Easy Ways to Personalise your First Home!

Living in a rented property can sometimes be a bit impersonal. Landlords have a lot of rules about what you can and can’t do to the house, and most won’t let you paint the walls, let alone put up any pictures. You never quite feel at home because you can’t put your own stamp on the place. But when you finally buy your first family home, you’ve finally got the chance to make it your own. Now that the house is actually yours, you can do whatever you like with it - so don’t hold back. Today I'm going to share some easy ways that you can personalise your first home!

Hang Some Photos 

Family photos are the ideal way to personalise your home. Get some of your favourites printed out professionally, and take them to a picture framing company to get them displayed properly. Remember, it’s your house so you can drill into the walls wherever you like and put the pictures up. Just don’t go overboard and cover every surface with photos, because you might regret it later. Put up a few in the living room and some in the hallways, and the house will start to feel a little more like home in no time.

Paint the Exterior 

The easiest way to change the entire look of the house is to paint the exterior. It’s also a good idea if the house is an older property, because a new coat of exterior paint will give it a bit more protection against the weather. Chances are it’s currently a bit of a neutral colour, so why not paint it again in a more interesting colour? If you think painting the entire house is a too bigger job, you can still give the outside of the house a bit of a lift if you just paint the front door instead. The door is like the centrepiece of the exterior of the house, so if you paint it in a bright, eye catching colour, it’ll make a big difference!

If the house has nice wooden windows, that’s another simple detail that you can change. The window frames will really stick out if you paint them in an interesting colour so don’t limit yourself to a boring brown or black. Just make sure that it still goes well with the rest of the exterior colour, especially if you’re leaving it as it is.

Swap out Fixtures 

If you don’t like the bathroom or the kitchen in your new house, you could rip the whole thing out and replace it all. But that’s going to be pretty expensive! You can still update the bathroom and the kitchen in the mean time though, by swapping out the fixtures. Replacing the taps, or the handles on the toilet will cost a fraction of the price, but jazz up the room. Just make sure that you’re matching the new fixtures with the rest of the decor if you aren’t making any more changes.

Have a Good Clean 

The smell in your home makes a big difference, and it’ll make you feel more at home if it smells just like your old place did. Give the house a thorough deep clean before you move in, to make it feel fresh and more like your own home. If you use the same products you used in your old house, it will make your new home feel more like yours!

Change the Light Shades 

The light shades are an accessory that people usually underestimate. You don’t notice them that much when you’re walking around the home, but if you’ve got interesting ones they can make all of the difference. Why not replace the current fittings with something more exciting? The right light fixture can be a great centrepiece in a room and it’s a simple way to inject a bit of your own personality into the room.

If you’re going for a more rustic decor style around your home, you could take the light shade off entirely and put in some vintage effect light bulbs instead. That stripped back look works great in a room that has a very traditional feel.

Get Inventive with Colour on the Walls 

If you’ve been living in rented properties for a while, you’re probably fed up with cream coloured walls. It's great for keeping a property neutral, but it's also soo dull! But there are no limits with your own home, so you can do whatever you like. Feature walls with bold patterned wallpaper or even a mural are a great way to completely revitalise a room and make it your own.

When you’re picking colours from the room, you need to consider the function of the space because different colours are best suited to different activities. If you’re painting the living room then something like red probably isn’t best, because it’s not a very relaxing colour. And if you’re painting a home office, you should go for blues and yellows because they encourage focus and creativity. Just make sure to have a good think before jumping into painting walls crazy colours!

Accessories

A lot of people get rid of a lot of unwanted items when they’re moving house. But make sure to keep some items though, because you can use some of them in the new place. Anything that has personal memories attached to it (like small ornaments that you bought on holiday) are ideal for personalising your home. Be careful not to make areas too cluttered though, just pick a few select pieces that are special to you and your family, and dot them around the house.

Get Everybody Involved 

Your home should be a reflection of your family, and the best way to achieve that is to let everybody pitch in and make decisions about how to decorate it. Have the whole family come along when you’re picking the colour schemes and furniture for the house, choose family photos together before you put them up on the wall, and let your little ones have a say in designing their own rooms. If you do it this way, you’ll get a bit of the personality of each family member in the home and it’ll all tie together brilliantly.

This is a collaborative post.