistant 😀 Maybe something for you 🙂
stain resistant (sorry)
You might want to look into the peel and stick removable wallpapers that are available now. There are a lot of colors and styles available, will stick to flat or lightly textured surfaces, and don’t leave any residue when you remove it. For colors I usually do a pale yellow in the kitchen and a light blue in the bathrooms. The living room, bedrooms, and hallway is in an eggshell white (better to show the artwork on). Add in some natural wood (bookcases, ect.)and indoor plants.
You can start with two very simple but effective things. VERY IMPORTANT and cheap first one: CHANGE THE BULBS, leds, whatever choosing the warmest possible light.
Second, cover the grey floors. you can use rugs and mats, colorful carpets and kilims or neutral mats, ma even doing just this will change the appearance of your rooms and you will be able to assess the other parts.
Choose large pieces, since having many small rugs would fragment the look in a disturbing way, having a look even in IKEA or in secondhand sites.
For inspiration, please forget Pinterest, subscribe yourself to the free newsletter of House and Garden, MUCH better!
And after that remember that it is YOUR house, and it has to be a place when you feel happy and cozy. No matter what you will choose.
Have fun!!
Oh yes, change those bulbs. Warm that room.
There are some very cool peel and stick backsplashes. It’s my understanding that it will come right off so no damage or commitment. I would add something that will give you some color and pattern (blue or green- maybe chevron pattern). Find a larger rug and dish towels that have some of that color. Now you need to add something with a warm contrast tone (this is where Rome comes into it). Hopefully you have enough prep space to have some fun (olive branches in cream vase, something that feels of archeological, accent wall art-check ETSY).
I’d love to see a pic of what you come up with.
first, don’t decorate a house, create a home. put around those things that speak to you of family and friends, and pull your colors from that. don’t go for a “style” or “theme”. embrace the eclectic in your life!
I need a restful place aesthetically, so I can’t do eclectic chaos 🙂
I highly recommend that you look for inspirational images/videos to get an idea of how to go about decorating. Start with the big items, rugs, sofa. There are some great washable rugs out there now. I have one that looks like an aged woven carpet in teals and terracottas but you just pick the whole thing up and throw it in the wash. It’s not a Ruggable. It’s way less expensive and I’ve washed it like 7 times, still looks brand new. I digress. You can warm up the space with textiles in warmer colors. Also, you can get beautiful wall hangings ( like a rug for the wall). In the kitchen, pick one strong color and repeat it three times and decorate to that. You will see this trick a lot in photos of white kitchens. Like Dutch oven on stove, matching electric kettle, matching toaster, matching kitchen towels. Oh, if you get really desperate, they have these vinyl covers that can cover up your appliances. They are magnetic so they come right off. I covered up all my stainless steel appliances with them. Surprisingly, it looked really good. Anyways, lots of luck.
I have two YouTubers for you to check out.
Alexandra Gater does renter-friendly makeovers using different styles according to the makeover recipients’ taste and wishes. This is her most extreme-in-limits (no paint and no drilling holes!) makeover to start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHZnQn6D-2E
The other designer is Caroline Winkler. She has a very distinct style of her own (and she’s slowly decorating her dream—rented!—house), but she also does room makeovers using just the items found in the dwelling she’s in. She will sometimes also do videos of design suggestions for viewers who have sent in photos and measurements, as well as described their needs for the space. This is her funniest video, where she designs interiors for the anonymous men of Reddit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClqNoAQ9NYM
I hope these not only help, but bring you joy!
I came back to this post and in rereading it and comments I remembered that in school we had a project to paint a mural. We used huge rolls of butcher paper. Mine was a Matisse (inspiration: etsy.com/listing/4481655186/vintage-1937-lithograph-odalisque-by?gpla=1&gao=1)
Later I had the fun job of creating a trick or treat maze for young kids out of refrigerator boxes and – craft paper, which is another name for butcher paper. I did scenes from Disney’s Aladdin (Agrabar marketplace) and Max’s room turning into Where the Wild Things Are.
