Free shipping on domestic orders over $150 *excluding ceramics and sculptures

Back to top
  /  Interview   /  Freshen up Your Living Space – Simple Tips and Tricks to Bring New Life Into Your Home

Bowerbird Collections

Freshen up Your Living Space – Simple Tips and Tricks to Bring New Life Into Your Home

Nowadays we seem to be spending a lot more time at home, taking in our living space. For most, the living space is a place where you can unwind and be yourself. A place where you can surround yourself with things that make you happy, and express your personality. However, it also may be a place that you haven’t had much time to refresh and update. Somewhere that has fallen by the wayside as other commitments have taken priority.

With all this time at home the living space is the new office, social event and personal area. Maybe you are starting to realise your living space is in dire need of an update, and you feel the sudden urge to rejuvenate and bring new life into it. Redoing your living space doesn’t mean a brand new renovation. It doesn’t even mean throwing out the old and bringing in the new. Here at Bowerbird, we place emphasis on using what you have around you before buying brand new. We’ve put together a list to help guide you through our simple tips and tricks to bring new life into a tired space. With steps varying from simple refreshers to dramatic overhauls.

Before you start though we recommend considering this… Is your room layout reaching its full potential? Rearranging your furniture is the simplest way to liven up your living space without throwing out the ‘bones’.  Try fresh layout in combination with some of our other tips and your room will feel so brand new that you hardly recognize it!

WALL FINISHINGS

Change Your Colour Palette

Sometimes all you really need to do is just add a pop of colour. Many of us are so very accustomed to plain white walls, without realizing the potential excitement and drama a coloured wall can contribute to a space. Coloured walls also have a profound effect on the other features in the room. Check out these photographs below showing one lampshade against various backgrounds to see how different it can be!

One of our favourite combinations:
The autumnal Open Spaces Lamp Shade atop our Narrow Base in Rust.

POP QUIZ. In front of which wall colour does the rust lamp base look brightest? We answered NAVY! This combination appears to POP the most because blue and orange are complimentary colours and therefore enhance each other.

Put Some Paper On Those Walls!

Interior design took a turn somewhere down the road and began to focus on minimalist style. People looked less to wallpaper and more to bare, white walls. We’re not against minimalism, much.. We are, however, more excited by a well balanced symphony of patterns, textures and colours. Here at Bowerbird we love to defy the pattern clashing myth and bring in patterns wherever we can!

Bowerbird Collections: Left to Right
Our signature range of fabrics, Blue and White Chinoiserie Wallpaper, Green Cutout Chinoisierie Wallpaper.

If you want to have a room that feels complete then you have to address every element – including the walls. These days it’s easy to find peel and stick wallpaper without the long term commitment for those of you who are renting. Let your personality shine and liven up your living space with a feature wall. It can be a great alternative to a plain coloured feature wall, or when done correctly can be used together. It doesn’t even need to be a full wall either. Take advantage of the little walls that might be in your living space, the sections that otherwise go unnoticed.

A great example of the possibilities of wallpaper! Cutting squares of wallpaper to fit inside those shelf sections really liven up the space in the background, and help draw attention to the objects!

Invest in Some Artwork (Or D.I.Y!)

This one is close to our hearts, obviously! Artwork has a profound impact on the mood and theme of your living space. It can be an intimidating one to approach if you are unsure of your own personal style however there are some easy ways to take the first step:

  • When choosing artwork our number 1 rule is – How does the artwork make you feel? We believe that the true value of art is not reflected in the price, but in the ‘place that you go’ when you look at it.
  • It’s handy to know how to describe your artwork aesthetic – Abstract block colours, modernist landscapes, impressionistic florals. Don’t have a clue about any style of artwork? Here is a handy cheat sheet to get you familiar with the terms.
  • Work with your colour palette. Artwork is allowed to be a statement that doesn’t completely ‘match’ the decor scheme, but it can help if there is at least one colour to tie it in.
  • Don’t be afraid to go big! With statement pieces our motto truly is go big or go home. The worst is a painting that is too small for the wall, it looks like an afterthought. A painting too large for the wall can look edgy. If you have small paintings arrange them in a salon hang.

These two paintings seem completely unrelated, and yet they speak to each other. This is largely because the have one colour in common – orange.

A great example of the difference a piece of art can make to the walls!
Painting shown is Rosella by Ellie Sweatman

Feel free to take this as an opportunity to put on your artist hat and give it a go yourself! Buy yourself a canvas and some paints, set aside an afternoon, and go crazy with an abstract work. Pro tip – buy house paint and a 4″ brush and go for gold.

HARD FURNISHINGS

Refinish Your Furniture

An example of a piece of refinished furniture! Doesn’t the detailing draw your attention?

For most of us, furniture is an investment. It will get carried around from home to home, and cherished in each of them. But it’s true that furniture does need some love and care and refinishing your furniture can be the perfect way to do that! Refinishing your furniture doesn’t need to be a daunting task either.

