For a Livable – Yet Luxurious – Life
The Interior DesignTeam at McCoy Homes has compiled a list of Tips and Tricks that are sure to help make the life of a new homeowner a little more luxurious and a little more livable all at the same time. If you have any questions about what you read below, or if you want more information on how to go about making a McCoy Home your home, reach out to us today!
1. EXPAND YOUR INTERIOR SPACE
I tend to like my interiors to feel large and open. I have three suggestions for visually increasing the size of a room…
A. GIVE DRAPERIES THE FLOOR TO CEILING TREATMENT
To lengthen the look of a window and make your interiors feel taller, make sure that your west palm beach drapery rods are installed just below your crown molding – instead of just above the window trim. Make sure that they sweep the floor, but don’t let them pool. Heavy, pooling curtains trap dust and can actually weigh down the room visually. If you fit them correctly, it can really help to improve the overall look and space of a room. If you don’t like curtains, then you may decide that Window blinds of a specific style and length may work better in your room instead. It will still have the same impact as curtains; it’s just about finding the feature that works the best within your desired rooms.
B. SIZE UP THE AREA RUG
A rug or carpet does a wonderful job of defining an open space. But, an improperly sized rug can make a seating arrangement feel cramped. To make sure that my seating area doesn’t look clipped and to visually increase the size of that space, measure your seating area and then purchase a rug (from a website like https://www.luluandgeorgia.com/rugs). If you buy a rug which is 2-3 feet wider and 2-3 feet longer than needed, it should fit perfectly.
B. MIRRORS MIRRORS ON THE WALL
A mirror can double the visual size of a space. It can also bounce light from one surface to another. Adding mirrors to your room will expand its walls outward as well as brighten it up. Just be careful not to create glare.
2. FAKE A LITTLE FANCY
So, you’ve just built a new house. Now you’ve got to fill it, which can get pricy! If you’re feeling a bit “stretched”, consider saving the purchase of your dining room set for sometime in the future. For a table, all you really need are four legs and a surface. Snap up an inexpensive table at a yard sale and cover it with nice(ish) linens, for a lovely, short term alternative to that heirloom table you’ve been dreaming about.
3. OIL PAINT YOUR SHELVES
It’s stinky and not great for the environment, so I keep its use to a minimum. But, because the finish is so much smoother, so much harder and so much more durable, I use oil based paint wherever I have a painted shelf. I try to use it on the door trim in heavily used areas (utility rooms and family entry ways) as well.
4. SHOWER CURTAINS
Of course, like most other people I know, the shower of my dreams is some kind of endless, beautifully tiled space with frameless shower doors and huge his and hers waterfall showerheads, but realistically you have to learn how to make budget-friendly adjustments to the space you have. When I don’t want to spend the money on a custom shower curtain for example, but want something longer and more elegant than the off-the-shelf shower curtain options, I look for ready-made curtains. Like – actual window curtains. I hang two tension rods, the inside rod holds the shower curtain liner and the outside rod can hold any rod-pocket drapery.
5. HIDE UGLY TECH PANELS
You need easy access to things like electrical panels and alarm boxes, but you probably don’t want to have to look at them all the time. Canvas art mounted with an operable hinge will hide your tech panels, but will help you maintain easy access to them.
6. DITCH THE DETERGENT DISPENSER
Is your brightly colored detergent bottle with the screamy, exclamation point laden marketing copy totally wrecking the zen vide in your washroom? Mine too! One day the people who design detergent packaging will put their product in a less offensive bottle. Till then, I’ll put my detergent in a drink dispenser. You should too.
7. TWIST AND SCOOT
I love to bring the outside in. Potted house plants figure heavily in almost every home I design. But a plant with a weird and unwieldy habit (in botany, the a plant’s habit is its general appearance, growth form or architecture) can be a distraction. Most plants naturally gravitate toward sunlight, so if they aren’t turned regularly, they’ll grow in a funky shape. To make turning and moving my plants easier on my floors (and my back), I put furniture feet on the bottoms of my pots – and then I just scoot them around the house!
8. COLLECT YOUR COLORS. ALL OF THEM!
You’ve probably heard this one before, but it bears repeating: save some paint! You’ll want it for touch ups. Promise! Even with the swatch and the color formula and all of the details, the guys at the paint store aren’t likely to give you the EXACT same color ever again. Especially if it’s a dark or super-saturated color. So, save some paint for touch ups. But don’t save it in the paint can. Because, unless the can is full, there will be too much air in there and your paint will turn. So save it in a smaller, air tight canning jar.
9. SANDAL STORAGE
This is another one of those hacks that seems to have made its way around the interwebs and back again, but it’s a good one. So I’ve included it here. If you don’t have storage dedicated to flip flops and ballet flats, use a letter keeper!
McCoy Homes has been building custom homes and delivering livable luxury to homeowners throughout the greater Chattanooga area since 1994. We’re proud of what we do. If you’re interested in making a McCoy Home your home, call us today. We’d be honored to work with you.
