Please can you help me? - please describe things that you feel add "polish/finishing touches" to you/your home?

[GabrielleChanel]

So I always used to wear nail varnish as it made me feel like I had my shit together even when I - I have also recently moved to a red lip for a similar reason. Since Coronavirus/all the handwashing I have moved to a nude nail because I can see how clean my nails are better

But I realise that this polish is something I am striving for and I think makes one look less frumpy. I think my house could do with a bit of de-frumping too - e.g plumping of cushions.

Are there other things you do?

What do you think makes a house look polished/finished?

HasaDigaEebowai, I agree, pictures are a bad idea.

We have had two houses featured in ‘home’ magazines, but what was deemed sufficiently attractive to encourage the public to buy them would undoubtedly be torn to pieces by Mumsnetters!

I think ( based on no interior design knowledge at all) that in the UK we notice windows and light first. So windows are really key.
If you have gloomy interiors then the quality of the interior decoration really matters. If you have a light bright room then you need to de clutter and make sure the curtains or blinds optimise the window. None of that thick lined stuff.
And make sure that the view is nice. I see so many estate agents photos where the view through the living room is a dull brown fence. Even a tiny garden or balcony can have a tree in a pot.

@Dillo10

Art on the walls Candles Coffee table books neatly stacked Soft furnishings - throws, cushions etc

It can also be how the furniture is arranged - never have the back of your sofa against the wall for example

This is ridiculous and doesn't apply to most houses I imagine.

It all depends on your taste and style OP. People might say get a bright throw and coordinating cushions but it may not match your colour scheme. Why don't you look on instagram for some inspiration?

My house is white neutral - a lot of white as I like it to look fresh and airy, wooden floors, marble fire place and coasters, coordinating white or oak furniture, linen cushions and lots of nice house plants. I have good storage - shoe drawers, lots of places to put coats, and everything has it's place so its not easy to do a quick tidy up to get it looking good. However that ay not be your taste - I have friends who have more maximalist tastes and their houses looks great.

I suppose my top tips would be to dress the windows well and make the most of the light. Think carefully about the art work/ frames and avoid stuff like photos printed onto canvas (they just look crap - photos are meant to be printed onto paper!) and avoid cheap looking stuff. A family member has loads of money but she's filled her house from with those cheap shiny materials from asda, stuff with sequins on it, fake gold and marble stuff - drives me mad!

Oh, and I also think matt looks classier and more polished' (oddly enough) than shiny.

It might be because shiny needs just So. Much. Work to keep it shiny and clean and not covered in finger marks, and also that I prefer matt finish personally.

An interior that's all chrome and glass and gloss finish always looks a bit WAG to me.

@Zaphodsotherhead- I think the fitted sheet you choose ( which is exposed when the duvet is folded) can make a difference. I have liberty bedding from Coco and wolf and chose a contrasting fitted sheet which is lovely in its own right and the bed still looks 'made' even though it is only partially.

[quote LanternHill]@peaceanddove we had a small sofa covered in dolly mixtures fabric- green and white- in the mid 80s. Very of its time! Laura cannot take the credit though- a quick Google search reveals the designer was a Linda Beard[/quote]
You learn something new every day!

@LanternHill, is this the fabric you mean? If so, I adore it! @Peaceanddove, I had my bedroom done out in a Laura Ashley design when I was a teenager, and I was beyond delighted to find an offcut online recently, which I'm going to cover a small bench cushion with in my sewing room. It definitely sparks joy! I've tried to attach a photo here, to no avail, so here is a link.

Green plants chucked literally anywhere and everywhere, it brightens up a room and for some reason they uplift my mood

Having a well made bed and sofa (cushions, blankets with no creases)

It all subjective, look around instagram and pinterest and get an idea about what you like.
I have things I like, regardless of cost. I don't care what others think too much. My house looks organised and uncluttered. I have a stack of books and groups of odd things here and there. I love the freestanding cupboards, my sofa and loveseat and footstools, my velvet curtains.
It goes together and works for how we use the room. I like texture but am not keen on florals or patterns.

I have a lot of ferns and foliage in the garden but don't have any plants indoors. i have fake peonies from Wilko which I use in a glass vase with fresh white freesias and seashells.

I'm not keen on feature walls, my friend loves them and her house is lovely. DC's rooms are different colours. The rest of the house is painted white. My ideal would be to have dark wood parquet throughout the downstairs but that won't happen in this house.

I also have art on the walls and photographs on surfaces. I just realised reading this thread that was an unwritten rule for me.

I get the sofa slightly away from the wall thing. My main room is long but thin, even so my large sofa isn't totally pushed back. It has legs rather than feet and it looks better 🤷🏼‍♂️. I think a lot of people push their furniture to the outside to create space. I'd rather be comfortable in the space.

In my next house I'd like a room that I could have a projector in for watching films on a Saturday night.

Great idea for a thread, i'm off to make a Pinterest board for conversation seating in the garden

One trick you can use for a room with the sofa against the wall is to use a sofa table/shelf. You only need about 25cm of space but it enables you to dress that space and looks much better. I’ve put one in in our snug which is quite a small room with a large squishy corner sofa. It means we can have lamps behind the sofa (and it’s a perfect resting place for a G&T)

That said, I don’t think a sofa against a wall is wrong per se, what is generally going to look wrong is a room with all the furniture around the edge and a big space in the middle.

I think it depends too on the size of the rooms, and whether you have knocked through or not. The footprint of a Victorian terrace doesn't really lend itself to sofas away from the walls, even though I love the look when there's enough floor space.

@BitOfFun- yes, that was the fabric in question
Great that you were able to get some the vintage fabric; it can be very comforting to have - literally- a remnant of the past!
I loved poring over the Laura Ashley catalogues when I was little- so much so that a couple of yeas ago, I bought a few on eBay from the mid/ late 80s. A veritable trip down memory lane, revisiting the various wallpapers and fabrics of my childhood homes!

@HasaDigaEebowai

That said, I don’t think a sofa against a wall is wrong per se, what is generally going to look wrong is a room with all the furniture around the edge and a big space in the middle.

That is what I refer to as the 'dentist's waiting room' look!