Budget Friendly Upgrades For Your Home

Overhauling interiors is all-consuming on every level. From the sheer effort required to clear the room, to finding time to actually carry out the work, and then there is the cost. Much as I love creating new interiors, these days it can be hard to balance a room project with the daily juggling of kids, running a business and actually enjoying some downtime. 

So, if, like me, there are rooms in your house in need of an upgrade, here are a few designer-led hacks that will instantly improve the overall aesthetic, and crucially don't require huge amounts of effort or cash!

1. Rethink Lighting

Have a look at the lighting as your first port of call. There is a reason high-end interior projects hire a lighting specialist: good lighting instantly elevates a room's overall look. Shortly after the clocks changed last winter, I added a small table lamp to a kitchen shelf, where it illuminated a framed poster. This immediately softened the overall feel of the kitchen and created a small area of interest that was instantly pleasing to the eye, thanks to a small wooden table lamp and a repurposed shade I found in a cupboard. 

Switching around table lamps helps create new focal points and, particularly in living spaces, creates cosy corners for sitting with a book.

Changing the shade on central ceiling lights is also a game-changer. All of the pendant shades in our range fit the standard issue B22 white ceiling fitting. So, even in a home where changing the ceiling fittings isn't an option, the shade can be switched. The eye is drawn away from the basic flex toward the pendant fitting. My other favourite shade is the oversized paper globe shades. My Mum bought these from Habitat when I was small, and now, like most things, they've gone full circle and are back. These create an eye-catching focal point over a table and are inexpensive to buy.

And finally, on the subject of lighting, look at your bulbs. Swap the hard white low-energy bulbs for a softer, warm white Edison-style globe. Nothing and no one benefits from the harsh glare of the modern low-energy white-light bulb. Save it for the dentist's chair. The warm light emitted by a filament globe offers a flattering glow that creates welcoming interiors.

Shop our lighting range here

2.  Declutter and restyle

An obvious one, but instantly effective. Clutter is easy to accumulate; I find it a distraction and quite difficult to remove. From the magazine articles that need saving, to the school projects brought home by the kids and the "missing" Lego component. Clear surfaces really do clear the mind. If you need some encouragement to start the task, I find selling the clutter helps. I have three go-to apps/marketplaces:

• Vinted  for clothes/shoes/bags
• We Sell Books for books
• Facebook Marketplace for furniture

Start with a corner; bookshelves are usually a good place to start. Sort the books that are keepers, clean the shelving and then restyle the shelves. You may draw the line at the colour-curated trends that were a feature of the Covid lockdowns, but it is a great way to lift the overall look of the room, particularly if combined with a lighting reset. 

I find this task more enjoyable if I narrow it down to a small area. A side table, for example, add a table lamp and a couple of small curated pieces, such as a framed photograph.

Decluttering also extends to the wall space. We all have artwork that is no longer to our taste; try switching things around to freshen up the walls.

For items that are necessary but not aesthetically pleasing, consider storage options. A pretty box file for the magazine articles, and clear cupboard space for shoes or sporting equipment.

And as for those creations that come home from school. I was recently inspired by Trinny Woodall, who had showcased all of her daughter's school pottery in a glass display cabinet. I am currently on the lookout for something similar.

3. Add greenery

A magazine stylist once told me that he never attended a house shoot without armfuls of cut flowers. Flowers immediately improve a room, creating a focal point and drawing the eye. It doesn't have to be flowers; a fern on a kitchen dresser provides a great foil and lifts everything around. Here are a few of my favourite suggestions for adding greenery:

• A potted pelargonium in an old terracotta pot (look out for original pots at car boot sales)
• Cut flowers from the garden. If you're tight on space, try Cosmos, Cornflowers or Dahlias; all can be grown easily in a container and will provide abundant cut flowers.
• Potted kitchen herbs, Basil and Thyme, for the kitchen windowsill. Fragrant and great for adding to cooking
• Baby's Tears (Soleirolia) for the bathroom. I love the delicacy of the leaves and the mound shape they create. Pot it in a vintage clay pot; it is perfect for any room, but particularly the bathroom.

Shop our range of indoor plant pots here

4. Swap Hardware

Updating handles on cabinets and drawers is a small change that creates a big visual impact. I love doing this, simply because it produces maximum effect with minimum effort-my type of hack!

There are various ways of approaching this upgrade. At its most basic level, exchange the drawer pull for one with a threaded spindle and secure it on the inside of the drawer/cupboard. There are various styles and finishes available, including wooden shaker-style handles, hand-painted and colourful ceramic handles, and cast metal handles.

Taking it to the next level and achieving a glossier, high-end finish. Consider Georgian antique brass cup pulls, beloved of the bespoke kitchen companies. This will instantly elevate the overall finish, although there is a little more work involved.

My other favourite upgrade for the kitchen is adding a hanging rail. I am a big fan of hanging rails and open shelving in the kitchen. I love the aesthetic this adds to the kitchen, and it is also so much easier to cook and work in a kitchen with things close to hand. Add a hanging rail with sliding meat hooks and hang tea towels, saucepans and utensils. You can be creative with the positioning of the rail; our hanging rails are perfect for placing on the underside of a shelf or cabinet, the pictured rail above, runs along a beam in our own kitchen, providing both a feature and plentiful hanging capacity.

5. Refresh With Paint

A recent favourite of mine is to add a border. No, not the wallpaper border circa Laura Ashley 1982! A paint border is so easy to add and will instantly add another dimension. Dig out the frog masking tape and pick out a tone in the existing room tones. Add a 7.5 cm-deep wall border along the skirting board and around door frames, using masking tape to ensure a crisp edge. This can also be applied around a window frame or fireplace.

Small changes- Big differences...

Shop our affordable house & garden favourites here

Thanks for reading.

Alex x