If you’ve come here feeling exuberant about closing escrow on your dream home, congratulations! It’s a really special feeling, and becoming a homeowner for the first time is a milestone well worth celebrating.
But even if you’re moving into your second, third, or tenth home, you want to make it a space you’ll love coming to, a space where you’ll be creating new memories. A place for happiness, reflection, and a token for a brighter future.
Here’s how you can make it the best space it could possibly be – or simply, home in the truest sense.
Settle on a color scheme
Before you move in a single piece of furniture, you’ll need to paint the walls first.
Even if you like the present color scheme of the space, take some time to think about the vibe each room should ideally have and find a color to match. Don’t settle for something that’s already there just to save yourself some trouble. This is now your space, and you need to feel your best in it.
Different colors will bolster different moods, so take that into consideration, and do a test run on a small section of a wall before you start painting in earnest.
Go through your furniture options
You may be moving into the new place some of the furniture you already own, in which case, reconsider your options.
Just because a coffee table now sits in the bedroom, it doesn’t mean it needs to stay in the bedroom.
Consider which pieces of furniture you could reasonably purchase, and try to match what you have with what you need in line with the mood and color scheme you’ve previously settled on. As for the old furniture you’re bringing in, as well as the existing elements in the new home (such as the floors or cabinets), consider freshening them up.
Always start with the largest pieces in a room: the bed, the dinner table, the sofa, since it will be much easier to find smaller items to match them, instead of the other way around.
Don’t forget about safety
Sadly, we don’t live in a cozy and harm-free utopia, which is why we all need to take some time out of our day and ensure our homes are protected.
When moving into a new space, you have an invaluable chance to get this right.
Think about the number of different sensors you need around the home and have them installed before you start the painting and decorating.
That way, you’ll figure out a way for them to blend in. No one wants to look at a smoke alarm, but it needs to be there, so figuring out the best location for it will be much easier before you actually have all the furniture in.
If you’re unsure about sizes and how everything will fit, you can find an app that will help you design your virtual home and let you see how things would look.
Think about the details
In their desire to have their new home ready for moving in, people often rush the process. They end up buying things that don’t go well together, or that they realize they don’t actually like once they see them in their own space.
While settling on the large items can be done quickly and with fairly little fuss, don’t rush into buying the accessories and smaller details. Wait until you’ve not only seen the space, but lived in it for a while.
Items that should be on your list of detailing include rugs, cushions, shelf fillers, wall art, plants, and so on.
How could you possibly tell if they will go with the new space, without getting a feel for it first?
Designate a notepad for the purpose and take it with you around the home as you write things down. For example: need a light pillow to go on right side of sofa, need a dark pillow for left side of sofa, need one comfy throw, need basket for throw, and so on.
You can, of course, always jump on Instagram, Pinterest, or turn to your favorite home decor magazines and find endless inspiration for this part of your home decorating adventure.
Think about the lighting
The one thing that can change a room completely is the way it is lit. Think about the lighting schemes that would go best with the moods and feelings you’ve already come up with for every room.
Rooms you spend a lot of time in, like the kitchen and home office, need to be well-lit even in all the nooks and crannies, while living rooms and bedrooms can have more subdued light.
Make sure to work with as much natural light as you can, and incorporate artificial light sources where they would contribute the most.