Designing a house takes time and for some, the work is never really finished. But what can often happen is we feel as if we're done, look around and wonder why something feels a little off. The most likely reason? In spite of a perfectly curated mix of colours, fabrics and furniture, we often completely forget to add the signs of life that make it ours. That is a crime against decorating, and one best avoided. These are the small flourishes, easy embellishments and finishing touches that will bring any room to life.
Being an utilitarian space, it can be all too easy to renovate a kitchen, add in all new fitted cabinets and close all your belongings neatly away then consider it done but a kitchen can be so much more. For a start, art has a place in the kitchen and people often forget that. If you're planning on hanging something near the cooker or sink, where it might be more prone to damage from steam and water, frame them in perspex or opt for hanging plates (a more hardy alternative to art) on the walls in a pretty display.
Lamps can be a sweet addition to a kitchen worktop too and add a different level of lighting that will be lovely if you have a dine-in kitchen. Again, consider what material you have on the lampshade and how close it is to the fiery action – no one wants a raging fire hazard so we're not suggesting a paper lampshade right by the hob under any circumstances. Rugs too – particularly a runner in a galley kitchen – immediately give a room soul and are also brilliantly useful at hiding a less-than-lovely rental floor.
Don't be afraid to go pretty in the kitchen to make it sing – the pages of House & Garden have seen everything from scalloped marble splashbacks to bobbin shelves. These small decorative elements bring so much character and a story to a room that is too often overlooked.
The living room is perhaps the most-used and versatile room in a house and as such, tends to already showcase many signs of life through stacked bookshelves (NB: over-curated bookshelves are never an effective way to make a space feel comfortable), favoured blankets and hopefully, the judicious use of fabrics for the curtains, sofa, cushions and more. Layering a living room with textures, art and trinkets is the simplest way to make it sing, but don't over curate it. Think of it as an extension of your personality, somewhere to let all your bravest decorating decisions run wild and if it's a room you love to spend time in, it will develop a welcoming sense of home.
However, if it is feeling a little unloved and uninspiring then think about trims. Trim your curtains with something jolly, or swap out your cushions for something new and frivolous and buy those lampshades you've been wondering about for a while. Maybe a wallpaper border is the missing piece of the puzzle, or perhaps it's a brilliant new art acquisition to hang over the fireplace. As for the mantlepiece and any shelves, more is more and over-curated, half empty shelves are the quickest way to take any room from fab to drab.
If it's your bedroom that is looking lacklustre, there are lots of quick fixes that can magically transform it. One of our favourite tricks is to remove the wooden panels from any wardrobes you may have and replace them with curtains instead. It's simple, something you can achieve in a day and it will make the whole room look new. It also achieves the ever sought-after layered look.
If you're not prepared to completely remove the wardrobe doors (or, if you have a chest of drawers or bedside table that could use a spruce), add some new handles and in a few short hours, your bedroom has entirely new wardrobes for a fraction of the cost.
A new rug can also work wonders in bringing a bedroom to life while also providing a soft, warm landing for your feet when you clamber out of bed in the morning. Simple additions like a bolster cushion to the bed – ideally in a bold fabric if you tend to use plain bedding – and a throw for the lower half of the bed add instant colour, texture and life and make a bedroom go from hotel to home in a flash.
Usually the tiniest room in a house in the same vein as a kitchen, one of the most utilitarian, bathrooms can fall foul of the same issues. It's a key room to consider adding some flourish to and if you're at the point of redoing a bathroom entirely, consider wallpaper (so long as the room is well ventilated). If your bathroom is finished but missing something, do some DIY panelling instead to bring in some character and if that seems too big a job, copy Alexandra Tolstoy whose charming use of stencils in her London rental goes a long way in bringing soul to her bathroom.
MAY WE SUGGEST: How to design a loo with character
Small swaps like choosing pretty containers for toothbrushes, some antique wall-mounted shelves for toiletries and woven baskets for loo rolls or dirty washing can add visual interest but don't overlook bigger things too, like well-framed art. Again, make sure the bathroom is well-ventilated as a windowless bathroom and antique art will not be great friends. Just like the kitchen, hanging decorative plates is a great touch and Lucinda Chambers' London house is all the proof you'll ever need – also a good reference for painting your bathtub a new colour but that's hardly a quick finishing touch.
