The 6 best home design innovations, according to 500,000 Reddit users

The 6 best home design innovations, according to 500,000 Reddit users

When it comes to new home design ideas, we often get inspiration from our friends and family when we visit their homes. But what if you could read the minds of half a million people?

Well, it’s possible to do so by visiting Reddit – one of the biggest online communities in the world. We decided to check out its sub-forum – r/HomeDecorating – to find out the favorite design ideas from its 500,000 users there. The results may surprise you.

Curvy Wall Painting           

The 6 best home design innovations, according to 500,000 Reddit users

Let’s start with the top-rated suggestion of the past year: an unusual funky design for your wall. This post got 2,700 likes and you can see why: the off-set patterns may be unusual, but the colors are both striking and fit into the room’s general color scheme. 

If you’re wondering how the user got the curves so clean and even, then her tip is focused on getting the best brush. She recommends using a dense square brush and packing it with paint so that it glides over the wall easily. The task may be time-consuming, but the result is worth it. 

Well-placed furniture, like in the picture, rounds off a beautifully laid-out room which will impress visitors. 

The $10 Ceiling Lamp    

The 6 best home design innovations, according to 500,000 Reddit users

Chandeliers are popular for several reasons. They’re often made of expensive glass, making them a status symbol for the wealthy (as well as something nice to look at). Many also create ambient light which gives a room a relaxed feel.

But before you go searching for the best lottery sites in the hope of winning a jackpot to fund your wildly expensive chandelier purchase, check out this alternative posted by one Reddit user. A $10 lampshade does the two things we mention above: it’s easy on the eye – fitting into the design of the surrounding room – and it also creates that wonderful soft light. 

Of course, chandeliers still win out the battle, but this is a wonderful cheap alternative.

The Small but Tall Laundry Room

Style guides, especially the ones that focus on minimalism, tell us to make the best use of space possible. That’s all well and good, but it’s sometimes pretty tricky.

Another Reddit poster, though, must have had a good, hard think about how to make the most out of their laundry room. Previously housing just two washing machines, they’ve managed to maximize every inch of space with this genius renovation. 

Check out the perfectly sized set of drawers and cupboards, and how the shelf on top of the washers opens up storage space. Our favorite part, though? The handy rail to hang washed clothes on to dry. 

Hiding the Air-Con Unit   

Air-con units are great in hot weather, but if they’re acting as an eye-sore in an important place, like the kitchen, then we need to do something about them. 

This poster decided to get inventive. Knowing that there was no way of moving the unit without huge cost and effort, he built over it instead. The wooden unit and shelves not only hide it, especially with the well-placed clock and plant, it also makes a handy place to store bottles and display personal items.

In one masterstroke, he’s jazzed up the kitchen’s appearance and increased its storage space. Now that’s the type of home design trick we like to see. 

Painting the Stair Risers                            

Newly built homes often come with dull grey stairs that need either new flooring or a touch of paint. It’s easy to overcomplicate this task, though, as we consider different styles. 

One Reddit user got round this dilemma by keeping it super simple. She simply painted the stair risers – the vertical part of each step – a bright white. Not only was the task quick and easy, it also makes the stairs look strikingly modern. 

On a practical level, it also makes them easier to see, just in case you have a habit of tripping over them!

Disney Vinyl Records

The 6 best home design innovations, according to 500,000 Reddit users

Got a kid who’s into Disney? Or, let’s face it, are you into Disney? 

If we want to decorate our home with some of our favorite characters, though, Disney products are often pretty expensive. It prompted one fan to go bargain hunting when decorating her child’s room. She came across a bunch of old vinyl records in a thrift shop with the likes of Mickey Mouse on their covers. Combined with some cheap but quality Ikea frames, she’s made the perfect wall hangings for a nursery. 

With whitewashed walls, a nice plant, and a well-placed rug, she’s made a low-cost dream nursery. 

 

 




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