The Best Ways To Add Finishing Touches to Your Home

You’ve finished redecorating your home, but something is... missing. Sometimes when you finish making an upgrade, you realize that there’s too much or too little space left or that the room lacks an element that ties the overall theme together. Not to worry. Sometimes all it takes is an extra bit of furnishing or decoration to make a room work. Here’s a selection of the best ways to add finishing touches to your home.

Fill the Walls

Uncluttered walls can work, but they can also look blank and barren. Framed artwork is the easiest way to gussy up a wall, whether you choose authentic paintings by a local artist, posters and prints of famous works, or a series of family photographs. Adding shelves creates a new, functional space that can display adorable tchotchkes, elegant vases with fresh flowers, or carefully arranged books (try organizing them by color on several shelves for an extra eye-opening rainbow of color). Don’t underestimate the soft and visually tactile appeal of a large blanket or other textile hung from the wall, either.

Add Multifunctional Furniture

If a room lacks some amenity (or several), find furniture that serves purposes beyond the obvious ones. Every entryway or foyer could use a table that provides a place to put your wallet or purse, keys, and other pocket items you don’t want to carry around the house. A coffee table or chest can supply a surface for drinks, books, and gameplay, but they can also contain storage space for magazines, blankets, and more. Note what’s missing from a room and find a piece that can do it all.

Let There Be Lights

Never let a single source dictate the amount and kind of lighting a room gets. A ceiling fixture can provide a bright overall illumination to the room, but what about those times when you need a softer effect or a more direct source for reading in your favorite chair? Add a dimmer switch to your overhead lighting. Then, add table and floor lamps near couches and chairs to provide more personalized lighting. Incidentally, a floor lamp in each corner usually produces a soft, warm glow that makes a room feel homier and cozier.

Let There Be Life

When you’re considering the best ways to add finishing touches to your home, don’t forget that nothing adds more life to a place than plants. Plants add fresh air, pleasant scents, and, if they flower, extra color. Consider how much sunlight a room receives during the day and talk to a gardening center professional about the best plants for the space. Ideal plants to add include rubber trees, Christmas cacti, African violets, spider plants, and ferns. Most indoor plants are low maintenance, so even if you don’t have a green thumb, you’re unlikely to lose them if you miss a watering day.

Ways To Maximize Kitchen Counter Space

Battles between counter space and ever-invading clutter are constantly progressing in every kitchen. It always seems like counter space comes up short, even if you try stuffing all the space-hogging suspects into the drawers and cabinets below. Sadly, this is normal. Most home kitchens barely enough room to spare, especially when they’re small or galley style. No matter your situation, fret not! We’ll cover some of the best ways to maximize kitchen counter space here.

Add Shelf Risers

One of the best ways to maximize kitchen counter space is to simply create some counter space (who would have thought). You can use shelf risers to do this. When we say shelf risers, we don’t mean huge shelves weighing a million pounds. Think more along the lines of a spice rack that’s for more than just spices. The optimal usage of shelf risers would be storing spices, utensils, and other smaller kitchen implements. This will allow more counter space as well as storage space in the drawers.

Use All Your Surfaces and Drawers

When searching for more counter space, many people discount windowsills as unusable surfaces. However, the windowsill is one of the best places for storing such things as carafes, canisters, cookbooks, and even bottles. It’s worth noting that what you can do with your windowsill depends on how deep it is. Other spaces that people often underutilized are the lower cabinets. Many people don’t realize how much they can fit underneath a sink, even when they have bulky things such as under-sink water filtration systems taking up some of the space.

Utilize the Stovetop as a Potential Work Space

One of the techniques that never crosses most people’s minds is to use the stovetop as a work space. You’re probably asking yourself how you would do that, since a lot of stovetops—particularly on gas stoves—aren’t smooth surfaces. The answer is simple: stove covers. The best part is that you can make your own stove covers at home quite easily. With these, you can treat your stovetop as the perfect cutting board or general meal preparation area.

No matter your kitchen situation, there are always some ways to maximize your kitchen counter space. All it takes is a little creativity and the knowledge of what you need out of your kitchen. Remember, these space-saving tips are only the start. It’s now up to you to make your kitchen storage dreams come true!

Organizing Your Home Office For Privacy & Productivity

Even with the pandemic coming to an end, many employees are still opting to work from home. Working from home offers the convenience and flexibility that an in-office position lacks. But, preparing a home office that promotes productivity and focus is not so easy. Oftentimes, working from home comes with distractions that a standard office space does not. Cultivating a space that allows for high efficiency is essential to maintain your productivity whilst at home. And if your work requires a certain level of digression, having a private space away from family and friends is necessary.

Privacy Enhancers

One perk of the office, especially one with cubicles, is privacy. In some lines of work, the files and content that exist on the computer are meant to be kept private. It can be difficult finding this privacy balance at home with a family and children. However, there are several options on the market for making sure your space is kept relatively private. Aside from monitoring your online privacy, by limiting your cookie settings, you can privatize your screen by opting for a screen protector that tints the display a shade darker. This way, you can see your screen but other people passing by cannot. Another option is looking into a room divider or privacy shade. These are miniature, movable opaque walls that shade your area for some seclusion.