Acrylic paints both times. Art tape to attach it securely to the walls.
So. Much. Fun.
I used them in my live work loft and later my first couple of homes, for parties and Halloween. Pompeii had murals, and mosaics, so …
Heck, I’ve looked at wallpaper sites and gotten the itch to try recreating some of those designs on butcher paper.
I’ve watched this Canadian YouTube-er for awhile. She also offers consults. Give her your “mood board” images, dimensions/layout and she will give you the plan and resource links. Her name is Alexandra Gater. Or just binge watch her channel 🙂
When I was at Uni, my dorm room was boring as hell. But more of a “shades of brown” instead of grays and black. I bought a large amount of cheap fabric in bold colors and used a glue-gun to adhere it to the walls.
Then I heated up my clothing iron and ironed on top of the fabric with glue-gun stuff beneath it. Ironing it really thinned out the glue so it was less obvious and made the cloth look amazing. Much more like wallpaper.
That became my ‘temp’ wall coloring and really made an impact.
Another thing that is possible now – self-sticking shelf paper mimicking metals (copper!) or stone like marble. I had some shelf paper that looked like white marble and covered up a lot of the wood cabinets, closet exteriors.
When I had to move out, everything removed quite easily and didn’t leave residue or marks behind. Even the glue under the fabric just peeled off without leaving anything on the walls.
Hilarious post!
I’m the same way.
Know what I like when I see it, no clue how to get there.
I think you’re ahead of the game.
You gave a pretty good visual base.
I agree with those suggesting you Google or AI for some visual ideas. I also spent a lot of time cruising FB Marketplace to see what people were getting rid of and how something spoke to me. Estate sales….in person and look for online estate sales that you can bid on stuff auction style and later pick up locally. My style is a bit all over, so I have vintage, mid-century, current…. For me it’s all about color – I need color but not wall color. So furniture, accent pillows, rugs, art.
I’d say go slow. I’m 2 years in our home and still looking at blank spaces on the walls. Took 9 months to decide on an area rug in the living room….
I would not make the walls a dark color. It will make the space smaller. I would add the colors you like in curtains, pillows, art, rugs. You could make the walls more color friendly but a really lght shade. I Google say for example French Country Kitchens. It will give you resources as well as pictures.
Oh Mod R. Congratulations. I look at everything, Pinterest, YouTube, design books, IG, HomeGoods,thrift shops. Sit and think and dream. Don’t buy all at once. Don’t clutter it like I did, in a rush to get it done. Have fun and take your time.
Hey Mod R. I suggest that you go to YouTube and watch Alexander Gater (a decorator based in Canada. She decorates rental apartments for people based in Toronto area. Hopefully she can give you ideas on how to get sroubd the restriction of being a renter in a space that does not feel like your space.
How to change an ugly apartment floor without causing damage:
https://youtu.be/UYrzx54qXos?si=RxPGBvpCX2LciCn8
I can’t interior design for peanut.. but a plant and a grow light is always good
Hi Mod R 😊
Sorry I am very very late to the party on this one.
As a fellow UKer I hear you!! grey? ugh no way!! Italy instead?? yes pleeeeease! Sounds like you have great taste already, and it might be boring but your new place is a blank canvas – no splashes of nauseating -migraine-inducing colours from previous eras to deal with first – yay!
I’m no expert of course and the Horde has already given you some brilliant ideas to work with (like change the lights to warm white for sure!! definitely no cold white industrial lighting + 200 ) but just incase it helps, I remember one comment from when I first read your post and got lost looking at wall hangings/Tapestries from that link.
And I saw this Italian inspired one. It has a grey/black back and the fringe around it has those colours too but mixed with the colours from this scene so it blends the two really well- it has most of the colours you like, and it looks like you have an open window with a view overlooking the cost from Apulia 🥰☀️🌊 Available in 3 different sizes, so you can choose the best fit.
