Decorating
9 Style Swaps for a Quick Refresh
Try these easy changes to fittings and furnishings to give your home an instant style boost
After a quick style fix? Making some simple swaps in a couple of rooms can work minor miracles and help you fall in love with your home all over again. Even the most gorgeously styled spaces can benefit from a little switcheroo every now and then, if only to keep you engaged and excited about your surroundings.
You don’t need to do any major works or plan a full-scale refurbishment – this is about making small but smart changes. Take inspiration from these helpful tips and mix things up throughout the year.
You don’t need to do any major works or plan a full-scale refurbishment – this is about making small but smart changes. Take inspiration from these helpful tips and mix things up throughout the year.
Perk up with new handles
This is such an easy change. It won’t cost the earth and will give your drawers, wardrobes and units a completely different feel. As long as your new pulls are roughly the same size as the previous ones, they’ll work as a simple switch.
If you’re adding a new size of handle, it’s an opportunity to embark on a little DIY. Fill the holes where the previous handles were fitted with wood filler, then you will only need to sand and repaint the surface where the old handle used to be for it to look like new.
Check out more handsome handles
This is such an easy change. It won’t cost the earth and will give your drawers, wardrobes and units a completely different feel. As long as your new pulls are roughly the same size as the previous ones, they’ll work as a simple switch.
If you’re adding a new size of handle, it’s an opportunity to embark on a little DIY. Fill the holes where the previous handles were fitted with wood filler, then you will only need to sand and repaint the surface where the old handle used to be for it to look like new.
Check out more handsome handles
Play swapsies with your furniture
You might have a perfectly lovely armchair, sofa and coffee table, but you’ve had them for a while and you’re not excited about them anymore. Don’t chuck them away: simply move them somewhere else in the house, or take them into your work, or to a summerhouse. Try loaning them to a careful friend to love for a few years at their place – or let go altogether and send them to charity.
Once they’re gone, you’ll feel liberated and raring to source a handful of new pieces for yourself. A new rug or a set of dining chairs can give your well-worn and well-loved ‘backdrop’ a big injection of new style.
You might have a perfectly lovely armchair, sofa and coffee table, but you’ve had them for a while and you’re not excited about them anymore. Don’t chuck them away: simply move them somewhere else in the house, or take them into your work, or to a summerhouse. Try loaning them to a careful friend to love for a few years at their place – or let go altogether and send them to charity.
Once they’re gone, you’ll feel liberated and raring to source a handful of new pieces for yourself. A new rug or a set of dining chairs can give your well-worn and well-loved ‘backdrop’ a big injection of new style.
Work on your worktops
Is your work surface looking a bit bashed and stained? Fitting a new one – something different from your last one – will transform the look of your kitchen. It needn’t cost a fortune – certainly nowhere near as much as replacing the entire kitchen – but would make the whole space feel sparklingly new all over again. Check out the quantities and get a quote – it mightn’t break the bank as much as you fear.
Is your work surface looking a bit bashed and stained? Fitting a new one – something different from your last one – will transform the look of your kitchen. It needn’t cost a fortune – certainly nowhere near as much as replacing the entire kitchen – but would make the whole space feel sparklingly new all over again. Check out the quantities and get a quote – it mightn’t break the bank as much as you fear.
Reboot your bed linen
I once had a most inventive cleaner, who would mix things up for me occasionally – arranging accessories differently on a side table, folding carefully chosen bed linen and throws in an unusual way. They would be tiny changes, but ones that would make such a difference.
So why not try making a change? Crisp, new bed linen not only feels great when you slip between the sheets, a new design can make your room seem like a different person’s bedroom – in a good way! Push yourself beyond your comfort zone and make a bolder change than you normally would.
I once had a most inventive cleaner, who would mix things up for me occasionally – arranging accessories differently on a side table, folding carefully chosen bed linen and throws in an unusual way. They would be tiny changes, but ones that would make such a difference.
So why not try making a change? Crisp, new bed linen not only feels great when you slip between the sheets, a new design can make your room seem like a different person’s bedroom – in a good way! Push yourself beyond your comfort zone and make a bolder change than you normally would.
