So here's to making your house a home....for the time being.
We moved into a new townhome about 2 months ago and there were two areas I really wanted to atleast somewhat decorate right away.
First, the built-in entertainment center aka 'eyesore'. Lots of shelves means lots of pictures and other display items. Luckily I'm more of a pack rat when it comes to home accessories, so the only thing I bought was the 'wallpaper' background to add some interest in tie in all the colors. I'm drawn to a more eclectic style. While this isn't my 'dream bookcase display' (being on a budget and all) I used what I had and as Tim Gunn would say "made it work!"
Second was the upstairs loft. It is a big open space where we would put a play area and an office space. I was inspired by this photo because of the already white walls, the great rug, and the pops of color.
I added just a few items to what I already had. I made a framed ABC poster (but don't look too closely...the Q is missing....oops!), bought the two giant paper clips from TJMaxx and added wall hanging hooks to them, and bought the rug from west elm.
Instead of clogging the space with more bookshelves, I used the ledge at the top of the stairs as one instead.
Other ideas to making a house a home is adding curtains, area rugs, and painting/altering furniture to make it your own.
That's it for now. Have a great day!