5 Easy Touches to Make a New Space Instantly Feel Like Home

Each week on Making it Home With Kortney & Kenny, our favourite designer-contractor duo help homeowners realize their forever home dreams with massive renovations and brilliant design touches. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to the talented team, but if we’ve learned anything from watching Kortney and Kenny at work this season, it’s how to make a house feel like a home.

From undeniable charm and personality to warm and polished finishes, read on for easy and inexpensive ways to transform your space into your very own.

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Make an Entrance

The first thing you see when you enter any home is the entrance. So if you really want to make an impact and let people see the real you from the moment they enter your space, try to create a foyer that pops. Whether that means a unique tile or a painted wall is up to you. Pick finishes that suit your personality, and don’t be afraid to go for it.

Painted white stairs in a modern main entrance

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A Little Paint Goes a Long Way

If tired stairs are a part of your entrance and you want to spruce them up, remember that paint can go a long way. Numerous times this season Kortney and Kenny opted to save some money by painting instead of refinishing staircases, which can be super expensive. And so far, that method has worked out every single time.

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Get Personal

A rule of thumb when you’re listing a property is to remove any personal items or photographs because you want potential buyers to really envision themselves living in the space. But if it’s your home that you’re talking about, the more personal it is, the more meaningful it will be to you. In that vein, feel free to add photos, plants, pieces of art or anything else that speaks to you and brings you joy when you look at it.

Black and white photo wall in renovated dining room

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Bring Out Your Faves

One thing Kortney always loves to surprise homeowners with is a collage wall filled with all of their favourite memories. Whether you’ve got pictures to print or young kids with lots of art that’s just begging to be framed, mounting those things on the wall is a fast and inexpensive way to add loads of personality to your space.

Watch: Beautiful Bungalow Reno Leaves Homeowners Speechless

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Don’t Be Afraid to Switch Things Up

It’s nice to have a uniform flow throughout your main floor, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play with design and texture as you go from room-to-room. Whether you’re thinking about adding a dark colour to cabinets or a feature wall with unique wallpaper, remember that adding a bit of contrast and texture to a space will also make it feel less like a model home cutout and more like a place for you to call home.

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Bold Bathrooms

Powder rooms are a great way to add a ton of personality without overwhelming the larger floorplan. Kortney often adds dramatic finishes and busy wallpaper to her main floor powder rooms, injecting tons of personality and design in a fast, inexpensive, and easy-to-change-out kind of way.

White storage hutch in dining room with decorative plants

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Look For Ways to Maximize Storage

Maintaining control over clutter is one of the easiest ways to keep a home feeling open and airy, no matter how big or small the space in question actually is. That makes it important to create lots of storage opportunities for yourself with things like hooks in a mudroom, baskets under a coffee table, or built-in bookcases in your living room.

Built in bookcases in bright yellow and cream living room

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Create Clutter-Free Bliss

Several times throughout the season, Kortney and Kenny have conceptualized genius storage solutions for homeowners, whether it be a more expensive project like redesigning a pantry or laundry room or a simple and frugal project like adding a storage bench to a playroom or eat-in dining area.

Grey and black graphic wallpaper in hallway

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Compromise With Your Partner

They say opposites attract, and that doesn’t seem to ring any truer than when it comes to a couple and their design preferences. If you and your partner are butting heads over the type of space you want to create, be sure to come up with a compromise that leaves both parties feeling happy. After all, your dream home probably includes both of you in it.

Dining room table with minimalist chairs

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Clever Compromises Are Key

Kortney and Kenny ran into opposing design preferences several times this season, but by finding clever compromises and combining different styles, they left all homeowners feeling like a piece of themselves was represented in the final design. And at the end of the day, feeling like the space is true to who you are is always the best way to make any house feel like a home.

Watch: Matt & Meghan’s Stunning Suburban Home Makeover