EVAN'S TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR PLACE HOME SWEET HOME
Assess your Space and Know What You Need to Improve
-Take a look around your new surroundings, and make a list of its aesthetic pros and cons.
-The amount of light, natural as well as artificial, plays a very important role in making a place look spacious. Get rid of room-darkening shadows by uncovering windows and adding additional light fixtures.
-Use the same colors in different hues for paintwork, furniture and curtains to open up a small room. Pastels and light colors give the illusion of wideness.
-Less is more! Do not over accessorize with too many furnishings, pictures, etc.
Find Your Look
-Are you traditional or eclectic? Clean and neat, trendy and kitschy? Either way, finding the décor that suits you and your space is what really warms up your home and makes it a reflection of you. In your bathroom for instance, express their personal sense of style with rugs, shower curtains, towels and accessories if you only have a plain plate-glass mirror enhance it with a stylish border. Evan likes Moen Mirrorscapes.
-Mismatch pieces make a place distinctively "you," and also are good for your wallet!
-When it comes to all of your fixtures, they should be stylish but also functional, efficient-and if possible save you money. For starters, installing a faucet filtration system right onto your faucet will save you up to $600 a year. Evan recommends the PUR filtration system.
Frugal is the New Black
- When it comes to furnishing and decorating, ask friends or family for any pieces and accessories they no longer need or use. Take a trip to the thrift store, or start going to garage sales in your neighborhood.
-Reupholster dining room chairs by removing the seat and securing a fun, cheap fabric tautly with a staple gun.
-For a dining room table or coffee table, purchase a piece of glass for $100 and use any number of things for your base. Large flowerpots, cement columns, and even bricks wrapped in fabric will make a great base for your dining and coffee tables.
-Whenever you need something done for your home-whether it's a carpenter to build an additional storage or a plumber to install a new showerhead- find a trusted professional by using a free search engine that guarantees the service-which saves you money if the job isn't done right. Evan uses Superpages.com.
- Be patient! From furniture to decor, don't try to do everything at once. Think of decorating as a project that needs to evolve over time.
For more information on some of Evan's products, visit:
- www.buymirrorscapes.com
- www.purwater.com
- www.superpages.com
About Evan Farmer:
Evan Farmer is the host of TLC's hit makeover show WHILE YOU WERE OUT. He is featured on HGTV's FREESTYLE as lead designer and the show's Host. Television credits include guest-starring roles on the TV series' D.A.G. and JAG as well as a three year stint doing voices on the popular animated comedy DARIA. Evan found his knack for hosting when asked to sub for Carson Daly on MTV's top rated show TOTAL REQUEST LIVE (TRL) and is a staple guest of several ongoing VH1 shows.
