Spring is here and there is no better time to get started on giving your home that makeover you’ve been thinking about.

To help you get started, Orange City Life sat down with interior designer Rebecca Dunkley form K & H Interiors and Design to get a few tips and advice on some simple ways you can transform your home.

New window furnishings

“Curtains and blinds can make a big difference to a room,” said Rebecca. “But you should always start with why you want to cover the window. Are you wanting it for privacy? Or it is it for thermal comfort? That really narrows down your selection to where we should be looking. If you had a whole wall of glass facing west, in summer time that is going to get super hot, so you would definitely be looking for a curtain with a block out lining and even something else behind that like honeycomb or roller blind as well.

“And, of course, they should also be aesthetically pleasing from the inside and outside of the home. So those are all things you should consider.”

Add a new floor rug

“Floor rugs are great in a room, I don't think people use them enough,” said Rebecca. “Even on top of carpet, it really settles a space and defines it.

“I tend to recommend oversized rugs and not to have anything too small in the space, you want it to be in scale with the room, especially people with open plan homes. Some open plan homes can look like one big, single room, but there are three different purposes — kitchen, dining and living area — a rug can really define an area in your space.

“Colour-wise, what I recommend is don’t do something that is going to match your floor. If you have a dark grey carpet don’t put a dark grey rug on it; It has to be something contrasting. And don't be scared to put some colour down too, colour can really lift a room!”

Time to repaint?

“A lot of people are extremely conservative and just want to do white and there are a hundred different whites. It is a good starting point and a good base, but I think you can make a room look really amazing by pulling in some colour. It doesn't have to be hugely outrageous; it can just be a subtle tone of a colour and that can look really smart!

“If people are too intimidated by colour choice, they can come in a talk to us about what they are after and how we can achieve it. Come in and we can do a colour consult or do up a whole mood board for your entire home.”

Have a plan

 “If you are going to do a reno, your whole house or even just a room, have a plan to start with and then the job doesn't feel so big. If it looks just too big, some people get scared they don’t end up doing anything or they might just buy some bits and pieces here and there and make some wrong choices and then they give up.

“Don’t purchase anything until you have a plan. Then, buy those elements as you can afford it and you won’t make any wrong decisions. You can pull the plan out and say, ‘Right, what do I need to do next’.

If in doubt, leave it to the experts

“If you come and see us we can do everything from just doing a mood board, to a full renovation plan, to sending you on your way and let us organise it all for you. We have our design team and then our construction team. We can organise custom furniture pieces, new kitchen cabinetry, everything… We draw your plans up in 3D, let you see it all in place before we go ahead, then we line all the trades up as needed and keep you informed as it all comes together.