HOW WE MADE OUR HOUSE A HOME

I've always dreamed of the day where I finally can have my own home and decorate it the way I like. A home where I choose the furniture, the artwork, the colours and can have all the plants I desire. Of course this home belongs to my husband and I however, he has graciously let me decorate the house the way I like.

COLOUR SCHEME

For me personally, I love the look of everything being white, whilst including touches of neutral colours in the midst. I also LOVE plants. I feel like they bring the house to life in addition to simply making my heart happy. My husband however, often says, "we live in a forest". Pick a few colours you love in your house and include these throughout every room. Try to avoid showing colours that don't match by hiding those items in storage baskets or containers. This also keeps them neat and tidy!

PEACE LILLIES

They are beautiful. And I think I have finally discovered how exactly to look after them. They need a perfect balance of water and indirect sunlight. I water them twice a week and place them by a window once a week to get some indirect sunlight. Leaving them by the window daily was causing the leaves to go brown so they are happy enough to sit in the middle of our lounge room.

Add some plants to your home to add a little life and vibrancy, they really aren't that hard to look after! The fiddle fig is another gorgeous plant that is even easier to look after. Although a bit pricier, I found a small one from Bunnings on sale for only $5.

DECORATE ON A BUDGET:

We had to be extremely strategic in decorating our home for we really didn't have a huge budget to work with. I searched for the perfect bed frame for months before we were married to suss out the best kind of priced bed frame we could find. We looked on marketplace for furniture that was almost brand new yet half the price of the original selling price. This is where we got our bedside tables from. As much as I would have loved to shop at the fancier homeware stores, we stuck to Kmart and IKEA for they were the most budget friendly. We bought our lamps, dining chairs, a bench seat, plant pots, bed linen, artwork, storage containers and side tables all from Kmart. I think we had made 6 or 7 trips to Kmart in the first two weeks of living in our house! However, we really did save money shopping here.

'My husband told me I was only allowed one decorative pillow on our bed, so this is what I went for. He can't stand the thought of 'pointless' pillows that you have to put on and off the bed each morning and night simply so the bed looks aesthetically pleasing. This was a big compromise for me, but I think I made it work.'

PICTURES

Pictures tell stories. They capture memories. And they remind us of precious moments we may sometimes forget. I don't know about you but I love walking into other peoples houses and seeing photos up on their walls or on top of their cabinets. Whether it be family photos, wedding photos or photos from their travels, they each spark a conversation and bring life into the home. If you're currently renting and aren't allowed to put hooks up on the walls, think of other creative ways you can display your photos!

KEEPING THE HOUSE NEAT AND TIDY

If there's one thing I've learnt from living in various shared houses for two years, it would be to clean up after yourself and keep your things tidy. No one wants to come home to a kitchen sink full of dishes, a bench with spilled oats from breakfast on it, a floor with crumbs, a dusty desk, or a bed piled up in clothes. So take action and clean up as you go. Wake up early enough to wash your breakfast dishes before you leave and schedule in time each week to clean. Don't wait to put your clothes away and if you make a mess, clean it up. I've always found that when my room or house has been messy it makes me feel stressed, so why not avoid that stress by keeping it clean? I know it is easier said then done however, when in the habit of it, it's not so hard after all. I also have my husband to thank for being on my back about putting my things away and keeping everything in order (he loves things to be clean).

Plus, if you ever have people coming over last minute, you won't have to ask yourself 'is our house clean?' Because you already know, it always is!

INCLUDING ELEMENTS THAT ARE UNIQUELY 'US'

Jacob is in the process of making a display shelf with his favourite shoes, cameras, artwork and other little things that are uniquely 'him'. Doing this helps to incorporate personality into your home and helps you to really feel like it is your home. For me it's plenty of plants and flowers in the house.

What do you need to add to your home to make it a little more 'homey'? Maybe its pictures, maybe it's a photo album for your coffee table, plants, ornaments, artwork, new cushions or perhaps it's having the pantry stocked up with food for guests. Whatever it is, make it a priority and take action today!