My holiday home: cheap and chic, please

Some of you will not yet have started your summer holidays, but they are close at hand. It’s time to reopen and perhaps redecorate your holiday homes, which have been shut up for almost a year. Themed interior design with the maximum effect at the lowest possible cost, whether at the seaside, in the mountains or in the country...We all like renewing our homes, but some people may not do so because they are daunted by the possible expense. I can’t say often enough, and I often say it in my “Vendo casa... disperatamente” programme: with a little creativity and handicraft skills you can redecorate and virtually transform a home without spending much at all.

How? The most important part is the covering, and Marazzi offers anyone who has to re-lay or add new finishes to their floors or walls very attractive stoneware collections at competitive prices for example Planet collection in Tortora (wood-look) ideal for a home in the Dolomites! Sometimes a boring bathroom with old tiles in dull colours can be brightened up without having to spend too much: the Lollipop collection may provide cheery inspiration for a seaside home.A good way of giving your rooms a new look at low cost is to focus on colour. 

Using colours, a boring home can be transformed into one with a clearly defined personality. So go to the paint store and choose the right shade for you: if you have a small apartment, I recommended light, delicate shades which give more light and air to a room; otherwise, you can be daring and use even emphatic shades like a bright petroleum colour, not on all the walls of the room but on the one where you think it looks best (for a bedroom, for example, on the wall at the head of the bed), although I also like to be daring with bright colour combinations in the living area. If you want to give an added touch to the walls of children’s bedrooms, you can use wall stickers, which can also provide a decorative feature for the wall at the head of the bed.

Another secret for bringing a fresh look to any type of home is to change the fabrics:place brightly coloured cushions on the sofa; if you are at the seaside, go for the colours of water, in the mountains the colours of the land and if you in the countryside and you like Provence, allow yourself to be tempted by delicate, subtle shades.In the bedroom, go for a colourful counterpane or mats that pick up the predominant colour; a simple little designer cabinet in bright colours placed in the right position (matching the main colour, of course) will also give an extra touch to your bedroom.

……and don't forget, when you are redecorating any room in the home, sketch out your ideas on paper: it will help you decide!Have fun!