Hold on just a tick. To be clear, the title doesn’t mean ‘without effort’. We’re really trying to say ‘without the usual effort’ that most homeowners associate with doing something like changing their entire décor. An effort that stops us from even starting to make the transformation in the first place.

The idea of having a more refined décor can bring visions of interior designers, expensive furniture and artwork that you don’t understand. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

There are a few relatively simple and easy-to-do things you can do in your home to make its décor feel more refined.

1. Raise the Curtains

The higher your curtains are hung on the wall, the taller they make your windows look. Instead of hanging them from just above the window, move the curtain rod up so that it is as high as it can be on the wall while leaving a few inches of breathing space between it and the ceiling.

2. Hang Original Art

It seems like you can find artwork in every store you visit including the most unlikely of them, from the local variety shop right up to that great repository of masterpieces, ‘Canadian Tire’. But the options available are stock, mass-produced art and, well, it looks ‘stock’ too. But original art, produced by local artists, can cost very little more, but can add unique and creative visual cues inside you home.

3. Declutter

There’s nothing more ‘unsophisticated’ than clutter. In addition to keeping the place tidy, try not to go over the top in sheer numbers of furniture pieces, accessories and wall hangings, regardless of how sophisticated they may be.

4. Get the Right-Sized Rugs

Here are the guidelines: in the living room, the rug should be large enough for each piece of major furniture to have two legs on it. In the dining room, the rug should extend two or three feet behind each chair. Any less than that and the rugs can look unbalanced and inelegant.

5. Layer Your Lighting

Instead of all light coming from table lamps, or from overhead, try using a variety of light sources. Three lamps; a table lamp, a sconce light and a floor lamp, are the basis of a creatively complex lighting combination.

Of course, as a paint company, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention paint colour and colour combinations as a quick and easy way to create a more cultured ambience. But which colours and which combinations depends on you and your home. We’d be happy to help you get the décor you want, whether it’s sophisticated, or just plain funkadelic, from the paint colours you choose. Call or visit The Paint People today.