When you’re ready to open your home to personal guests for fun celebrations or business entertaining of professional colleagues, give your house an impressive makeover. You won’t have to remodel your home or improve everything. Focus on the areas of your home where guests will spend most of their time: the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom.
Install Classy Upgrades
If your kitchen appliances are up to date, and your bathroom is attractively decorated, look into getting granite countertops for both rooms. Gorgeous countertops provide a lovely setting for food dishes or decorative displays. Instead of replacing the flooring if it’s still in good condition, get attractive accent rugs that coordinate with themed décor and color palettes.
Update Your Furniture
You don’t necessarily need to replace all your furniture. Pick out a few key pieces of quality design, like a comfortable sofa or a couple of matching upholstered chairs. A stylish sideboard in the dining room, while functional, also makes a nice conversation piece. Replace your living room side tables with a streamlined coffee table or eye-catching bookshelves where attractive centerpieces can be featured.
Use Ambient Lighting
Replace older light fixtures with newer ones that work with the main rooms’ ambiance. Install pendant lights to go with the room’s size and shape. Add wall sconces for mood lighting when desired. For a retro look, find a standing lamp with an interesting light shade that can be moved wherever it is needed. If feasible, install recessed lighting over the fireplace in the living or above the kitchen sink. Outdoor solar ground lights add a nice touch to your home’s entrance.
Add Colorful and Cozy Accents
Toss a woven throw with an interesting design over the back of the sofa or a large wingback chair. Switch your window treatments to a new style; for example, exchange drapes for a valance or sheers. Change your lightbulbs from white to another soft shade. Lay decorative area rugs to freshen the look of the flooring. Mount framed art on one wall for subtle emphasis. A few coordinated figurines or designer glassware will add pizzazz to the overall effect of a room.
With a little creativity, you can dramatically change the look of any room in your home without breaking your budget. Look around the rooms where guests will gather to find the prominent points of attention and consider ways of emphasizing those areas with minor but significant improvements.
