High/Low: Revamp Your Space
Your digs will look fly with these tips
The old stand-by: Paint
We’ve all heard it: the easiest and cheapest way to give your place a facelift is by adding some colour with paint.
High: Get crafty by using a stencil to give your walls some personality with a painted design or pattern. UK-based Stencil Library’s selection includes over 3,500 options. We like: Giant flowers (about $100) painted in white against a dark-coloured wall.
Low: A simple coat of paint does wonders, too. Try out a colour before committing with Benjamin Moore’s 2-ounce Colour Testers (which contain enough to paint a 2’x 2’ wall surface); $5. For ideas on colour trends, visit benjaminmoore.ca. Big for 2008 are shades of grey, deep purples and organic-inspired taupes and beiges.
Stick ‘em up
Wall stickers are fancier and more affordable now, which means that you can change a blank wall into a work of art in an hour, without blowing your budget.
High: Ferm Living’s wall stickers (from about $50) come in both small and large scale nature-inspired designs, like branches and bamboo.
Low: dVider’s stickers (from about $30) offer 12 different colour options and everything from nature to holiday designs so you can change your place up with the season.
Make the most of your beauty sleep
Don’t bother giving your whole bed an overhaul. Give it a new look by covering your old comforter with a new duvet cover.
High: Amenity’s organic cotton duvet covers (from about $350; available at pillowsandthrows.com) are a luxe way to be eco-friendly.
Or design your own duvet cover by choosing fabric, colour, pattern and size at inmod Design Studio (from about $150).
Low: PC Home’s duvet and shams set (from $40) are cheap and chic and come in a variety of solid colours.
Accessorize
Accessories make the outfit – and the same goes from your place, too. Change up the old pillows on your couch with something a little less lived in-looking.
High: Oromono’s flower-embellished cushions are too pretty to nap on, but we don’t hold that against them (from about $130).
Low: Tonic Living’s cushions are more affordable and come in so many graphic prints, one is bound to match your décor (from about $25).
Get some privacy
Skip the office-like vertical blinds and try an unconventional approach to window coverings: peel-and-stick privacy film.
High: UK designer Emma Jeffs’ patterned window film (from about $95/roll) gets rid of nosy neighbours and lets you live in style.
Low: Ikea’s Amor Frost window film ($7/roll) isn’t patterned, but does the same job for much less.
Clean up
Movie stubs, greeting cards, photos…all the stuff we refuse to throw away pile up. Arrange all the bits of things you’ve been meaning to get in order on a bulletin board.
High: Pottery Barn Kids pinboards ($39) double as art: removable fabric pinboard covers ($29) in a variety of prints, add colour to your space and organize your clutter.
Low: Umbra’s square thork bulletin board ($27) is a simpler, smaller scale take on the idea.
By Christine Walewski