Want to know how we refinished this piece of furniture? Keep an eye on our blog post!

Sometimes all a timber piece needs to bring it back to life is a sand and a wax or a coat of clear. We use water based floor finishes for their durability and easy wipe on application. Stay tuned on our blog as we are working on releasing a “How To” for all things furniture refinishing.

*TIP* Want to update a modular piece of furniture that is not solid timber? Make it pop with wallpaper. This is a very effective way to refresh your living space and tie it together!

An excellent example of utilising wallpaper on modular furniture!

Keep on Walking

Flow is important when moving through your space. Arrange your furniture so you are taking advantage of the space and avoid stress by creating as much walking space as possible. Place an emphasis on creating appropriately sized corridors and avoid inaccessible spaces that can unknowingly attract dust and clutter that pulls your energy down.

SOFT FURNISHINGS

Throw In Some Details!

One of the easiest ways to liven up your space without breaking the bank. In any living room the couch can be one of the largest features and dictate the environment and mood of the room. If you’re finding your eyes growing tired of the same old couch but don’t want to get rid of the whole thing, it’s an easy fix! A large throw rug or two and some cushions will work wonders in introducing a new theme to the living space, and refreshing the mood. Find colours and patterns that compliment each other and the other pieces within the room and you’ll find the room already feeling alive.

Seljak Brand Dune Blanket from 75% Recycled Lambswool Throw.
Look at those amazing bright colours to warm and cosy the space!

Set The Mood With Your Lighting

For most of you, this is one of those general knowledge tips that can often be forgotten. The mood of the room lies predominately in the lighting. Change up your lighting and you can create a warm and comforting glow in the room. We suggest as a blanket rule to avoid reliance on the overhead lighting! We may be biased, but nevertheless lamps bring life to a room.

Incorporating more lamps into the room is a creative way to link patterns and colours in the room. This can be by utilising the lampshade to bring certain colours out of other patterns or alternatively by highlighting feature colours in the room with a complimentary patterned lampshade.

A perfect example of dividing the lighting around the space without relying on overhead lighting. See how it sets the mood?
Photo Credit: Cloud Nine Interiors

Go Green

This one is hopefully an obvious one. Incorporating plant life into your living space is an excellent way to make the room feel alive. Not only do plants provide an easy way to bring in a new element but many have other appealing benefits!. For example, did you know some house plants, such as the Peace Lily, actually filter the air! Or English Ivy, and it’s ability to remove mould from the air! How about the Spider Plant, who works hard to absorb odors! Talk about multi-functional.

Plants are also an exceptional way to introduce different heights to your living space. Go big! Invest in a house plant that brings a wow factor to your living space. Not only will it help bring freshness and liveliness to the space, but it will also allow your eyes to travel around the room and notice the different heights you have provided.

A fantastic example of varying plant sizes! Look at that beatiful monstera!
Photo Credit: Leon and George.

We’re working on a helpful guide to indoor house plants as well, with benefits and how to care for them so stay tuned!

Declutter the Details

It can be an obvious and overlooked crime to hoard objects in our living space, creating clutter. As humans, we naturally collect things that spark joy, placing them around us. But before we know it, this can be a habit that eventually gets out of hand. We know this is a common situation and we are here to offer the golden solution! Take it all out. Take everything out of your living space and reassess.

Do I love this? Do I use this? Why do I have this?

If you want to know more about how to declutter your living space, check out the perfect blog for it where we take you through the basics of where to begin.

The great thing about this little trick is that after reassessing your details, you can find nifty ways to store and sort your belongings. For example, a perfect trinket bowl to store your keys so you know exactly where you left them. A ceramic tissue box so you never have unsightly empty tissue boxes lying around!

Our lovely little ceramic tissues boxes turn the ordinary into a point of attention!

These are some of our favourite tips and tricks to breathe new life into your living space. We hope you have found this helpful and insightful. We want to emphasise that we believe you have what you need, it might just require a rearrange or repurpose. Happy decorating!

Comments

  • Bronwen Bailey

    May 2, 2020

    Bravo Ellie and Peta! Great blog post. Thank you. You really rose to the challenge of my request. ????
    Wonderful pics to highlight each topic and I loved the pop quiz.
    Xx

  • Rachel

    May 2, 2020

    Goodness gracious what a tremendous assortment of tips!
    Definitely going to try and implement some of these into our place. 🙂

  • Bronwen Bailey

    May 3, 2020

    Also, may I give a shout out for Waverley Mills in Tassie? I was reminded of them in response to the pic of the lovely throw in your post.
    I was given one of their throws for Christmas. Beautiful colours and texture. They are Australian and close at hand. And they have a recycled fibres range also.
    https://waverleymills.com/collections/by-product

Leave a Reply