Home Upgrades Worth Every Penny: Smart Buys for Every Room
Spend your time (and budget!) wisely with these simple, high-impact updates that are totally worth it.
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June 22, 2015
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Photo By: ERICA GEORGE DINES
Photo By: Robert Peterson, Rustic White Photography
Bedroom: Add a Headboard
Whether your partner with a designer for a completely custom piece, buy a pre-fab option or create your own DIY version, a dramatic headboard draws in the eye and ensures your bed takes center stage. Design by Jamie Herzlinger
From:
Jamie Herzlinger
Bathroom: Graphic Wallpaper
Simply adding graphic wallpaper brings dimension to a small powder room. Designer Jennifer Jones enhanced the bold design with a vintage-inspired, decorative mirror.
From:
Jennifer Jones
Bathroom: One Bold Accent Piece
Adding one bold piece to a neutral, soothing color palette is a budget-friendly way to update a bathroom. Here, a bright blue vanity serves as a colorful, interesting focal point in this neutral bathroom.
Bathroom: Spa Bath Amenities
Whether it's a sleek, modern marble shower or a simple wall color update in a soothing hue, you'll recoup time and money you spend on a spa-inspired bathroom every morning as you prepare for the day.
From:
Mark Williams
Bathroom: Flowers
The quickest route to a refreshed bathroom is a freshly-cut bouquet. Fill a vase or jar with flowers, evergreens or berries from your yard for an instant (and free) update. Or, splurge on a weekly supermarket bouquet and divide the flowers among your most-used rooms.
From:
Brian Patrick Flynn
Bedroom: Artwork Above the Bed
Unless you opt for a floor-to-ceiling headboard, it's important to add a dramatic art piece above the bed, like this one-of-a-kind salvaged wood piece created by designer Brian Patrick Flynn.
Bedroom: Dramatic Lighting
The bedroom is the perfect place to go big with lighting. Add a chandelier like designer Lindsay Puma did here, or go for a more modern look with a simple pendant. And don't forget the dimmer!
Living Room: Fresh Patterned Pillows
New throw pillow are an affordable and easy way to refresh your living room look. Mix on-trend patterns, like polka dots and florals, to get the most visual bang for your buck. Image courtesy of Naomi Stein
From:
Naomi Stein
Living Room: Add Style Underfoot
Make a big statement for a relatively small chunk of change with a graphic rug or group of patterned carpet tiles, like designer Jennifer Jones did here. A rug also ground your furniture arrangement and give the living room a more finished look.
From:
Jennifer Jones
Living Room: Treat the Windows
The right window treatment takes a room from bland to beautiful. "Soften your living space with ready-made drapery panels," designer Jennifer Jones suggests. "If a standard-size window panel doesn't work in your room, simply buy the next size up and have them hemmed at your local dry cleaner. Drapes should hang one-half to one inch off the floor." Design by Jennifer Jones
From:
Jennifer Jones