Decorating
10 Ways to Make Your Décor Feel More Grown-up
Is your home a tiny bit studenty? These simple tweaks will take it from young and unfocused to stylishly designed
The development of personal style is always a gradual progression. Your teenage bedroom looked a lot different to your college dorm, which looked a lot different (thankfully) to your first flat, and so on. If you’re trying to shake your youthful ways, consider these tips for elevating your home to a more grown-up style.
Choose stylish kitchen handles
Your home may not yet have your dream kitchen, but that’s doesn’t mean you have to settle for what’s there. If the cupboard doors have plain white plastic or chintzy metal knobs, consider upgrading them to something with more personality, such as leather strap pulls, brushed brass handles or cut-glass knobs. There are numerous designs available, many of which aren’t that expensive. Adding new handles can instantly make the whole kitchen feel as if it’s been renovated.
You’ll also be able to take your chosen hardware with you to a new home, so it’s a great upgrade even for short-term renters.
Your home may not yet have your dream kitchen, but that’s doesn’t mean you have to settle for what’s there. If the cupboard doors have plain white plastic or chintzy metal knobs, consider upgrading them to something with more personality, such as leather strap pulls, brushed brass handles or cut-glass knobs. There are numerous designs available, many of which aren’t that expensive. Adding new handles can instantly make the whole kitchen feel as if it’s been renovated.
You’ll also be able to take your chosen hardware with you to a new home, so it’s a great upgrade even for short-term renters.
Pile up plump cushions
Although your sofa may have come with two matching cushions, it could probably do with a few more. Piling up enough to have more than one layer gives a much richer look, and allows you to add lots of colour, texture and personality.
Thin and floppy cushions look sad, so make sure they’re filled enough to look full, fat and fluffy. However, you don’t want them so taut that you can’t give them a little designer “chop” to get that pleasing crease at the top.
Tip Rather than replacing old cushion pads, just double them up. Add a second, inexpensive pad into the same cushion cover to fill it out without having to throw the old one away.
Although your sofa may have come with two matching cushions, it could probably do with a few more. Piling up enough to have more than one layer gives a much richer look, and allows you to add lots of colour, texture and personality.
Thin and floppy cushions look sad, so make sure they’re filled enough to look full, fat and fluffy. However, you don’t want them so taut that you can’t give them a little designer “chop” to get that pleasing crease at the top.
Tip Rather than replacing old cushion pads, just double them up. Add a second, inexpensive pad into the same cushion cover to fill it out without having to throw the old one away.
Lay smart rugs
A great rug is like a frame for your furniture: it anchors and reinforces the look of the pieces above it, and adds a sense of polish to a room.
This is true, however, only if the rug is properly sized. Ideally, it should be large enough to let furniture easily sit on it with at least two legs, if not all four.
If you already have a rug, but it’s not quite up to this task, try moving it to another, smaller room. A rug that feels too small in one space can be luxuriously grand in another. In the meantime, your floor is better left completely unadorned than underdressed.
A great rug is like a frame for your furniture: it anchors and reinforces the look of the pieces above it, and adds a sense of polish to a room.
This is true, however, only if the rug is properly sized. Ideally, it should be large enough to let furniture easily sit on it with at least two legs, if not all four.
If you already have a rug, but it’s not quite up to this task, try moving it to another, smaller room. A rug that feels too small in one space can be luxuriously grand in another. In the meantime, your floor is better left completely unadorned than underdressed.
Finish your bed with a headboard
A headboard is technically optional, but it goes such a long way towards finishing a bedroom that once you have one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
A headboard is technically optional, but it goes such a long way towards finishing a bedroom that once you have one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Choose one in a dramatic pattern, as here, to add a lot of life without the fuss of wallpaper. Alternatively, go for a nicely detailed design (perhaps with some buttoning or classic wings) in a neutral fabric that will complement whatever bedding you may fall in love with in later years.
Keen to give your garden an upgrade, too? Check out these ideas to kick-start a revamp
Keen to give your garden an upgrade, too? Check out these ideas to kick-start a revamp
Pile up matching towels
This is one of the easiest upgrades on the list, both to achieve and to justify in terms of price. Towels will always wear out eventually, and older towels that have been retired from display in the bathroom can still get plenty of use as rags, beach towels, pet cloths and so on.
Treat yourself to an attractive matching set to make your bathroom feel instantly more sophisticated and tied together. When in doubt, choose classic white for the most high-end appeal, and to avoid fading or bleach spots that will instantly ruin the effect.
This is one of the easiest upgrades on the list, both to achieve and to justify in terms of price. Towels will always wear out eventually, and older towels that have been retired from display in the bathroom can still get plenty of use as rags, beach towels, pet cloths and so on.
