10 home decor upgrades to embrace when you turn 30

Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada
JasmineWay.co.uk Portuguese Glass, J & M Collections Ltd J & M Collections Ltd Mediterranean style dining room
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There comes a point in your life where cheap, improvised, and temporary home solutions no longer cut it. Along with starting to look for a job with a good retirement plan and getting more excited about tax write-offs than you ever thought you could be, the 30th year of your life marks a great time for establishing yourself within your home like the real adult that you suddenly have become.  Leave the paper plates and stolen pint glasses to your 20s, and invest in a few housewares that suit your new, 30-year-old adult self. Here are 10 home decor upgrades with examples from the interior design professionals on homify:

1. ​Upgrade to real glassware

Admittedly, empty salsa jars do make for really great cups, but upgrading to a set of real glassware isn’t all that expensive (in the 40 dollar range).  Feel accomplished every time you wrap your fingers around something you really, really like, as opposed to something with a scratched off logo from that one hotel you stayed at on spring break 8 years ago…

​2. Invest in real silverware

If you’ve still got those IKEA forks that you can bend by pressing on them, it’s time for an upgrade. By this time, you should have a few recipes down—and you should liberate from having to eat them with warped, low-grade silverware. Of course, you can still keep your lucky spoon.

​3. Consider a bed that doesn’t sag, shake, and rattle.

You’ve endured the mattress on the floor long enough. If you’re sleeping without a box spring, bed frame, mattress pad, or real mattress (no, an air mattress doesn’t count), upgrade to a proper bed for a proper night’s sleep. Bonus points if you start the routine of making the bed in the morning.

​4. Hang some art with something other than tape.

You don’t have to suddenly develop an attitude of sophisticated appreciation for the arts, but you should look over your space and attempt to complement it with high quality art that truly sings to you. Consider upgrading your hanging methods from Command strips and masking tape—finishing nails and picture wire should do the trick. Maybe you’ve got a cool travel souvenir or painting you did as a kid that you can have professionally framed—no need to spend a million bucks to achieve a tasteful, personality-infused atmosphere.

​5. Switch out your lumpy sofa and pillows for fresh, poofy ones.

Aah, the feeling of a fresh, full, poofy pillow: there’s nothing like it. Invite guests to sit on your, adult-worthy new sofa, leaving behind the mysterious stains, scratches, and smells of your 20s. It’s not cheap to pop for a new couch (upwards of $600 for a high quality one), but since you already hold no illusions about sitting on that garage sale steal forever, consider your 30th birthday as the perfect excuse to get rid of it.

​6. Do something about your backache and just get a real desk chair already.

No one likes to feel the pains of getting older—so stop sitting in a stiff folding chair and invest in your wellbeing with a high quality, ergonomic desk chair. If you work long hours from a home office, this upgrade is an absolute must—600 bucks today can save you hundreds of dollars in  chiropractor appointments later on.

​7. Real spices!

The picture says it all: learning to cook your own delicious food is so much more enjoyable when your supplies are accessible, abundant, and well-organized. If you’re moving to a new home, getting married, or celebrating some major life event that often happens around your 30th, a spice set is a convenient and common gift—mention it to your friends and family, and one may just fall into your lap!

​8. Find a vase that’s actually meant to be a vase.

While using an empty beer bottle is certainly crafty, a beautiful flower-filled vase is a much more elegant, welcoming sight. Make your own with a bit of imagination and paint, or head to your local thrift shop to see what fate has in store.

9. Upgrade to sturdy cookware that has “long-term” written all over it.

Upgrade from the lightweight pan that teeters around on its warped bottom to a durable, cast-iron skillet. You can work on replacing your shoddy, cheap-o cookware with new, high quality items over time, as a full upgrade is quite an investment.  Having useful, multi-purpose items like a roasting pan or Dutch oven will enable you to make those recipes you always skip over—you’ll finally have the equipment to make those time-tested, traditional dishes you’d have never attempted with your flimsy pots and pans.

​10. Invest in proper storage to protect your proper adult stuff.

By now, you’ve probably popped for a few high quality items for your closet, whether it’s a tailored suit jacket or a nice pair of custom-made leather shoes for wearing to work. Protect these investments with proper storage: a set of matching hangers, a sturdy shoe rack, a set of coat hooks for your front entrance—all of these will lend to a more organized home environment while helping you to properly care for your high quality investments.

See this ideabook for more design ideas: 8 excellent homes packed with design tips

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