Designer Secrets: How to make your condo or townhouse feel like a castle
Everybody's heard how a person's home is their castle. Have you often thought that because you live in a condo or townhouse, you would have to wait until you get into a single-family house to feel like you had your own castle. Well, think again! Instead of "dwelling" on what you don't have, why not live in the moment? You can enjoy living in your "castle" right now. Consider what you can do to achieve an up-scale feel with fabrics, colors and accent pieces that will enhance the opulence and luxury of your own home right now.
Fabric & Texture Ideas
Fabric and texture are a fantastic way to give your home a lavish look. Splurge on covers for pillows to spice up your couch. Or try adding a sumptuous throw over the easy chair or a new tablecloth that accents the season. Sink into things! Soft pillows and plush couches feel so good! Tickle your toes and add drama to a room with an "antique" rug. Many beautiful rugs are manufactured now that create a sense of history and extravagance without the high cost of the hand-woven, delicate type. Lastly, think about adding some flare and softening those windows with some textured, fabric swags and curtains.
Color & Lighting Changes
Color and lighting are two effective ways to turn a sterile room into the place of your dreams. You can awaken a sleepy room with a simple coat of paint. Your local paint stores offer an endless selection of colors and home magazines provide all kinds of inspiring ideas. From simply repainting the whole room one color to creating a highlight wall or faux finish, painting makes a tremendous change without a tremendous budget.
The lighting in a home commonly has a profound impact on the color and feel of a room. The standard lighting fixtures and bulbs fail to bring out the brilliance of a freshly painted room. Sometimes simply changing the type of bulb can change the color tone of a wall. Upgrading basic lighting fixtures is another way to enhance the impressiveness of a room and there are quite a few nice choices for a reasonable price these days. For the biggest selection, at a slightly higher cost, visit a specialty lighting store. Don't just turn the light on, bedazzle the dark away!
Accents
After considering what you could do with fabrics, color, and lighting, imagine the difference that a few accent pieces would make on your home. Start at the beginning!Make sure you set the tone starting outside your door. Imagine the difference a thick welcoming mat or an all-weather berry wreath would make. Speaking of outside, have you been out on your patio lately? Maybe with a little attention, you'll be rushing home to sit out and enjoy a relaxing evening.
Inside the home, metal accents easily provide an expensive look. Gold, silver and bronze work well in small amounts. If you're not the "window treatment" kind of person and want to keep your windows simple – think about how wonderful a stained glass hanging would look in your kitchen or living area. Incorporate architectural pieces to give your home dimension and an interest. A decorative wall plaque or wooden carving would look great placed over a doorway. A strategically placed mirror can do millions with a great view.
Also, take care of all those little "if only I had's." Wish you had a place to put your keys when you come in the door? Get a key rack or a small half-moon hallway table. Wish you had more storage space in your bathroom? Try a small shelf you could mount over the towel rack to place your toiletries. Tired of the cold floor in the kitchen in the morning? Get a small area rug (with latex backing or a rug pad) to brighten the area and warm your toes.
Hopefully these ideas will help you get that luxurious feeling in your home! If you have your own tips or success stories on adding flare to your condo or townhouse, we would love to here from you!
Resources:
Here are some websites with great ideas for personal spaces:
