Renovating, redecorating or merely “refreshing” your home can be overwhelming: It requires navigating an overabundance of options, hours of exhaustive research and the acute anxiety of influence that comes from staring at picture-perfect rooms on Instagram all day. That said, living in a beautiful home that expertly reflects your personal taste is worth the effort. But work smart, not hard. While you puzzle through the truly tough problems — like say, Royere vs. Jeanneret, or Borsani vs. Ponti — use the below infographics to help demystify (and expedite) some of the more routine concerns. Read on then thank us later!
1. Dramatically Change the Feel of Your Home with a Simple Paint Job
Painting your walls is probably the simplest, most universal way to change the mood of a room. Real Simple magazine polled a number of designers about their go-to shades for each space in a house. The result: a helpful guide for “foolproof paint colors for every room in the house.” Bonus: It also includes pricing information and instructions on where to source specific hues.
2. While You’re At It, Select The Best Finish
If navigating paint swatches has yet to give you an anxiety attack, fear not. Once you’ve finally committed to your colors, you still have to figure out finishes. But before you end up in the fetal position, check out this simple infographic — courtesy of blogger and designer Kristen Danielle — to help you select the right finish for each and every area of your home.
3. Pull Your Room Together With an Area Rug
Selecting an optimally sized area rug can be something of a struggle for anyone who lacks superb two-dimensional spatial reasoning. Decor Mentor has a very straightforward guide to help you select the most appropriately sized area rug for your dining room, living room, and bedroom — it even takes the size of your bed into account. Pro tip: you can easily shop rugs by size on 1stdibs.
4. Display Artwork and Family Photos Like a Pro
Gallery walls are deceptive — they look pleasingly haphazard, but require a lot of manual finessing to get them just so. For a shortcut to creating the perfect gallery wall, borrow one of the pre-planned layouts from this Interiors PL infographic. Should you need to fill any holes, feel free to peruse the fine art offerings on 1stdibs.
5. Make Your Home More Sustainable
It’s not uncommon to want to make your home more sustainable — but it can be hard to figure out where to begin. Not anymore. This handy infographic itemizes the different eco-friendly upgrades you can make from roof to basement, and also helpfully tallies how going green can reduce your carbon footprint and your energy costs. Adding an addition to your home? Use foam insulation in the walls. Have you always wanted a garden, but are strapped for green space? Think about building a rooftop planter.
Thank you to Modernize.com and Bryn Huntpalmer for guest-authoring this post!
