Mays home makeover

7 tips that she found useful

“May, you really need to do something about your house. This is such a waste.” Somehow, people always feel free to give their opinions unasked when they are around me. I decided to take that as a compliment. This remark came from Linda Ubachs, my neighbor a few houses down, who has a great talent for decorating homes. “We’ll go through it together, it’ll be done in no time,” she said. And so it happened.

1. Get rid of things

I took a critical look at my room, through someone else's eyes. Next to each cabinet stood large lamps, the sofa was old, our chairs were beautiful, but they had sagged a bit so you needed at least four cushions to sit comfortably, and our divan was once stunning, but now it was really a bit dirty.

I put the lamps in the utility room, first getting used to the empty look. The divan went to our bedroom (we often have nighttime visits from one of the kids, so we could nicely park them on the divan), we replaced the sofa with a super cute showroom model that we could take home for a song, and for the chairs, we found a tighter and more current alternative that is also easy to clean. Speaking of beautiful sofas, this do you want to have it right away?

2. Curtains

I found this the biggest task. I just had curtains from Ikea and never really looked at them. They are fine, but they were a bit dirty. I cycled to a fabric store with Linda at least four times, but either the fabric was sold out, too complicated, or I just found it too expensive. Or too woolly. Or too pronounced. And with my windows, quite high as you can see, you can easily spend 6000 euros and I think that's quite a lot of money.

I thought about blinds, but they are so permanent. In the end, I chose real beautiful wooden blinds from . Beautiful, sturdy, thick wood (that won't sag into a flimsy curve like with a cheaper brand), in the perfect color (they have so many, but I chose RAL 9010, which is the same as my frame) and that you can also lift up if you want to have an open view outside for a moment. They create a cozy effect, I can vary the light coming in, and I can keep nosy onlookers at a distance. I live in quite a picturesque neighborhood, you should know, and it’s just rude how some passersby peek and stare inside. And it gives me a very St. Barths feeling. By the way, I've never been there, but I do get that feeling.

3. Wallpaper

There was a time when wallpaper was considered bourgeois. And dusty. Literally. But now, a little house can hardly do without wallpaper. There is such beautiful wallpaper. Many fashion houses also have their own wallpaper line. Matthew Williamson, for example. He even personally liked a photo from neighbor Linda who praised one of his wallpapers. Anyway. I had my hallway and my mantelpiece covered with a beautiful golden wallpaper. It immediately looks warm and festive when you walk in, and it adds a nice detail to my mantelpiece.

4. Crazy accessories

They don’t have to be permanent. I bought a palm tree lamp and placed cute frames underneath that I filled with cut-out wallpaper. That wallpaper is from an English artist who glued dog heads onto the heads of old family portraits. I find it very amusing. And when I’ve had enough of it, I’ll fill it with something else. This by the way, are the coolest home trends of 2017 according to Renske.

5. New art

I am a member of the art rental service. This way, you can hang the most beautiful things in your house for a pittance and it’s also easy to vary. Just drive there again and you’re completely new again. What’s also nice is to have really beautiful photos printed large on perspex. They do that professionally at Eyes On Media in Amsterdam, but there’s probably one near you if you live somewhere else.

6. Small vases

Of course, you can do whatever you want, but the large vase with a mixed bouquet is just a bit out. Opt for a small, tall field bouquet, but even better (and cheaper) is to place three small vases next to each other and put a few long flowers in them.

7. Tidying up

Tidying up is so nice. Order bulk waste, stock up on large garbage bags, and just start. Drawer by drawer, cabinet by cabinet. You’ll feel so happy and look a million dollars.

Good luck!