Moving to a new country is usually linked with loads of stress, anxiety, and all sorts of emotional discomfort. Your new home also may feel alien at first. There are no familiar things around. Nothing reminds you of the happy moments you experienced and suggests that familiar coziness and spiritual comfort, which is something you may need desperately in a new country. And once you settle into a new place, you start looking for means to spruce up their new shelter abroad. Below are some simple yet effective tips that will help you change the look and the overall ambience of your apartment. Hopefully, it will speed up your cultural acclimatization and help you make your apartment feel like home.
Bright Accents
It’s not a secret that bright, juicy, vibrant colors not only spice up the insipid look of your room, but also help lift up your mood and dispel boredom. Your expat apartment can surely benefit from a couple bright accents, even if you’re totally into tried-and-true neutrals. No need to turn your room into an artwork bursting with color (unless you want it, of course.) Just make sure to drive the lifeless, bland spirit out of the place where you’re going to spend most of your time. You want to opt for the color you like or the one that you think can go with room accessories, furniture, or wallpaper. You can go bold with acid orange, turquoise, or emerald green. Colorful cushions, comforters, torchiere lamps, or individual pieces of furniture will add life to your room and make it more emotionally appealing. With some particular colors you can also play up a certain vibe of your room or the whole apartment.
Mixing Vintage/Traditional and Modern
Lots of expats note that they like the idea of combining traditional and modern design when it comes to revamping or decorating their new apartments. Thus, according to professionals providing house cleaning services from ServiceMarket in Dubai, the majority of homeowners take particular pride in vintage items and antiques. They manage to masterfully fit vintage pieces and vernacular elements into modern interiors, thus creating the new aesthetic straddling the past and the present. And expats are no exception. If you’ve recently moved to the country, where the influence of traditions is strong, you want to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness by adding antique or local ethnic accents to your home interior. This will help you get closer to traditions, tastes, and mentality inherent in the culture of the country you’re currently living in.
Make It Homey
Undoubtedly, you’ve brought some things that remind you of home to the new country. They can be kitchenware items, bedclothes, stuffed animals, etc. To make your new apartment feel more like a home, consider adding some homey splashes to your interior. You can think of some fun way to organize your coffee cups in your new kitchen or put your old family photos on the walls. Also, consider using your kids’ drawing as decoration. Not only will it create the atmosphere of emotional coziness, but also help spruce up the cheesy interior.
Keep It Simple
Any good designer will tell you that if you lack professional skills or inborn taste in interior design, you should stick with minimalism. And the same goes for your expat home. Do not clutter your new shelter with unnecessary things or something that doesn’t present any practical or aesthetic value. Dispose of old useless stuff and purchase only what you need to live comfortably. The fewer things you have the easier it is to keep your home organized. Consider bringing things that serve multiple purposes and don’t take up much space, especially if your rental apartment is small. But simple doesn’t mean boring. As we’ve noted earlier, accentuating the attractive architectural features and using color sporadically in your interior will lend a particular charm to your space and make it more visually appealing.
Skip Window Curtains
Very often, expats prove to be dissatisfied with their new apartments because they are not spacious enough and do not have enough light. If this is the case with your apartment, you may want to skip the draperies and go with minimalist blinds. Without window curtains your room may appear more spacious and lighter. That being said, you should keep in mind that in combination with a minimalist interior the absence of curtains can leave your apartment feeling sparse, cold, and unwelcoming. So, you should act according to your particular situation, personal taste, wants, and needs.