Then you can choose your other key items/colour highlighted pieces for your new place from here and add in some darker terracotta or red pieces that are darker shades or lighter shades of what is in the pic if you want an even more Pompeii look.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4345373817/italy-vacation-souvenir-100-cotton-woven?ls=r&external=1&rec_type=cs&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-5&pro=1&content_source=de4eed33e3ed1046f6fe6c90707aaa53%253ALTc399bc9f389d9468ce4d32fa6dfddae195912802&logging_key=de4eed33e3ed1046f6fe6c90707aaa53%3ALTc399bc9f389d9468ce4d32fa6dfddae195912802
It’s not cheap but worth going for if you only buy one or two major pieces at higher prices then shop around for bargains for the rest with this pic to take your colours from while you shop.
Just an idea. You might already have vanquished the grey by now!!
Wishing you all the best!! have fun! Enjoy your new home! 😁
I’ve learned to be sensitive to the light. If I can’t get sunlight in my house (my current place has awkward windows, for example), then all my lamps need warmer, softer bulbs and employ lamps that invoke candlelight. I am not above buying a string of colored fairy lights and using these instead of the curtain rod for some sheers on the windows. It makes for a nice night light effect that just makes me smile. I have a couple favorite art pieces that I always put where I can see them. (Sepia etching of a Roman ruin, favorite fairy tale prints, warm cream/light photos, and of course the Periodic Table of the Fruits and Nuts) I would rather have warm fabric draping a table than knicknacks, so I use these to switch out color seasonally.
First, look up “Color Wheel” on Wikipedia. Find an example and color print it.
Know that colors directly across the wheel from each other are “Complements” of each other–a little of one complement brightens its opposite. If, on your wheel green is opposite or across the wheel from red then they are complements. (different designers have created different color wheels.) Equal parts of complements like red and green placed next to each other will drive you nuts, BUT a small piece of green will actually brighten the bigger piece of red. it also works for blue and yellow or yellow orange–a dot of one enhances a bigger piece of the other. If you feel soothed by a color ( some people like greens and blues, others like pinks) pick bigger things of those colors and add dots of color of the complements (like a small pillow or napkins). Another note on ‘color.’ Adding white to a color creates a “tint”. Adding black to a color creates a “shade”. With the sharp contrast already created by the black cabinets against the white walls, I would likely use full colors instead of tints or shades.
Your photo shows a cabinet style currently known as “mid-century modern.” Lots of straight lines, geometric shapes. If you like that you will find lots of similar furnishings of this popular style which came into fashion through the genius of Danish designers around the late forties and fifties. You can soften the impression by adding soft cushions and using nubby fabrics. You may also consider hanging fabrics on white walls, perhaps a weaving and possibly a quilt as a headboard or as a friendly cover for a blank wall, This works especially if you are’t sure if you want to purchase art work for the walls at this time. Hanging fabrics gives you a relaxed time to slowly find special things for decoration. There are adhesives now available you can use for fabrics that leave no marks on walls (be careful of quilts–there are special hangers for expensive or historic ones). If you like the smooth black surfaces in the kitchen that’s great. If you don’t like it, look for placemats that would look nice adhered to the cabinet doors. Consider color blocks for the cabinet doors which have both the floor’s grey and your favorite terra cotta red? Potted greenery provides the complement. Again the black is so vivid that tints might look wimpy. Does your community have art fairs or a weavers guild? And adding greenery in the form of hanging pots and more always softens lines. Use your appreciation of terra cotta colors with their complements of greens and olives, sea blues with the complements of creams and golds, or reverse them with a beach of cream and an accent of blue–any way it works.
Work slow. Your home needs to make you happy.
I know the feeling! Try looking for wallpaper stickers. Some companies sell “murals”. We bought a beach scene for my daughter’s room that brightened up the whole space and made it happier.
