You don't have to buy the latest furniture and accessories to give your home a new lease on life. It is possible to reinvent your space by refreshing the elements you already have or making a few easy changes. Here are Vanessa Sicotte's tips and tricks for updating your decor while spending wisely. Vanessa Sicotte is a decorator, author, TV host and IRIS ambassador.
MOVE!
We shake up our habits by changing the usual layout of our furniture and accessories. For example, we move the sofa away from the wall, create a reading area between the dining room and the kitchen, install the living room rug in our bedroom, or give a console vocation to the chest of drawers in the guest room. We also review the placement of knick-knacks and frames: sometimes, an item that goes unnoticed in one room can become the focal point in another.
UPDATE
To give new life to a piece of family furniture or to transform our old kitchen chairs, we provide them with a beauty treatment. And we can modify all furniture, even those that are not very valuable. "A stool bought at a discount in a department store can get a makeover," says Vanessa Sicotte. Check out her blog, damasketdentelle.com, whose show "Sauvez les meubles!" has contributed to the popularity of makeovers.
GET A PRO TO REUPHOLSTER
When a sofa, chair or another piece of upholstered furniture needs some love, it's best to have a specialist do the job. "It may cost almost as much as buying a new model," says Vanessa Sicotte, "but you'll enjoy a unique piece of furniture that will help personalize your home." What types of furniture deserve such a restoration? Those that have a lovely silhouette and a high-quality structure. If in doubt, ask a professional.
LIGHTEN UP YOUR DECOR
You can eliminate the massive and outdated audio-video cabinet in the living room, remove a few wall cabinets in the kitchen, clean up the bookcases by getting rid of a good quantity of books, etc. A difficult chore? Certainly, but afterwards, our decor will seem airier and more spacious.
MAKING THINGS WITH YOUR OWN HANDS
Making things with your hands can be fun, bringing an original and personal touch to your home. Here are some suggestions to get you started: decorate a chest of drawers with stencilled geometric patterns, transform a large log into a side table, and personalize your cushions by embroidering them and adding tassels or pompoms made with coloured threads. Short on ideas? There's no shortage of inspiration on Pinterest.
DISPLAY
To dress up our walls, frame the travel photos, children's drawings and vintage images we've kept preciously in our drawers.
THINK OF GOOD OPPORTUNITIES
One of the most effective ways to refresh our decor is to eliminate the clutter. The concept of waste reduction can easily be applied to decorating: we avoid throwing away unwanted furniture and accessories. The first option, we offer them to our friends and family.
The second option is becoming even more popular since the pandemic; we sell them on a classified ads website. The furniture, materials, and some big items like old kitchen cabinets sell very quickly. Not to mention that it allows us to get an interesting additional income.
SPEND WISELY
For which elements is it worth spending money? This is a question we often ask ourselves when it comes to decorating. To invest your savings wisely, Vanessa Sicotte recommends buying the best quality possible when the objects affect your health or when you use them daily.
