You know the drill: PCS season rolls around, the trucks roll in, and you roll out. Several hot, sticky days spent holed up in the car go by – car games exhausted, stomachs lurching from too much rest-stop food, stray snacks appearing in all manner of places – and then, by some miracle, you’re there.
You made it! You’re elated – and then deflate as you remember there’s more work to do. You muddle through the process of keys, leases, trucks, and boxes, boxes, boxes. By the time you walk through the threshold of that coveted safe haven, the New Home you’ve been dreaming of, you’re about ready to slump into the couch and hibernate for a week. And yet – you want to make it feel like home, this skeleton of a place, and you find yourself stumped.
More white walls. More empty space. More time and energy – with box cutters, hammers, trash bags, that damn picture level you could have sworn you packed – spent trying to curate this new place into somewhere that’ll pass for a homestead. Well, for the next few years, at least.
It’s not the same as the last place. Things got damaged in the move. So how – without breaking the bank account that’s already feeling tight from the process of moving to begin with – do you go about putting your stamp on this new place in a way that’s personal, comfortable, affordable and stylish? Here are a few tips and tricks.
1: Removable wallpaper
The easiest way to do-over your white walls? Don’t keep ‘em white! With hundreds of retailers now carrying removable wallpaper, you can create beautiful feature walls – or prettify the whole damn room, if you wish – with half the effort (and cost) of traditional wallpaper. The best part? It doesn’t damage the wall underneath when the time comes to up and move again, so you can eliminate the slog of putting it up and tearing it down.
2: Thrift store artwork
One of my favorite (and highly cost-effective) ways to create unique artwork? Get down to your local thrift stores – which, in itself, is a fun way to explore a new area – and pick up old books, magazines, sheet music, postcards. They’ll cost you little more than tuppence, and when framed with a simple frame – Michaels always have fab deals on these – you’ll have some gorgeous new pieces for your walls that are a) significantly more affordable, and b) a helluva lot more interesting than anything you could pick up from Hobby Lobby et al.
3: Get creative with what you hang
If you thought walls should just be dressed up with pictures in frames, you thought wrong. There are plenty of ways to add texture and interest to a wall without a single piece of “art,” in the standard sense, at all – pieces of chinaware (particularly large plates, shallow bowls, and so on) can be hung with plate hooks, as can driftwood and old signage, for example. Whether it’s inherited or hoarded home from family vacations, consider what could be repurposed out of the back of the closet. Taking heirlooms and souvenirs and using them as decor creates a talking point, reminds you of fond memories, and breaks up a flat wallspace into something with a little more flair.
4: Open up smaller rooms with mirrors
If you find yourself struggling with a room that’s cramped, dark, or just needs a little “opening up,” mirrors are the solution. Dotting mirrors around the house, far from being a decorative practice that Narcissus himself would be proud of, is a great way of allowing more light to bounce around a space, making a room seem bigger than it actually is. Personally, I’ve found window-like mirrors to be my saving grace in houses that face away from the sun and have few enough windows to deem me a pauper in Jane Austen’s world.