Hi! I am totally new to the horde but I’ve loved the books -well actually all books forever. I love to craft. Knit, crochet, cosplay, bead. So I use Ott lights. They’re a full spectrum light designed for sewing but wonderful all over my place. Since I’m not on a decorating deadline I like to make my stuff. Also if you have a color and an idea try thrift stores.
Dotti from Atlanta
Not sure what your kitchen situation is, but peel and stick tiles are your friend! There is peel and stick renter friendly wallpaper and flooring as well. Youtube and TikTok are full of uber creative renters. I am obsessed with seeing what people can do in some pretty boring apartments. Good luck!
Well i am Late and hope you have fun and feel comfortable with the result!
First I would suggest getting some Basic furniture in a warmer Wood shade in a shape you like.
Then I would suggest choosing 3 colours like many others for the Sofa, carpet, drapes, pillows …( you might consider the colour of the Wood a colour too)
Now some colour theory nerdiness:
The choosing of different brightness and light/ dark of this 3 colours is important:
1st should be brightest
2nd should be more muted and maybe darker or lighter
3rd might either be darker or lighter than than the others and or a neutral
For example: the brightest is a nice warm Terrakotta orange, complimentoryis a darker muted Olive Green andg a contrast is a soft light lemon yellow.
Another example: Or a Deep warmer turquoise Blue ( like the mediterranen sea) with a darker softer ocker yellow and light sage Green.
Or bright lemon yellow, a more muted Medium leaf Green and a reddish Wood colour.
Then choose all items in this colours – maybe with some lighter and darker shades… of the same colours.
I would choose 3 colour in the warmer Shades of every colour to compliment each other ( as a Contrast to the stark background).
But if you choose 3 very bright colours it might Look garish together ( think red Blue yellow). And if the colours are all very light, there is
…Not enough contrast.
Take a Picture of the 3 colours next toeach other and Look in black and white at it- it Shows the contrast.
I just stumbled upon this traveling mural artist in Europe who paints & draws on walls and people’s homes. Perhaps you would like this.
Instagram: katdieuxart
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSFpoBQkYlH/
I love decorating : I’ve moved twice and so far, I’m really happy with the cozy vibe I’ve achieved !
When I’ve no inspiration, I went to a Ikea store ! I’m not always buying things there but it gave me inspiration for the colours, textures and so on !
Good luck with your decorating !
Do you like plants? If not start with succulents and other hard to kill plants. Maybe some colorful mosaics. Softer and squishy furnishings. Jewel toned throws and pillows. Quiet reading corner.
Think of friends houses. Where have you felt the most soothed? Ask those friends for ideas
I look at homes on Zillow, not to buy, but to see how they’re furnished. I look on Pinterest for innovative ideas. I wander through Michael’s or Hobby Lobby for more decorating ideas. Here’s how I would go about furnishing a new place.
Pick a couple of complementary colors to build you theme around. Start with a loveseat and chair. Maybe in a burnt umber or light brown, with grace notes of teal or blue. Pick up the color theme for your dining room chairs or seat cushions and accent with a light tablecloth and runners for the season. Consider
Do you collect? Statuary, pictures? Consider a table accent with pillar candles on a decorative place with smooth river rocks around the base. If you have a balcony or patio, add a glider or chairs with vivid outdoor cushions and a patio table with a metal base and glass top–something that won’t blow over in the wind and won’t break if it tips over.
We have white walls in our living room, but they’re covered with paintings, metal wall art, and printed photos of what’s important to us–with a rustic, frontier, or western theme. Our dining room needs new paint, and I want to remove the beadboard, wood trim and wallpaper. I would thrift frames and wall art, for at least some of it.
If space is tight, perhaps a secretary’s desk could serve as a laptop workstation. Otherwise, I’d buy modular office furniture with complementary bookcases and file cabinets. My hubby and I built a custom L-shaped workstation that maximized the wall space in my bedroom-turned-home office.
