From painting a feature wall to buying statement lighting, discover how to decorate with Good Homes Magazine's easy tips and tricks that require minimal effort but provide maximum impact.
This handy guide to decorating is packed with simple tips and DIY ideas so you can style your home like a pro.
Adding a splash of paint, a wallpaper refresh or on-trend lighting fixtures can make a huge impact to any dull living space.
From how to paint a feature wall to introducing a new colour into your decorating scheme, Good Homes Magazine's editor, Karen Walker reveals some easy tips to cleverly update a room.
Buy industrial style elements
Image: David Cleveland
Create an edgy, urban look with a combination of tough materials, such as galvanised metal, painted enamel, concrete and reclaimed timber.
It’s a strong statement, so team with light and neutral-coloured walls and weave in vintage pieces and plenty of plants and flowers for an established result.
Paint a mural wall
Image: Max Attenborough
Zone an office or homework area by creating a focal-point wall. Pick out colours from elsewhere in your scheme, such as in the wallpaper or on the sofa, and choose tester pots in similar shades.
Draw a graphic design on your wall with a pencil and large ruler and use tape to define the sections. Paint in the shapes, letting each one dry before removing tape.
Display a stylish statement desk and chair in front of the geometric mural to finish off your office area.
Add lighting to define a space
Image: Holly Jolliffe
Even if it’s a modest corner of your kitchen rather than a whole room in its own right, clever lighting can work wonders in a social eating space. Ambient lighting is usually pendants over the table.
Consider the style you choose carefully – clear glass will give general ambient light, and can work particularly well when paired with frosted bulbs to give a softer glow, whereas solid shades will act more like downlighters, providing more focused pools.
Create a gallery wall
Image: Oliver Gordon
Make a statement above a sofa by grouping pictures to create a gallery.
Link your prints by a theme, keeping one style of artwork or the same colour frames for a co-ordinated result.
Introduce a new colour to your scheme
Image: Joanna Henderson
Bring a contemporary space to life with splashes of hot [pink and pops and blocks of sapphire blue for depth and contrast.
Soften the edges with watercolour paint effects.
Mix up prints and patterns
Image: Holly Jolliffe
Using more than one design will help turn a plain scheme into something more interesting.
Apply the same pattern throughout, but go for a different colour behind the headboard so it becomes the focus. Keep other elements simple to allow the bold and interesting feature to take centre stage.
A striped carpet in similar tones to the paper helps bring the focus further towards the bed and walls.
Decorate with lush indoor plants
Image: Max Attenborough
Give a conservatory or garden room a fresh feel with plenty of foliage teamed with botanical fabrics and shades of green.
Add a fern-print screen to divide a room or act as a window dressing in the evenings – it can be whipped out of the way on sunny days.
Combine relaxed linens with garden-inspired accessories, such as watering cans and rustic wicker trugs for storage. Realistic faux plants and blooms are perfect for drafty spaces, and they need minimal maintenance.
By the Good Homes Magazine editors.
