From Guest Blogger Emma Jones: How to Furnish Your New Home Sustainably
Living with your parents can be amazing, especially if you get along very well and spend lots of quality time together every single day. However, once you’ve reached a certain age, it’s time you moved along and became more independent.
Whether you’re single, in a relationship or about to get married, having your own home away from your family’s home is more important than most people think. Moreover, it’s a chance to experience life on a whole new level and truly become a grown-up, but also an opportunity to decorate your living space the way you want. If you too are at this stage of your life, here’s a quick guide to decorating your new home and remaining sustainable in the process.
Determine the budget
Before you start buying new things and repurposing and reupholstering the old, you need to do something quite important – determine the budget for your home decoration. Doing so is neither easy nor simple, but once you’ve determined exactly how much money you have and how much you can spend on decorating, it will be easier for you to organize your ideas and turn them into reality.
Some of the things you need to do include writing down all your wishes, making a plan, narrowing everything down, thinking about a list of priorities and trying to stick to your budget no matter what. Only this way will you be able to afford everything you’ve wanted without breaking the bank.
Find your inner decorator
Now that you’ve established exactly how much money you have, it’s time to find your distinctive style and try to apply it to your home. There are a variety of styles you can opt for – from 1920s chic and mid-century to contemporary and high-tech – and all you need to do is find the one that suits you the most.
However, since this is your first home, don’t be afraid to experiment and mix various styles and inspirations – sticking to a single style is quite all right, but an intriguing mishmash can sometimes be much more effective. What’s more, since you’ll probably try to save money by incorporating second-hand furniture and decorations, a mixture of styles is almost inevitable.
Get inspired
When it comes to sustainable interior decorating on a budget, the inspiration is everywhere around you and all you need to do is look for it. TV shows, home decorating magazines and the enormous world of the Internet will give you all the ideas you need, yet you need to be careful – following someone else’s style may sound like the best idea in the world, but you might end up taking things too far and find yourself living in someone else’s home as well! Therefore, don’t combine too many different styles, but look for something distinctive and personal because nobody likes having to adapt to a stranger’s way of living.
Find sustainable pieces
As mentioned before, since this is your first home, you probably don’t have all the furniture you need just yet, so you’ll have to accept hand-me-downs from your parents, family and friends, at least in the beginning. Nevertheless, even this furniture can be quite functional and amazing, and often in better shape than new pieces, especially when it comes to things like cupboards, closets and wardrobes.
As long as your second-hand furniture is in good condition, useful and can be incorporated into your living space and interior design style, be sure to take it. Additionally, this furniture is sustainable and does a lot to help our planet stay healthier and greener in the long run. Of course, some pieces need to be new, especially the ones you use all the time, such as comfortable couches that can become the focal point of your living room in no time.
Avoid mistakes
No matter how enjoyable decorating your home for the very first time is, this also means one more thing – you’ve never done this before! Therefore, you’re quite susceptible to mistakes and can easily disturb the flow you’ve wanted to create. There are lots of mistakes new homeowners make while decorating their living space, so try to avoid them at all costs.
For example, don’t buy all your furniture at once because you’ll probably have to declare bankruptcy after that, and be sure to measure everything several times before trying to squeeze a king size bed into a tiny bedroom. Finally, don’t add too much furniture and decorations because you’ll just end up with a cluttered home nobody will really enjoy.
Being independent and on your own for the very first time can be frightening, but it’s also more exhilarating and exciting that you could’ve pictured. Let your imagination run free and you’ll surely end up with a cozy and inviting home you’ll want to spend the rest of your life in.