We added Sauder office furniture that required assembly. A library table with a bookcase and two-drawer file cabinet, a matching four-shelf bookcase, and a file cabinet topped with a matching hutch. It took some assembly, but that’s what family and friends are for. When space was a little too tight, we trimmed 4 inches off the short leg of my work desk and redid the trim.
If you have a tile, wood, or linoleum floor in the dining area, consider a rug to add a splash of color. I like Persian-style rugs, but there’s an amazing variety to choose from.
Hope this helps!
I have *opinions*
1 – lamps for mental health. As others said – smart lights – go the daylight option ones for combatting seasonal blues.
2 – rug or mat, cover the floor! Maybe even cover the wall – pretend it is an accent room divider and secrets lie behind.
3 – inspiration https://www.nevertoosmall.com/ – yes I get jealous, but gives me ideas for small space living & how to maximise it.
And MR Cliff Tan!!! https://www.dearmodern.com/ – so now you know! Feng shue (and roasting) of strangers rooms as he offers ways to make them flow better
4 – plants- if that fits your Roman villa vibe & budget of energy & coin
Eons ago Christopher Lowell had a decorating show, his technique was “The seven layers of design”. Essentially pick your favorite piece of furniture, drapes, or rug analyze why you like it, i.e. the colors muted or bright, calming or energetic etc.
I suggest, before you buy a lot of stuff, is to look at fabric yardage for something you like and put it up on those grey walls and live with it for several days in light and darkness to see how the color affects the ambiance. Personally I have to have med to light paint colors as dark, grey, tan, brown walls depress me. There are many ways to turn wall color into simply background by what you hang up or place in front of them. Any library should have decorating books or magazines for ideas. Decorating is very personal and thank God for secondhand stores. its amazing what you can find!
There are all kinds of renter friendly products available now. Goid hunting!
Houzz app. Now – yes, much more than what you are asking for but “renter-friendly” doesn’t mean it has to stay soul less. Then find the closest charity shop and check out if it is in your price range. Then – not sure if English social media does this too – FB marketplace and search on “rug”, etc. based on the comment re: floor, you might want something right now. Apartment therapy works. If you are diy and into hacks – many threads on Reddit
First off I’m sorry you have to try to mesh Mediterranean and modern dark wood modern.
From a veteran renter: Forget drywall screws, put a nail into the stud, if what you want to hang is between studs put a nail into two studs and hang it on a string. I’ve never personally used a drywall screw in my life because they leave such horrible holes in the walls. Sometimes with heavy things you can also just put in like five to ten nice super hard small finishing nails and it’ll spread the weight enough to just put them into the drywall and hold up something heavy and stationary, we did that with a 3×4 picture at each apartment with one of those metal toothy bars on the back, and it’s never given us trouble or been hard to cover up the tiny holes later.
The other thing I learned after long-term renting was that I never painted because I’d have to paint it back at the end… but I wish I’d just just painted it honestly since I was going to stay there for years. Lots of places will let you paint if you paint it back to their way before you leave, just make sure they tell you their paint colors and production company at the beginning and that’s what they want back at the end.