Revamp Your Files

Having an organized and convenient filing system is necessary. It is important to keep track of all your important documents. There are several methods for organizing your filing system. Ultimately, each person will find a different way that works best for them. However, ideally, you would have some main categories accounted for. Creating a folder for meetings will help you be prepared much quicker for those Zoom calls. Putting items that are ready to be discussed in a separate area will prevent you from losing an important document prior to a meeting. Along the same vein, putting together a “high priority” documents folder is another necessity. While these documents may not be as immediate as the meeting folder, they are still documents that should be kept at an arm's reach. Additionally, having a “follow-up” folder is important for not losing track of documents that may be awaiting a response. Periodically check in on that folder and see if any papers have been followed up on and moved to a separate place. While some people do still use an actual physical filing cabinet, many work entirely virtually. This filing system can still be implemented online whether it’s email folders, desktop folders, or even Google drive folders.

Purge Your Desk

If you’ve ever worked in a cluttered space, you may have realized that your productivity struggled. While there are some who thrive in the chaos, many do not. In fact, research shows that there is a direct correlation between clutter and a decline in productivity. Being at home can enhance clutter in the workspace. Whether it's dishes from various meals, kids’ toys, or other miscellaneous items, your desk may be becoming less conducive to productivity. Purge your main workspace of clutter is a one-way ticket to enhance productivity. Try keeping, at a maximum, 5 items on your desk. Whether that’s a laptop or desktop computer, your coffee mug, a note pad, a picture frame, or a plant, make sure only the necessities are present. As for the rest of the home office, consider a shelving system with concealed spaces. This way you can toss all the clutter into those bins or drawers and it is out of sight. While this doesn’t eliminate the clutter completely, it at least keeps it out of your way while you’re trying to work.

Bottom Line

Working from home has a lot of perks. A more flexible schedule allows for you to maximize your day in the way that works best for you. However, working from home also comes with a set of distractions that don’t normally exist in the traditional office setting. Organizing your space at home can help maximize your efficiency and productivity. And the more efficient and productive you are, the more you can do with the rest of your time. While these are just a few tips, there are plenty of ways to make your space match your needs. Ultimately, your choice in organization will be personal to you and how you work.

10 Best Organizing Tips for the Tidiest Home Ever

We all want to keep our houses clean and put together, but not every single person has the time to spend hours cleaning their homes. But for all the busy people there are some tips that will help you keep your house tidy and organized without having to spend hours upon hours on cleaning and organizing. For those who need some guidance, there are 10 best organizing tips for the tidiest home ever. 

Create a Command Station

One of the best ways to keep your home tidy and well organized is simply by sticking adhesive pockets on the side of your cabinets. That way you will be able to keep your coupons, recipes and grocery lists in order. 

Try a Tiered Shelf

If you are struggling with keeping your canned goods organized as well as any spices, the key is to get a tiered shelf so you always know when you are running out of something because you can see everything at once. 

Have Rules

Most of us like to collect things, especially kids. So a good rule to have in your family that will apply to every single member is not collecting things. If you get something new that you already have instead of keeping two of the same things, donate the old one.

Repurpose Your Trays and Bowls

One of the best ways to make your home stay tidy is by reusing old dishes and making them into little organizers. That will prevent you from having a junk drawer.

Have a Designated “drop zone”

Another use for repurposed trays and bowls are the drop off zones. Those zones will prevent any clutter on the tables. Instead of having heaps of stuff everywhere, it will all be in a tray or bowl.

Make Storage Labels

The best thing that you can do to keep your house organized is simply by creating labels. You can do it for everything, file folders, bins, inside the drawer and so on. It will encourage people in your house to stay organized and put things where they belong. All you need to make some labels is washi tape and a marker, but if you want to go all out you can get a label maker.

Establish Different Zones

One of the best tips that you can get when it comes to keeping an organized and tidy home is having different work zones. Since most people in Australia are working from home it is also important to do this because it will also increase your productivity. The work zone should have only your work things in it such as desks, computers and printers and you shouldn't use it for anything besides your work. All of your zones should be organized for their purposes and they shouldn't mix. As most people will opt to have carpets in their zones to make them cozy, you should hire professionals such as Aussie Pro Carpet Cleaning to clean your carpets at least every couple of months to ensure your home is tidy. 

Use Color to Avoid Confusion

This is just like labeling things, but it is better if you have kids. That is because when you have little kids they most likely can't read, so the best thing that you can do and help them keep organized is using color as labeling. Give each kid their own color so they know what things are theirs and where to put them back at. 

Use Storage-Smart Furniture

There is nothing more stressful and nerve-wracking than hurrying to tidy up your home before your guests arrive. But when you have storage-smart furniture that can be done in just a few minutes. Choose furniture such as lift-top coffee tables, sofas that have under cushion storage as well as ottomans that open up so you can store your blankets in them. It will save you so much time and it will keep your home looking tidy at all times. It can also make your home much cozier. 

Keep the Bathroom Tidy

Just twisting in your cotton swabs, soaps and other bathroom supplies in your drawers will leave your bathroom looking cluttered and messy. Not only that but you will constantly have to dig through everything just to find that one thing you need. The best thing that you can do to fix that is to buy jars in which you will store things such as cotton swabs, cotton balls as well as toothbrushes. If you have leftovers you can store them under the sink and keep refilling the jars when needed. 

Organizing your home can feel like a big accomplishable thing, but with the right strategy, you can do it in no time. All you need to do is be confident and persistent. Once you have organized your home and set down the rules, you will just have to keep up with the work and your home will always be in pristine condition.