Tag: painting cape town

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Ways to make your home look eligant on a budget

Having a high-end looking home can be difficult, especially if you have a tight decorating budget. Fortunately, there are ways – even on a budget – that you can get the high-end look you dream of.Interior designers have shared a few secrets over the years that have given homeowners some insight on how they can make their home look elegant without breaking the bank. From adding pillows and a fresh coat of paint to window treatments and hardwood floors, these are simple solutions you need to know about.

Here, you will discover some of the simplest and least expensive ways to make your home look elegant. Take the time to keep reading – you just might be surprised at these simple tricks to fooling your guests into thinking you live a high-end life.

Crown Molding – Details Matter

It’s all in the details. When it comes to decorating your home to look high-end and custom-made, details are key.  In this instance, the detail is crown molding.

Crown molding has a way of making a room look complete or finished; it brings the ceiling and the walls together, giving them an elegant appearance. Without this finishing touch, rooms tend to look cheap or unfinished.

Fortunately, crown molding is relatively inexpensive (especially the plastic, paintable versions), making it affordable on almost any budget. There are many widths to choose from, but if you want a greater impact, chose the widest trim that your budget will allow.  For the ultimate in glamour, try adding all types on molding to your home, i.e. crown, high baseboard, ceiling beams, columns, ceiling medallions, chair rails etc…

Paint – Color Matters

Paint color is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions to make when decorating a room, especially when the remaining décor will be based off the color palette. However, if elegance is what you are after, there are certain colors that add instant glamour to your home.

Choose one of these two color options—bold and dramatic OR soft, understated hues. These hues allow you to add instant elegance to your home. It simply depends on your color personality in terms of which option you choose.

Painting interior doors black is another great idea. It automatically creates an expensive feeling, without causing much damage to your wallet. If you choose this option, however, be sure to add some black accessories to the space to tie the overall design together.

Pillows – Comfort & Elegance

Pillows throughout your home serve two purposes. One, if they are chosen correctly, they can really punch-up the elegance factor. Two, they provide your guests with a little extra comfort on the couch, and offer a cozy, layered feeling to your rooms.

The comfort aspect speaks for itself, that is, if you choose pillows that are large enough to rest on, and soft. Speaking of size, you want to avoid the standard 12 to 18 inches for a throw pillow. Instead, choose something larger, such as a 22-inch pillow cover stuffed with 24-inch inserts.

Large, overstuffed pillows create a very plush, elegant appearance—and don’t skimp on the pillow inserts, down-filled is the only way to go.

Window Treatments – A Must-Have Accessory

It’s simple—a home without window treatmentswill look unfinished and cheap. Fortunately, window treatments are one of the most budget-friendly ways to add some elegance to your home, as well as much-needed privacy.

When selecting window treatments you want to make smart choices. For instance, choosing unlined flimsy materials look terribly cheap, even if they are the least expensive option. It is recommended that you avoid see-through materials. This does not mean that you can’t buy off-the-rack curtains. A lot of chain stores offer lined draperies that appear elegant and expensive —even though the price is right.When it comes to window treatments stick with elegant materials such as natural silk, linen and cotton (polyester or man-made fabrics usually look cheap). If draperies are not for you, then try woven bamboo shades or wood blinds. Just be sure to dress your windows—they ensure your home looks elegant and well-designed.

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Interior trends forecast for 2020

In each season we look to give the decoration of our home certain details that will transform it, as well as the seasons, so decorators and designers around the world, show us the trends in decoration that they are imposing in order to beautify our living spaces.

And as it is now close to the end of 2019, now we can already know what are the new trends in decoration for 2020. Ready to meet them?

1. Division of environments with natural materials

Unlike in previous years in which open spaces with communicated environments were sought, in 2020 we will see designs that opt otherwise. The tendency will be to look for divisions that grant greater privacy and intimacy to each environment, so that they are more welcoming.

2. More intimate and welcoming environments

Although we can not deny that open spaces give the feeling of having a larger house, we must also recognize that there are times when that open communication can diminish comfort, such as having kitchen smells in the room or having a lot of noise when you need more peace of mind.

3. Gray

The gray color is still a trend because being a neutral color covers a wide range of combinations and styles that in the next year will be bolder when combined with vibrant colors. It can be applied to paint interior walls and furniture decoration. Also in carpets and textiles.

4. Pink

The pink color has already been present for several seasons in interior decoration and we will continue to see it next year.

5. How to decorate the walls of the house in 2020

Regarding trends to paint or decorate the walls or interior walls of your home in 2020 are the following:

The wallpaper is one of the pawns to decorate the walls of the home and in 2020 will be designs of artistic touch, simulating a canvas with a beautiful work of art.

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Tips to picking a colour palette for the whole house

After looking at ways to work through paint-color procrastination and how to find color inspiration all around you, we are ready to tackle the last, and possibly most challenging, part of our color series: the whole-house paint palette.

If picking one paint color is tricky, how on earth do you find colors for an entire house? How can you know they will go together? Where do you even begin? Join us as we navigate the process of selecting colors for a whole house, and gather inspiration (and maybe a little courage) to tackle your own walls.

NOTE WHICH ROOMS ARE VISIBLE TO ONE ANOTHER

Walk through your house and note which spaces you can see from each room. Use a floor plan (a rough sketch is fine) to keep track.

Adjoining rooms are part of this, but you may be able to see quite a bit farther — down a hall and into the kitchen, for instance. These notes will form the basis of your whole-house color plan, so keep them close at hand.

START BY PICKING OUT A COLOR FOR THE BIGGEST, MOST CENTRALLY LOCATED ROOM

This will most likely be your living room or kitchen, and it’s a great place to start working on your whole-house palette.

If picking colors has been stressing you out, choosing a soft, neutral hue for the main room will make picking the other colors easier. And you really can’t go wrong with white.

OR START WITH THE ROOM YOU WANT TO PAINT THE BOLDEST COLOR

If you love color and have a certain hue in mind for a specific room, you can start there instead. Looking out from the bold-hued room, choose a softer, more subdued color for the next rooms. You can, of course, put bold colors next to each other, but that does carry more risk — painter, beware!

BUILD YOUR PALETTE WITH SHADES OF THE SAME HUE

Once you have a paint color picked for your first room, one simple way to move on is to choose shades of the same hue for adjacent rooms or walls. You can choose a hue from a nearby paint chip, pick the next color up or down on the same paint chip, or even have the same color mixed at the paint store with white added to make a lighter version.

The beauty of this method is that, while it will give your home interest and depth, you also can rest assured that the colors will go well together.

CONSIDER KEEPING CONNECTING SPACES NEUTRAL

White, beige, greige and the like are fairly foolproof choices for halls and landings, and they give the eye a place to rest between areas of more saturated color.

On the other hand, if you have decided to stick with white or soft neutrals in your rooms, the halls and landings can be a great place to experiment with a richer hue. It doesn’t need to be a big departure from the other colors you are using — just a shade or two darker is enough to make an impact.