How To Make A Practical Space Look Stylish

Whether it’s your garage, kitchen, utility room, laundry room or attic space, everyone has a room in their home that they’ve neglected or a room that has overtime simply become a room for storage. Well, now it’s time to reclaim that space. With a little TLC, you can take your room from dull to beautiful in absolutely no time at all.

Not only will putting in a little effort make your home a nicer place to be, but it’ll also increase the value when it comes to selling your property, allowing it to become an investment in your future. And, in today’s housing market, anything that can give you a competitive edge is surely worthwhile.

Upgrading your boring old room doesn’t mean you have to go overboard with floral fabrics and expensive works of art on the wall. There is beauty in simplicity after all and less is usually more. The ‘Shaking Quakers’ who were behind the popular Shaker kitchen design trend lived by the motto ‘beauty rests on utility’. This blog will show you how to infuse your space with a simple and timeless style you and your family will love.

Here are a few simple steps for transforming your practical space from plain to pretty.

Embrace Your Colour Schemes

One of the best parts of interior design is getting creative with colour schemes. Even if your ideal colour palette is filled with varying shades of white and cream, you can still be creative. If you have an existing colour scheme in your home that you’re in love with, translate it into this space. You may want to add a feature wall or invest in some colourful prints or furnishings to allow you to create some flow and tie things together. Remember, it’s not just about paint or wallpaper. There are so many ways to infuse colour into your room’s design.

You can also use colour to your advantage if you’re working with a dark or tight space. Lighter colours, for example, create the impression of more space. While clever use of some warmer dark tones can make a cold space feel cosy.

Invest In Decoration & Accents

Speaking of colour, your room’s decoration pieces or design accents are great ways to subtly introduce colour. Not to mention a chance for you to express yourself. Consider your favourite style and the kind of elements you’re likely to see. For a traditional or country style space, for example, you might include some vintage accessories or prints. Or for a luxury modern feel, incorporate some high-end accents such as rose gold light fittings or marble surfaces.

One accent piece every room should feature is a mirrored surface. Mirrors enhance natural light and create the illusion of space. This could be a full-sized wall mirror, a reflective tabletop or a mirrored vase all of which will do the trick.

Consider the materials you’re using. You don’t have to stick with plain countertops or basic flooring. There are countless options that will give your room that added boost and take it from dull to dreamy. How about a butcher block counter or some funky vinyl tiles? Practical, but stylish too.

Hide Those Eyesores

Unfortunately, not everything in our homes can be beautiful. Ever seen a “stylish” vacuum? If so, let us know! Or, how about cleaning products? Of course, you can hide most of these behind cabinets. But, if you’ve run out of cupboard space or you don’t want to crowd your walls with too many cabinets, there are other ways to hide those eyesores you need but that otherwise mess up your carefully planned decor.

This can be done by getting creative with your cupboard space, no one wants to open their cupboard and have a million things fall on them. We would suggest having hooks on cupboard doors – Hooks can work well for hanging up tea towels, oven gloves or even a dustpan and brush – leaving you more space to use in the actual cupboard.

Another suggestion could be to use stackable containers, most of the time we run out of space due to the oddly shaped bottles that our favourite products come in, but by transferring it over to a stackable container or jar – you can simply stack your products, leaving you more room for other things.

Built-In Appliances

The increase in popularity of integrated appliances in interior design is a testament to the idea that people want a more streamlined look for their space. Built-in appliances can help make a room look more put together.

Of course, if you don’t have the budget to invest in a set of brand new integrated appliances, you can always get a little crafty and add custom built doors to hide your freestanding appliances. That way, no one needs to see that old cheap Bosch washing machine except when it’s time to do laundry! This gives you a bit more flexibility if you aren’t ready to commit to one style.

Hang Curtains

If doors aren’t an option, why not consider installing some curtains to hide things behind? They are easy to put up and can be quickly removed if you change your mind. A flexible, more versatile way to hide things, without breaking the bank. Choose a stylish fabric that compliments your design scheme and get cracking.

Use Storage Boxes

For those smaller items like food, tools or cleaning products, storage boxes are your friend. If you have open shelving, storage boxes will make them look a lot neater than a ton of loose items hanging around. If they’re high up, labelling the boxes will save you time when you need to find something.

Even if it’s a room you’ll just be doing chores in or storing your car, these extra touches will brighten up the space and make it somewhere pleasant to be. And, who knows? Maybe you’ll find yourself spending more time there once it’s had an upgrade. Check out Nathan James where you can find cabinets to store your nice storage boxes.

Bring The Outside In

If you don’t want to go out and buy lots of new artwork for you to inject colour to your home, don’t worry! We have another solution. Head to the florists or even out to the garden and gather some beautiful flowers once you have done this, grab a vase and arrange your flowers however you like! This will instantly inject colour and a lovely smell into your home.

One of the nicest things about doing this is that you will have different flowers depending on the season, giving your home a hint of a different colour each season.

At the moment we are spending a lot more time at home than usual which gives us the opportunity to do things around the house which we otherwise would be unable to do. If you would like more inspiration take a look at some of our other blog posts for more design inspiration. If you have decided to redesign your home please head over to our socials and post a picture so we can see what you have done with your once dull space. We can’t wait to see what you do!