Mix up your art displays
Simply moving all of your art to different locations in your house can make you see it anew for the first time in years. Swap a painting for a mirror or add extra pictures where there used to be just one.
The framed print in this room, propped casually on top of a vintage chest of drawers, might previously have been hung on the wall at the end of a corridor or above a sofa in the living room. Rearranging and reimagining it with the red, leather-bound books and quirky black bull sculpture will have given it a totally different vibe. Take the plunge and move around your wall art and mirrors.
Have a look at some other new and unusual ways to display art
Simply moving all of your art to different locations in your house can make you see it anew for the first time in years. Swap a painting for a mirror or add extra pictures where there used to be just one.
The framed print in this room, propped casually on top of a vintage chest of drawers, might previously have been hung on the wall at the end of a corridor or above a sofa in the living room. Rearranging and reimagining it with the red, leather-bound books and quirky black bull sculpture will have given it a totally different vibe. Take the plunge and move around your wall art and mirrors.
Have a look at some other new and unusual ways to display art
Sexy up your shower
You still love your bathroom, but you fancy a change? It might be possible to swap in new brassware.Traditional exposed shower valves like this one ooze character and add boutique hotel charm.
You might think it would be super expensive, but as long as the controls you’re swapping in are roughly the same size or larger than your old ones, a good plumber should be able to change them easily for you. Your morning drench will feel fresh and new again.
You still love your bathroom, but you fancy a change? It might be possible to swap in new brassware.Traditional exposed shower valves like this one ooze character and add boutique hotel charm.
You might think it would be super expensive, but as long as the controls you’re swapping in are roughly the same size or larger than your old ones, a good plumber should be able to change them easily for you. Your morning drench will feel fresh and new again.
Swap your headboard
Changing your headboard for something startlingly new can make your divan bed a completely different animal.
Do as this homeowner did and hunt down something special. This gorgeous piece of elm was sourced from a Scottish forester, who had huge pieces of rough-edged timber in his yard. It was simply polished up and had some side tables added. You can buy headboards like this, but for at least three to four times the price of doing it yourself.
Changing your headboard for something startlingly new can make your divan bed a completely different animal.
Do as this homeowner did and hunt down something special. This gorgeous piece of elm was sourced from a Scottish forester, who had huge pieces of rough-edged timber in his yard. It was simply polished up and had some side tables added. You can buy headboards like this, but for at least three to four times the price of doing it yourself.
Soup up your sink
So your sink works perfectly, but it’s looking a little tired? Take the plunge and change it for something more inspiring – it really can transform the whole look of the space. This copper under-mounted sink is stunning – or try a crisp white porcelain Belfast sink.
If your last sink was the same size and also under-mounted, a good fitter should be able to make the change from underneath without needing to mess around with the worktop. If your new sink is a new design, you may need a new section of worktop.
TELL US…
Do you have any tips for swaps – big or small – you’ve made to your home fittings or furnishings that have packed a punch? Share your experiences and photos in the Comments below.
So your sink works perfectly, but it’s looking a little tired? Take the plunge and change it for something more inspiring – it really can transform the whole look of the space. This copper under-mounted sink is stunning – or try a crisp white porcelain Belfast sink.
If your last sink was the same size and also under-mounted, a good fitter should be able to make the change from underneath without needing to mess around with the worktop. If your new sink is a new design, you may need a new section of worktop.
TELL US…
Do you have any tips for swaps – big or small – you’ve made to your home fittings or furnishings that have packed a punch? Share your experiences and photos in the Comments below.
Beautiful tiles add such character to bathrooms and kitchens, but if yours aren’t doing it for you any longer, consider changing them. It’s easy to swap a small feature area of tiling, such as a kitchen splashback, for something fresh and eye-catching. It shouldn’t prove too costly, and a good tiler will be able to carefully remove your old tiles without damaging the fittings around them, and quickly install new ones.
For maximum wow factor with a minimal price tag, wait for the sales and then hit the showrooms to buy a small ‘end of line’ lot of tiles that would usually be much more expensive. Calculate the quantity you need (including wastage) and get shopping! You can get some amazing deals.