1. Floods of colour
Bright colours are more in style than ever before, and if you know how to combine them, you're sure to highlight the areas of your home you thought were a little dull and boring. If your walls are painted white or neutral, try painting one of them in a bright colour – the one you think will look best – to contrast with the others, but make sure it combines well with your furniture and decoration. If your lounge is already pretty bright, try out a colour that's a little darker than usual. You'll not only attract more attention in this new area, you'll also make your light colours stand out more.
Changing is easy, fast and very effective.
2. Fabrics are your ally
And just as effective for giving colour and texture to your lounge are all the fabrics you use to decorate it: from curtains to cushions, not to mention sofa fabrics and upholstery on other furnishings. Try switching them around using floral prints or geometric shapes. You'll achieve a splash of vitality and positive energy. It's easy. What's more, you can use textures like animal pelts, linen and silk, or velvets. They're the latest thing in decoration, so don't be afraid to experiment and reinvent to your taste. A few plushy cushions on the sofa will give that touch of style and freshness you need in your lounge.
Aquaclean, the fabric you can clean with water only, presents some of its collections: from left to right: Kabuki, Adra, Matsue and Vera
3. Plants and flowers for the natural touch
You can get a nice natural feel in your lounge by decorating it with a few plants or flowers. The trick is to combine varieties, heights and colours, depending on the wall space behind your plants and the furniture you may have nearby. To start off, why not create a composition within the same colour ranges, with your plant or flower integrated in with the furniture and décor? Or maybe convert the plant and flower arrangement into the centre of attention, going for lots of contrast. Play around with different heights and sizes, but make sure they don't interfere with the daylight coming in. Plants are your allies when it comes to decorating, as they not only give a fresh, natural touch to the room, but also help to keep the air cleaner! What else can you ask for?
4. Soft furniture
We're referring to things like pouffes, which give a youthful, casual touch to any space, and are perfect complements to your new sofa. And they're really useful when you get lots of visitors, because they don't occupy much space, but serve as stand-ins for more chairs and armchairs. Another thing you can do is renovate an older piece of furniture you happen to have. A coat of paint can transform an old piece of furniture into a centrepiece, and the vintage or aged style is back in fashion, more than ever. So you're recycling a piece you might have thrown out and adding colour to your furniture in one single stroke.
5. Magic carpets
Carpets don't attract lots of attention most of the time, but they can make a big difference to a room. Continuing with our combination of neutrals and bright colours, carpets can give that extra note of colour to round out the decoration of your lounge in spring. We recommend lighter natural fabrics, as they are much more pleasant that heavier wools and tweeds. Combine colours and designs, and use them to mark out areas like around the sofa, or a special little corner for reading. Like we said, floral prints or geometrics are a must in home decoration for 2016, so perhaps a zebra-print carpet or a nice imitation-nature pattern will give that fresh, eco-friendly touch to your room.
As you can see, with just a few little tricks and changes, you can convert your lounge into a new place. So come on, let's start today!
