Regardless of the shade, adding elements of green to your home can improve your mood, complement your design, and more.

 

Below are a few reasons to choose green for your interior design scheme.

It’s soothing. Green has long been used in decorating for its calming effect. Add some green curtains to your bedroom, paint the wall across from your sleeping space green and snag some easier ahhhhs.

It looks great with wood. If you have wood floors or furniture, tying in a shade of green will make your space even more lustrous.

It’s complimentary. There are so many gorgeous shades of green that it will be easy to thread a little green into your decorating scheme.

It’s natural. Don’t want to add any permanent green to your home? No problem! Just grab a few fresh houseplants and pepper them throughout your room for a fresh splash of green.

It may bring money. While you may not believe in this superstition, some swear that the color green brings wealth. Add some green to your home to call in a little windfall. It can’t hurt!

Are you the type of person who likes to take their flower garden indoors? Indoor plants do more than simply add color to your space; they can also improve the mood of those who live with them.

Bromeliads. These funky, spiky plants are in the pineapple family! Bright and tropical, they like lots of light and don’t require too much water, which makes them a great choice for a beginning gardener.

African Violet. These are some of the most popular blooming house plants, as they flower for a long duration and are relatively easy to care for.

Begonias. A well-cared for begonia will bloom almost continuously. Place them in a bright location away from windows.

Peace Lily. These lovely, graceful flowers are adaptable and low-maintenance. They don’t demand too much light and can survive stints of both over- and under-watering.

 

If you’re looking to boost your home’s curb appeal, consider getting creative with your exterior color scheme. From shutters to doors to railings and more, whatever style home you have can be easily updated with a touch of paint. Whether you want a pop of color or something a little more muted, get inspired by these unique, fun and creative color combinations.

Stick to the Classics
Shades of beige, light and warm, can do wonders for a classic home. If done right, even the most basic colors can stand out. Start with a light beige on the siding and compliment with a bright white on any railings, shutters, window frames and steps. Go for a warmer brown-tone for the door, paired with a dark colored lantern as a light fixture to draw the eye to the entrance. Playing with shapes, tones and textures can heighten this color scheme. Using muted tones doesn’t have to be boring if done correctly.

Play With Primary 
Blue, red and yellow represent each of the primary colors. Not only are they vastly different, but they also compliment each other. Though this may seem like an odd combination to put on the exterior of a home, if done right, it can provide a unique and interesting depth. Start with a deep blue coat on the majority of the house. For your pop of color, and depending on your personal style and the style of your home, add a bright red or yellow to the door. This will draw attention to the entrance. Whichever color you did not choose for the door, use sparingly for accents, like furniture, welcome mats and even potted plants.

Warm Up With Wood
If your personal color palette leans more towards cooler tones, like different shades of gray, you can easily warm that up with wooden accents. For a more modern style home constructed out of concrete, adding stark and natural wood features creates a unique look. Brighten up your entryway with an orange-toned wooden door, complemented by wooden window frames and a matching fence. This color scheme works well with lots of greenery, heightening the natural elements in contrast to the bare-boned grays. Even adding a grass wall or vine with some hanging greenery can bring out the earthy tones in the wood and draw attention to the modern and contemporary concrete.

Write it down. Why are you attracted to minimalism? Do you like the idea of living lightly? Of contributing less to landfills? Of saving money by purchasing less or saving time by having less to clean and declutter? Writing these things down can fortify your mission to become a minimalist, and it will reinforce your ability to move onto the next suggestion.

Go room by room. Now that you hopefully have your household on your team, go room by room and itemize your belongings. Don’t feel pressure to slog through this in one weekend. Choose one room a month, even, take stock of your furniture and possessions, and ask yourself the following questions:
– Does this have a purpose?
– Do you use it?
– Does it make you happy?
If you answer no to any of these questions, selling or donating the item is a no-brainer.

Ditch the duplicates. Ridding yourself of duplicate items is an easy first step to purging. Do you need five extra sets of linens? All of those extra dishes in the cupboard? That backup fridge in the garage? Someone else may get better use of the things collecting dust in your cabinets.

Aim for dual function. When deciding what to keep, sell, donate, or purchase in the future, consider the function of said item. Can you use it in more than one way? Can you snag a piece of furniture that doubles as a storage unit? A kitchen island with a wing that opens into a dining room table? These are true minimalist gems

Staging can boost a sale price of a home by as much as 10 percent. The best staged homes strike the balance between lived-in and never-owned. How can you apply that science when staging your home? Look no further than model homes, which draw buyers by blending the form-follows-function principle with the preferences of today. Here are some tips:

• Remove anything from the room that doesn’t fit the intended purpose of the space, and vice versa.
• Delineate sections in a room with area rugs, and “float” furniture away from walls and on and around the space.
• Group solid furnishings, like sectionals or bookcases, with visually lighter pieces, like a glass side table or raised bench, to convey spaciousness over sparseness.
• Mix general and task lighting in rooms that see the most traffic. Install lighting between open-air shelving or underneath overhead cabinetry in the kitchen, and place a small lamp on a desk or workspace in a child’s bedroom.
• Accessorize sparingly. Display only a handful of books with like-colored bindings in bookcases or shelving units, add one (thriving!) house plant to a side table, or hang one statement piece of artwork (scaled appropriately) over a bed or fireplace.

Stage to the model home aesthetic with these tips and you’ll be well on your way to selling your home for more.