Simple Ways to Refresh Your Space on a Budget
Giving your home a refresh doesn’t have to mean a full renovation or a weekend trip to Bunnings. Lets be honest, not all of us have extra fun money, and if we do we are most likely spending it on what seems to be a more achievable and a more automatic dopamine hit like buying a coffee, treating yourself to lunch out, or getting the car cleaned. Sometimes, the smallest tweaks can have the biggest impact — especially when you focus on how a space makes you feel, not just how it looks.
If you’ve been feeling burnt out, cluttered, or uninspired at home, these are some easy additions to your space that can help you reset without overspending:
Start with your surfaces
When you return home after a long day, at work, with your children, or after a very full on social event, seeing receipts, the half empty water cup or even the mail that you haven't checked from last week can all impact how you are going to feel for the rest of the evening in your space. Its almost like when people say its not dirty, its messy. No one is actually frustrated at the dirt, the mess is actually creating more stress than the cat fluff on the floor.
Spend 10-15 minutes, whatever you can spare without over exerting your already limited energy. Clear your bench tops, coffee table, or desk, and as you tidy, replace only the things you love — a candle, a plant, your favourite photo frame. Visual calm brings mental calm.
Add colour consciously
We have all at some point or another, looked at someones house, room, space and thought "my kitchen could never look like that" or "this store is basically what I want my house to look like". I know i have. But honestly, the thought of spending upwards of $400 on reading books to add to my bookshelf every few months, that I might flick through twice in the next decade, doesn't always seem viable when I also can just swap out or add in a colour.
A new throw for your bed end, a bright kitchen tea towel or a pop of art can make a space feel new again. We spend a lot of time in our homes, so we get very familiar with how it looks and that picture can seem like it never changes. Focusing on small pops of colour, not only help us to perceive a bigger change in the space, but they also add to the way we feel. Colour doesn’t just decorate — it shifts the energy in a room.
Have fun with duality
I get it, putting up a piece of art may make you feel more put together, however if you are someone who enjoys getting as much value out of a purchase as you can, try to add decor with multiple purposes.
As much as I love my beautiful range of books, they are only to be read, to be seen, and to add colour. Think of the kitchen tea towel, a vibrant pattern or set - this part creates the feel-good and uplifts the kitchen. Then the practicality comes in - you can use it everyday, wash it and re-use it. Its not only for decoration.
Maybe i'm just trying to convince myself, that if I were to dry the dishes with a beautiful printed tea towel, the dishes would seem ever so slightly less mundane.....Not sure yet, will have to let you know.
Keep it meaningful
A refreshed home isn’t about more stuff — it’s about surrounding yourself with pieces that make you smile and simplify your space.
When you focus on feel-good décor, your home becomes less about perfection and more about presence. For me, this resonates to the highest hills. At work, at home, i'm constantly chasing perfection for nobody but myself. Slowing down and realising that there are so many mini milestones I have glazed over in appreciating makes me want to be more present.
If you had to spend a long period of time inside your home, what do you feel is missing to make that period feel unimportant? If you can be in your space, clutter free, visually calm then even having nothing to do should feel good.
