Decorated floating shelves are an easy way to add colour to plain wall space.

With the change of seasons upon us, now begins the time of year when we will start to spend more time inside than outside. While that may be a depressing realisation for those of us who don’t love the winter months, it’s also an opportunity to make the change to cooler weather a little less painful by making a couple of small, low-cost updates to your home.

Making your home as cosy and homely as possible is a great way to change things up if you’re feeling a little tired of your decor. These aren’t renovations, but DIY projects suited to those of us that can barely swing a hammer, and all easy enough to knock up on a wet afternoon.

Bump up your curb appeal

Painting your front door a cheery colour can freshen up a whole house. Disclaimer: this won’t suit all homes! A lick of paint on older and character homes can make your view from the street a whole lot brighter, and make visitors feel more welcome upon arrival. Mid-century homes, although there are few around these parts, often have a front door painted in a mustard, green or light blue, and it draws the eye towards it, and away from other less desirable parts of the house. Villas sometimes have a red or navy blue front door, which is both a smart look and something a little different. For brand new houses, tread carefully with new colours. White homes are typically enhanced with a pop of colour, but schist, wood and plaster homes sometimes have enough going on already.

Clear out your bedside table and top it only with things you love.

Add visible storage

With open shelves becoming a major trend in the last year, shelves are no longer just for hiding inside cupboards or huge units that feel that they fill a room. Floating shelves are the biggest trend of its type in 2017, and there’s good reason for it. Floating shelves (attached to the wall and not touching the floor) feel modern, don’t clog up valuable floor space and are an easy way to add personalisation to a sparse room. Floating shelves come in all shapes and sizes, from simple plank shelves, ideal for photos and succulents, to bigger, boxy shelves that can store plenty of books and larger plants. A popular option for kids rooms and babies nurseries are very short shelves with a small groove, designed to store kids books with their covers facing out. Many floating shelves can be made at home, or easily purchased and installed from a hardware store.

Warming details

To make your home feel warmer this winter, try to maximise the light and add cosy details. Repainting an old mirror and hanging it in a dark hallway can add a sense of light to a gloomy space, while cushions and blankets on sofas will never go amiss. To freshen up or add to your cushions, consider making new cushion covers or seeking out some coloured cushions. Indoor plants are one of the biggest home decor trends of the past few years. Try moving your plants to more visible spots or repainting the pots, or seek some indoor plants out if you don’t have any. A new duvet cover in a bedroom can also lift a whole room, and organising your bedside table so it’s topped with only a few treasured items makes a bedroom a whole lot homelier.

Indoor plants bring greenery inside for when there isn’t much outside.

Rejig your furniture

A tried and tested and totally free option is to work with what you’ve already got, but move things around. You can wander around your whole house and see if things in one room are really meant for another. Maybe a beautiful armchair is wasted in a rarely-used guest bedroom, or a chest that has been sitting in the garage for too long could be dusted off and placed at the end of a bed for a rustic feel. If the thought of changing everything is too much, start with your living room furniture. Perhaps sofa arrangements could be better laid out, or the dining table doesn’t look out at a nice view when it could. It’s amazing how different things can feel after with a bit of thoughtful rearrangement.

PHOTOS: Supplied