5 Simple (Stay-At) Home Upgrades to Improve Your Environment AND Your State of Mind

We are facing uncertain times and it’s unsettling and scary. If you’re anything like me, spending most of your time at home and being unable to go out and do the things that you’re accustomed to doing only adds to the feeling of helplessness. We’re on week 10 of homeschooling and self-quarantining in Hong Kong, so I thought I’d share a few projects that I’ve been putting into practice around my own home that have been helping me to cope-and improve my interiors at the same time.

Give you Kitchen Cabinets a Facelift

One DIY project that I did for myself that really changed the entire look of a room was to repaint my kitchen cabinets doors and give them new handles. This project took only one day once I had all the materials, and boy what a difference it made! I went from a drab, brown room that I didn’t want to spend any time in, to a bright, white space with elegant touches of matte gold. The kitchen finally became somewhere I was happy to spend hours in (which is a miracle considering how little I used to cook). Pro Tip: When you repaint a space, just make sure you choose the right paint to hold up to the wear and tear insert link to paint blog. And for handles, there are a plethora of choices online. I am partial to searching on Etsy, as this also gives small businesses a much-needed boost. 

Choose a new color scheme 

Another great DIY project while you’re stuck at home is to change the color-scheme of a room. Start with deciding which room, and what color(s) you really like and want to incorporate. Then pick your biggest item first-the floor rug. Again, this can be purchased online from shops such as Serena & Lily or Overstock.com (I’m not affiliated with them in any way, just have found them to be fast and reliable). Once you’ve chosen the rug, all the other item colors should be pulled from here, so that the room is coordinated but not match-matchy. Order a bunch of new throw pillows for the sofa if you’re doing the living room or bedroom. Find a throw that compliments the pillows. Voila! A room makeover with impact, done from the comfort of your own home!   

Organize your closets

I’ve taken some time while at home to go through my closets and pull out those clothes that I no longer wear, like, or need. They are all set to donate the first chance I get. Going through this process has helped not only with dealing with clutter, but also with handling anxiety. It has given me a feeling of control and order-when so many things are currently out of our control. 

Once I pared down, the next step was to make my closet look good. Pro Tip: A really simple, inexpensive, but effective way to do this is to use the same hanger for everything in your closet. Get rid of that metal, plastic, multicolored mess, and choose one single hanger online and order. Then when they arrive, hang your clothing by type (shirts, pants, skirts, sweaters, etc.) and by color. You’ll be able to find things easily, and the storage will be uniform and orderly. An easy transformation that does wonders for your mood!   

Do an Accent Wall

If you’ve followed my blog for a while then you’ll know that I’m crazy for an accent wall. It is one of the fastest and most effective ways to change the feel of a room without breaking the bank. For all of you with some trepidation about repainting or wallpapering an entire room, it’s also the perfect way to get your feet wet. When choosing a paint color or wallpaper, order lots of samples online (Here’s a shop I use a lot for clients)and tape them (in the case of wallpaper) to the wall you’re thinking of doing. For paint samples, again try as many as you like in squares on the wall. Observe them throughout the day-how do they look in morning light? How about at night? The great thing about having to be at home right now is that you’ll actually see what the potential choices look like at different times and be able to make a truly informed decision. 

Get a Shoe Cabinet

So growing up in the US, my family always took off their shoes before we came into the house. I didn’t think anything of it; it just was what we did. Fast forward to living in Asia for the past 14 years, and I was well-prepared for visiting people’s homes. Everyone here removes their shoes before entering their homes. It’s actually a really effective way to keep dirt you’ve accumulated from walking around all day outside, outside. So most people here also have some sort of shoe cabinet at the front entry to store outside shoes and switch into house shoes (slippers). Obviously at the moment, we aren’t roaming around willy-nilly, but I highly recommend that you implement this sort of system for your home. Have a look online: you can use storage benches, wardrobes, or traditional shoe cabinets. Think of it as planning for a positive future when you will be able to leave the house at any time and not think twice about it-I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!