I also also lack aesthetic sense, but fortunately it seems that my nine-year-old wants to grow up to be an interior designer and has been helping me since she was three or four. She even started using the word pop back then, and I have no idea where she heard it or if she just reinvented it herself. Here’s what I’ve learned as a naturally non-aesthetic decorating person. Find a decoration or something that you really love and then work on building a theme around it, but make sure it doesn’t clash with your wall white because whites can come in cold and warm – if it looks good don’t sweat it, but if it looks wrong…. Cold colors and warm undertones will sometimes just look a little wrong together, so if you have cold white walls just choose cool versions of the colors you want. Cool vs warm is really about the undertones. I lack aesthetic sense for decorating, but I love to paint recreationally (pictures not walls). To explain undertones it’s best to share a story: The first time I painted a still life I set up a little red stool with my black leather tap shoes on a warm wood floor, but when I painted the black shoes they looked wrong. I couldn’t figure it out. Right shape, right shading but wrong. My teacher, who was also an impressive professional illustrator but an even better art teacher, told me that in real life things reflect color on each other. The painted shoes looked wrong because in real life the red from the stool and the gold from the wood were ever so slightly reflected on the shoes. He told me to mix just a tiny bit of red and wood color into the black for the shoes. Suddenly they looked like they belonged in the picture and it looked real and inviting instead of like a cut and paste job. The things you put together will reflect some on each other, and warms undertones against cold sometimes look a little cut and paste, if you get that feeling that might be the problem. With my lack of aesthetic sense sometimes being able to recognize why something is wrong has been a huge step for me, so that I can not just feel frustrated, but also know where to go from there.
I loved someone’s suggestion of mirrors to make the space feel open and curtains to add texture, motion and color, I’ve seen it done beautifully but wouldn’t know how to do it myself. My other advice would be to just try something. Maybe go to the thrift store and get a few cheap things you like that wouldn’t be too much to send back to the thrift store or return, and see what you can make work in the space and what you can’t and think about why and go from there.
Sometimes little things make a big difference. Have you ever been in a staged house that someone is trying to sell? It’s very different from an empty house. I once talked to the stager leaving our neighbor’s house and she didn’t have that many things she was taking out. I wished I had her sense, but the takeaway I got was that making a space comfortable to move through doesn’t always require big things.
The last thing I’ve learned can be illustrated by this really funny video that has nothing to do with decorating and everything to do with people. It’s not a necessary watch, but it’s so funny I wanted to include it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T37hu6RrIE . How many times have you walked into a different part of that house and forgotten what you were doing or why you came in there? This can have to do with decorating. My daughter changed classrooms in preschool and the new teacher was an ECSE who arranged her classroom better and suddenly all the challenges surrounded preschool went away. Why? Because the teacher was awesome, but especially because she’d worked the snags out of her space. Our eyes naturally look for a focus when we move into a new space, and we’ll be naturally drawn towards that, without one we start to feel restless and confused and forget what we were doing. It could be a plant on the coffee table or a series of mirrors behind the couch, a set of half curtains behind the dining room table… if you think back to memories of a space I’ve noticed that the things I remember are often these pieces. The cherry half curtains in my mother-in-law’s kitchen, the brass deer statuette near the fireplace in my grandmother’s house as well as the giant coffee table and the hanging lights over the stairwell. When you first walk into the room (from different areas also) where do your eyes want to go? Put a focal point near there, and try it from different entries, just something to rest your eyes on and guide you comfortably toward where you want to go when you enter the room. My aunt had lots of aesthetic sense and liked to paint accent walls, which have kind of gone out of style some, but it worked well for her. Find what works for you, but give yourself focal points to rest your eyes on so that they aren’t wandering restlessly every time you enter a space and you’ll make the space more comfortable and consider different angles – when you walk into a room and also when you sit down on the couch… if you just can’t stand to sit there and want to sit at the dining room table instead then there might be a lack of focal point from the perspective of sitting on the couch.
You probably knew a lot of these things, but these are the things I’ve learned from lacking aesthetic sense but needing to make space comfortable and renting apartments for a long time. Also lighting! The color and brightness matter. Good luck!!!
Are you sure the lights are fluorescent?(some form of tube shape filled with gas) (Not sure exactly what difference there is in light sockets from US to UK)
LED bulbs besides saving energy also come in a ranges of “colors” aka temperatures (2700K is warm yellow, ranging almost to 5000K, super bright white) and also in “color changing” which lets you set the white you want. Light temp is a personal preference but changing the bulbs should soften the house. Also, you can look for bulbs that mimic actual sunlight(NOT “daylight” color, those are harsh white”). GE makes a series of bulbs called “reveal” that do a good job- you can tell if they are true sunlight cause the bulb is faintly blue. (My sister said she noticed the difference and they helped with the lack of sun in the winter)
Also- peel and stick wall art- Amazon has tons – will let you add personal style touches and color, large or small, without making any permanent changes
I’m sorta late to the party but hope this helps!