Treat yourself to an attractive matching set to make your bathroom feel instantly more sophisticated and tied together. When in doubt, choose classic white for the most high-end appeal, and to avoid fading or bleach spots that will instantly ruin the effect.
Bring in living plants
Fresh flowers are a great way to add a little colour from day to day or for special events, but a real sign of maturity in your home is the presence of a living, thriving plant.
Of course, the key here is ‘living’. A plant won’t impress anyone if it’s limp and brown due to neglect. Luckily, there are many low-maintenance plants to choose from, for any room and climate. Ask for help with your specific situation at a garden centre, or try a hardy cactus (many varieties need to be watered only once a week or less).
Fresh flowers are a great way to add a little colour from day to day or for special events, but a real sign of maturity in your home is the presence of a living, thriving plant.
Of course, the key here is ‘living’. A plant won’t impress anyone if it’s limp and brown due to neglect. Luckily, there are many low-maintenance plants to choose from, for any room and climate. Ask for help with your specific situation at a garden centre, or try a hardy cactus (many varieties need to be watered only once a week or less).
Slot in a coffee table (that you didn’t assemble yourself)
Superstores can be great for some pieces, but coffee tables are not often one of them. A chunky particleboard table really says ‘first flat’, and it can fall apart the first time it suffers an unfortunate spill.
Try a stone- or glass-topped table in an interesting and dynamic shape, such as a circle, oval or diamond. It can be an investment piece or a relatively inexpensive find, just as long as it looks like a thoughtful accent to your décor.
Superstores can be great for some pieces, but coffee tables are not often one of them. A chunky particleboard table really says ‘first flat’, and it can fall apart the first time it suffers an unfortunate spill.
Try a stone- or glass-topped table in an interesting and dynamic shape, such as a circle, oval or diamond. It can be an investment piece or a relatively inexpensive find, just as long as it looks like a thoughtful accent to your décor.
Invest in a real work of art
Artworks can, of course, cost thousands, even millions, of pounds, or they can cost less than £10 for a little print on faux canvas, for example.
Somewhere in-between these two options are plenty of affordable original works of art. Try browsing small galleries or student art shows for one-of-a-kind pieces.
You can also find high-quality prints online, and in a scale that will feel grand – think 40% to 60% of the width and height of your wall for a dramatic statement.
Areas such as hallways or other nooks that don’t contain a great deal of furniture can really benefit from having a piece of art that makes a strong statement. Just make sure it’s not something with the name of a band or sports team on it for a grown-up look.
Read expert advice on buying original art
Artworks can, of course, cost thousands, even millions, of pounds, or they can cost less than £10 for a little print on faux canvas, for example.
Somewhere in-between these two options are plenty of affordable original works of art. Try browsing small galleries or student art shows for one-of-a-kind pieces.
You can also find high-quality prints online, and in a scale that will feel grand – think 40% to 60% of the width and height of your wall for a dramatic statement.
Areas such as hallways or other nooks that don’t contain a great deal of furniture can really benefit from having a piece of art that makes a strong statement. Just make sure it’s not something with the name of a band or sports team on it for a grown-up look.
Read expert advice on buying original art
Up the luxe with a faux-fur blanket
Here’s an easy one: buy a faux-fur blanket, then fold it neatly at the end of your made bed. (Yes, made bed. You’re a grown-up now.)
Then, when you feel like swapping things around, take that same blanket and drape it casually over a side chair, or spread it out on the seat of a sofa and tuck it in. Wrap yourself in it when you’re feeling below par, rather than in a tatty robe. Any way you style it, it’ll be a smart décor upgrade.
What do you think of these ideas for adding a grown-up feel to a home? Do you have any other tips? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Here’s an easy one: buy a faux-fur blanket, then fold it neatly at the end of your made bed. (Yes, made bed. You’re a grown-up now.)
Then, when you feel like swapping things around, take that same blanket and drape it casually over a side chair, or spread it out on the seat of a sofa and tuck it in. Wrap yourself in it when you’re feeling below par, rather than in a tatty robe. Any way you style it, it’ll be a smart décor upgrade.
What do you think of these ideas for adding a grown-up feel to a home? Do you have any other tips? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below.
It goes without saying that taped-up, unframed photos should be left back in your dorm room days, but another element of your grown-up home could also benefit from the addition of a frame: the bathroom mirror.
If you have a simple sheet of glass on the wall (often attached with little, claw-like hooks and perhaps nothing else), consider replacing it with some shapely framed mirrors, like the glam hexagons seen here.
Alternatively, simply add a frame to your existing mirror. A little plain moulding that’s 2in to 6in wide will cap off the mirror beautifully, giving it a more mature look.