What makes your house look it’s best?

[Ideclarethumbwar]

Apologies for the poorly worded question but I can’t quite articulate what I’m trying to say. Aside from a clean and tidy home, what makes it ‘wow’ in your opinion?

I live in a nicely renovated, ex council 3 bed semi. But I don’t have an eye for design or detail, but really want my home to give a lovely impression - how do I do this?

Keeping to one style of decor with maybe the odd quirky thing to add a bit of interest.

Using a toning colour scheme throughout so all the rooms seem connected.

Being as clutter free as you can (difficult!)

Not too much stuff, not loads of generic stuff ( don’t have a house looking like the Argos catalogue) have plants

For me it's fresh flowers or greenery of some sort, framed paintings/prints/drawings/photographs and books. But I am not in to minimalism. I quite like mismatched old "brown" furniture too.

One focal point? Like a fireplace or window?

Get rid of clutter and have a place for everything. Clean windows make a huge difference to a room. Open windows daily, fresh air is wonderful.

No signs of children

Pinterest is good for ideas and it's free. I love it. Helped me with nifty ideas for our kitchen for not much money.
Cut flowers and plants bring something to a house in terms of freshness, colour and 'life' somehow. Even when I've been pretty skint I've always bought flowers even if its a bunch of £1 daffodils.

Dh is super particular about this as he's worked in many expensive houses. He's insisted on symmetry- eg light fitting central to room and fireplace.

Ceilings and woodwork painted an off white. Matt, not gloss.

All wall hangings hung relative to the height of the doors.

A general "tone" of colour throughout the whole house.

I just roll my eyes at him. But my house does look nice (when tidy and not trashed by kids)

Ours looks it's best when everything is put away, windows open, sun shining in.

What I think makes it lovely to be in - lighting options, a throw blanket over an arm of a chair, vase of flowers/plants, carpet in the living room, warm colours on the walls, no print wallpapers, small selection of artwork in certain spots.

Oh, to add, most of our knick knacks are things we've found at car boot sales or antique shops. Super cool and everything has a story about where we got it

Ours is a bit of a mash-mash, in terms of colours and furniture (mixture of second hand and new). But it's always relatively clean and tidy, there are plants and lots of books, plus fresh flowers most of the time. I think it looks nice, but it's not 'styled' and nothing particularly matches but that's the way I prefer it.

We’ve just moved house and redecorated and refurbished a lot so my tips are

Not have everything matchy matchy eg dont have all the furniture in a room from the same range. Mix it up eg wood furniture with a painted piece of furniture, all within the same colour palette

Tray on coffee table for remotes and bits so not all spread out across the the table surface

Case of flowers automatically transforms a room

Mix up textures and shapes. Don’t have all square or all curved furniture etc

Group items in odd numbers eg 3 or 5, for some reason just looks more pleasing to the eye

Don’t paint everything grey!

Our house looks best in May when all the azaela and rhododendrons are out and the fruit in flower, and it's sunny.

We are spending as much time as possible making it more colourful in spring now!

I think winter we are on a hiding to nothing.

Key things for me are no clutter and not being matchy-matchy. Buy things because you love them, not because they 'go'. Pinterest is great for some ideas. Mixing up brand new and second hand can work really well.

For me, it's lots of natural light, plants and odd things that make me happy.
I painted my kitchen table fire engine red, soft furnishings in blues and greens, clay and copper pots type of stuff

@Seafog, with that view you could just have an empty room & a chair!

@nancy75 for sure, it's what made me say yes to the apartment, sight unseen, when we moved across country to here.
DH went house hunting and sent me back a photo of the view from the window, and I said sign the lease.
Bugger did avoid telling me it was carpets until the last day of the drive...

@Seafog

For me, it's lots of natural light, plants and odd things that make me happy. I painted my kitchen table fire engine red, soft furnishings in blues and greens, clay and copper pots type of stuff

@Seafog absolutely stunning 😍

Clear counter tops are important. It’s fine to have vases, lamps, pictures etc just no random clutter.

Fresh flowers give a focal point to a room. And this is a bit old fashioned, but if you put flowers in front of a mirror in a glass vase, it creates a sense of volume and lightness.

In a room have a colour that repeats around the room - eg a blue cushion, a discreet vase or ornament, a book, a detail in the pattern on another fabric - not so obvious that it’s in your face.

And finally light is key - as much natural light as you can manage, and different sources of artificial light - lamps, candles, etc

Absolutely not giving a stuff what anyone else thinks. Decorating your home as though you were going to live in it forever, not sell in 5 years, so choosing exactly what you want. Great quality furniture - second hand real wood is better than new IKEA. Minimalist but with at least one amazing feature - a big fireplace, or extravagant chandelier or big Persian rug. Pictures as big as you can get away with without dwarfing the room - pictures you’ve bought because you love them rather than because they match the decor. Rooms that show your personality rather than standard beige/grey. Plants.

Not replacing the dog

@SarahBellam
THIS
I love me an antique chandelier!
Also, I HAVE to have a mirror in every room as a focal point - baroque or venetian mandatory

Fresh smells.

No plug ins or pets 🤧

The children not being in it 😁