How to Bring Out the Best of Your Home

All homes have a mix of features—some that shine and others that could use a little help.

The good news? There are simple ways to highlight the best parts of your home, no matter its age or style. I’ve yet to step into a home where I couldn’t spot a few standout features right away—and also a few that felt a little off.

The key is to draw attention to what makes your home special while downplaying anything that doesn’t do it justice. These tips will help your home always put its best foot forward.

REFRESH THE EXTERIOR & IMPROVE CURB APPEAL

Obviously, the exterior is the very first thing that someone sees when they arrive at your home.  It will be THE thing that either makes a good first impression or a less than stellar one.

Our house is a good example of what a difference improving curb appeal can make.  The landscaping was a hot mess when we first purchased it.  You could barely see the house from the street because the limbs on the large trees had been allowed to grow so low on the trunks.  To make matters worse, the twenty year old landscaping, that was around the foundation of the house, was majorly overgrown.

We’ve made quite a few changes to the exterior of our house and the yard, but it was all done in stages, over the course of more than four years, so as not to overwhelm the budget.  😀

There’s still more landscaping to do (this year, I hope!), but today, we’ve limbed-up all of those huge trees and pulled out all of the overgrown landscaping.  The house got a new roof (thanks to insurance coverage for hail damage) and new gutters, we beefed up the front columns (the old ones looked like toothpicks holding up the porch roof!), removed the diagonal supports from the columns and even gave the brick itself two coats of paint.

All of our windows are just one big pane of glass, which makes them look cold and uninviting to me.  An easy fix for that was to add window grids to the interior of each window.  It was a very affordable project and so easy to do!.

The original front door was mahogany with oval glass and we replaced it with a more modern farmhouse door and updated the outdoor wall sconces.

You certainly don’t have to go to this much trouble or expense, but anything you can do to tidy up and freshen your home’s exterior is a plus!

FIND (OR CREATE) A ROOM’S FOCAL POINT

Every room needs a visual anchor—something that draws the eye in and gives the space a sense of purpose. Sometimes that’s an obvious architectural feature, like a fireplace or a large window. But if your room doesn’t have a natural focal point, don’t worry—you can easily create one with art, furniture, or even lighting. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post about focal points and you can find it by clicking right HERE.

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In a living room with vaulted ceilings, one of the best ways to play up that dramatic height is with oversized artwork. In one space, I repurposed a gorgeous chinoiserie floor screen and hung it high on the wall to pull the eye upward and celebrate those soaring ceilings. It made the entire room feel grander and more intentional—without needing to do a major renovation.

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You can do something similar above a fireplace, which is a common (and smart!) place to create a focal point. A single large piece of art above the mantel helps center the space and brings a clean, tailored look. It keeps things feeling uncluttered while still making a bold statement.

One of our bedrooms is a good example of a room where there really wasn’t a good focal point, so we needed to create one.  Yes, the bay window is a nice feature, but it really doesn’t draw your eye like a focal point should.  My solution was to add board and batten to the large wall where the bed resides.  It makes quite the statement! 

ADD TEXTURE TO A BORING SPACE

If a room feels flat or uninspired, chances are it’s missing texture. Texture adds depth and interest, especially in spaces that are feeling a little one-note. One of the easiest ways to bring in texture is with wallpaper—and you don’t have to spend a fortune to get the look you want.

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In my dining room, I used a peel-and-stick faux grasscloth wallpaper to add subtle texture without blowing my budget. It instantly gave the room more personality and a more finished look. The woven feel of the wallpaper adds just the right amount of warmth and visual movement, all while keeping things neutral and timeless.

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Another easy way to add texture is with a planked wall. Whether it’s horizontal or vertical, planks can make a space feel cozy and intentional. They’re especially effective on large walls that need a little something extra, and they work beautifully in almost any room of the house.

FRAME A WINDOW

Maybe you don’t think a room has any sort of feature that you consider a plus.  More than likely, it at least has one window though.  Did you know that window treatments are the jewelry of a room?  A pair of simple draperies, flanking a window can be the very thing to give an entire room a special feel.

The windows in our office were too close together to hang a pair of draperies on each window (plus they would have blocked a lot of the natural light), so I chose to hang one drapery panel on each window instead.  The pair of draperies serve to “frame” the whole wall and turn it into a feature.

What’s your homes best feature?  Have you taken any steps to highlight it?