Hi Mod R,
as I have experienced a fire in my apartment three years ago, I know about putting something together fast.
My advice concerns not the already listed objectives but the following experience:
use wood to give the entire environment a more natural and historic feel (the kind and color are not important, up to you, look at old palaces from the Mediterranean). And buy used stuff! I got an large original oriental rug 2 by 3 meters for a hundred euros at a use furniture place and the cleaning cost me only a 130 euros more. For book shelves: buy real wood like Ivar, not Billy. It can also be painted later.
Hi! I use Pinterest,. Apartment Therapy, and Dwell Magazine as some inspo. You might assist be surprised at what’s available in the design section of the library. I’m a renter and have found some great renter friendly options. Felt tiles to give a wall color are super fun and easy to install. Good luck and have fun!
Spring or grass green (as in those tiny plants in the photo) always looks good against black. Brass and copper -colored pots for plants bring warmth. Might be a little costly, but I’d suggest adding an accent wall with removable stick-on wallpaper – something with green and white – a leaf and/or floral print – to soften and contrast with black if you have lots of black colored cabinets as in the photo. Inexpensive area rugs can also help to bring in some softening pops of color.
Hope this helps!
Just read an NYT article on DIY Wallpaper without the Work (Tim Heffernan)–use gessoed blank canvas & paste wallpaper on it in a pattern that you like. Light, easy to hang, any size that fits your space, any color or design. You can use Command strips (wall must be perfectly smooth, removal best down carefully & according to directions) or coordinating ribbon to hang if you have a picture rail, although you do need to get the right hooks for this.
I start with a piece of fabric. Find something that speaks to you and then center everything around it. Make pillows out of that fabric. Choose coordinating solids and patterns. Don’t be afraid of a couch. That’s a color like dark green velvet, or even yellow. There are some lovely faux olive tree plants. I highly recommend getting at least one and putting it in a lovely pot. You could also do terra-cotta pots with some shaped shrubbery in them. Don’t be afraid of lemons they’re very Mediterranean and add a lovely pop of color as a fabric
I’m late to this post ,so maybe its superfluous but according to my lifelong transfer prone life experience, just add rugs on floor according to your colour preference, add candles and light fixtures that provide a warm light to nullify the white walls . ..also add bright splashes of colours in the form of bright cushions/ throws and bright prints or paintings/ posters of your choice to brighten the walls… some flowers and I find it becomes livable.
Best of luck ..and may you find happiness and sanctuary in your abode.✨️💃✨️
I have learned a lot from watching Caroline Winkler on YouTube! She does a lot of videos that help you understand how to accomplish you design style and how to deal with what is making your space feel uncomfortable.
https://youtube.com/@caroline_winkler?si=CO_e3ZKb70tBudFo
But like others have said, things that will make your space feel less sterile for any design style are warm light, (especially in lamps so you don’t have to use the big light), rugs (make sure it’s big enough for the front legs of your living room furniture are on the rug), art is a must, and if you put up curtains, which can add a lot of coziness, make sure they mount close to the ceiling no matter your window height and touch the floor.
I do a lot of google search for images for ideas for projects. In your case, type in the description you wrote on the message, and then adjust from there. Then I do screenshots for reference.
If you don’t want to be stuck buying new objects, go through your possessions and pick a few that have something you really love aesthetically, and do from there.
You can get relatively inexpensive wire setups that have clips on them to hang curtains or bolts of cloth to use as wall coverings or room dividers.
Or just use a stapler to staple stuff into drywall. A staple remover is easier than worrying about adhesive.