Welcome to the Nothing To Wear edit, where each week Leigh create a curated edit just for subscribers, for your wardrobe, face or home.
I've always been drawn to a neutral colour palette.
Both in my wardrobe and in my home, you'll find a lot of beige, white, black… and a little khaki if I'm feeling adventurous.
I told myself it was timeless. But you know what it is? Safe.
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It's easier to add and coordinate achromatic or monochromatic tones because, by default, they all go together. When it comes to interiors, it doesn't really matter where you move, it'll still work.
But now I'm bored of beige.
Suddenly I want bright! Bold! To paint every room a different colour! As is my nature to want to go all-in at the speed of light. However, to overhaul everything in my home isn't in the budget right now.
So, I'm adding colour on the cheap. Slowly, and with some smart little hacks that make a visual statement without the need for permanent change.
Watch: How to try the 'cosymaxxing' trend to your home. Post continues after video.
Big bold books.
A stack of coffee table books in a vignette always looks stylish, but those things are pricey per piece!
My trick is to trawl second-hand shops like The Salvos and Vinnies for hard-cover books with a removable sleeve. The paper cover will hopefully have protected the book, so the simple cover is still in decent shape.
Big bold second-hand books. Image: Supplied.
I don't really care what the book is about — I just slip the sleeve down to check the colour and font on the spine – if it looks cute, it joins a cluster for my home. I typically pay $5-$10 per book, with a lot of my local thrift shops having a half-price book day (check yours to see if it's similar).
I've now got sweet little stacks of colourful spines in various places around the house, which visitors always ask about.
Non-pro paintings.
Art is one of the most expensive interior investments. We have a lot of bare white walls, without a budget to match, so I got creative with my son.
My child has always loved painting, so we throw an old sheet down in the backyard and play with paint quite often, but I was mostly buying small squares for him to create on.
The trick is to go big. Get yourself a large canvas and consider one that is dimensional or has quirky elements to add interest to the end result. Then, let your little one at it with a bunch of acrylic paints. Don't have kids? Do it yourself!
Non-professional painting. Image: Supplied.
My son painted this one when he was four. It's a little more 'moody' than I'd envisioned, but I actually love it. I prefer a stretched canvas over cardboard or artist paper because framing can be pricey. A canvas is ready to hang and can be painted straight over later when you want to mix it up.
Second-hand ceramics.
Glass vases and clay bowls are another way to add visual punch. I've repurposed my neutral marble trays (I use them to display fragrance and jewellery in my wardrobe now) and replaced them with colourful ceramics in communal spaces.
Cheap and second-hand ceramic bowls. Image: Supplied.
Both of these bowls are second-hand. One was $4 and the other was $12. Charity thrift shops always have an eclectic collection of kitchenware and knick-knacks and sure, you have to rummage, but that's half the joy.
Marketplace and your local community Facebook group is also a goldmine for cheap ceramics, vases and general treats and trinkets. Once you start searching Marketplace for home stuff, the algorithm will serve you more of the same on the 'For You Today's Picks' tab — it's clever like that. I always toggle to 'nearest first' so local pickup is fast and easy.
Free and fabulous.
Writing this list reminded me of something I used to do in my old place, but had totally forgotten about!
Not enough people know they can get copies of stunning photographs, beautiful illustrations and countless other impactful visuals absolutely free. Websites like Unsplash, Pixabay. Pexels and Pixabay let you download high-resolution files which can be printed at almost any size.
Find a cool image, download it, then upload it to anywhere you can order online printing. I've used both Officeworks and VistaPrint in the past and both were great, and I find picking the Premium Matte stock provides the most fancy-looking finish. Select the size (I recommend 36x48 because big is better), and you're ready to order.
Once your big, bright, practically-free print arrives, you can get fancy and frame it (IKEA offers large frames) complete with matting as a border, so it looks really profesh. Or, go true poster-style and create a collage or vision board. This process is particularly good for kid's rooms.
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Feature image: Supplied.
