The Wow Factors

A home can be more than just a place to live. It can be a representation of your style and personality and showcase the things that make it stand out.
If you want to make your home more interesting and impress everyone who comes in, there are some things you can do to take your home’s interior to the next level. But before we dive into our wow factor ideas, let’s first define what a wow factor actually is.

What Is a “Wow Factor” in a House?

The wow factor is a combination of unique features that are impressive and appealing, something that immediately draws the eye of anyone who enters your house. These features can be found in a specific room or in the overall design of your home and evoke a positive reaction from people who see them. Think of elements in the home that simply make you say, “Wow, this is such a nice place”.

Different Components in Your House

Before we dive into how you can upgrade various areas in your house, we first need to talk about the specific zones that we’re going to tackle and what they need to have as a base for creating the wow factor.

• Kitchens need to have adequate counter space, good light, and a lot of storage.
• Bathrooms should be able to give you a spa-like atmosphere in your own home.
• Living rooms should be designed both as elegant spaces for hosting people and cozy spaces for spending time with loved ones.
• Bedrooms need to be serene spaces where you can rest and relax.
• Kids’ rooms need to be suitable for both resting and playing or studying.
• Dining rooms should be formal spaces for hosting dinners but also calm spaces for having lunches and dinners with family.

How To Create A Wow Factor in Your Space

There are a lot of wow factors that can make your home stand out from the rest, so choose which of the following you may want to use to create a home you’ll love for years to come.

Statement Lighting Fixtures

We all know that light plays a huge role in the overall design of a room. Nowadays, lights should be both functional and decorative, and can be the perfect wow factor in your room. Use them as focal points in the living room, add a grand chandelier above your dining room table, or even add some statement light fixtures to your kitchen that will make cooking much more enjoyable.

Large Windows and Glass Doors

As we’ve mentioned above, lighting plays a serious role in how we experience a place. Therefore, opt for large windows and glass doors so you not only bring light into a space but also frame the views surrounding the home.

Large Paintings and Photographs

Large pieces of art or photography are often statement pieces and immediately create a wow factor in the room in which they’re placed. You can make a big and bold painting or a photo the central focus in your living room, bedroom, dining room, or foyer.

Gallery Wall

If you want to have a mix of artwork and photographs in smaller sizes, adding a gallery wall is probably right up your alley. But don’t limit yourself to just photos, you can also add mirrors, clocks, and even bookshelves to your gallery wall.

Feature Walls

Another way to increase the visual appeal in a room is to add a feature wall. You can create this distinctive wall with paint, wood, wallpaper, or create a pattern. Check our article about feature walls to find out more about how you can create your own.

Focus on the Ceilings

If you like your walls with minimal or no decoration, the ceiling is where you can add the wow factor. The height of the ceiling is what makes the most difference, however, the finish of the ceiling can also make a room look exceptional. If you just add a contrasting color or an interesting wallpaper, it can make a huge difference and make your ceilings the focal point in the room.

Interesting Architectural Features

Your house should be a cohesive unit, but you can certainly add special architectural elements that add a wow factor. You could do so by adding a sunroom, built-in shelving systems, curved walls, crown molding, etc. These improvements will be just what’s needed to distinguish your house from the others in your neighborhood.

Furniture With Unique Features

Even your furniture can be a wow factor if you make a few adjustments and swap out the standard cabinet and drawer pull with a unique pattern, design, shape, or form. And not only that, you can use higher-quality materials or furniture that has pops of color to make certain rooms in your home more special.

Don’t Forget Your Floors

Unconventional flooring materials or patterns can instantly give a room the wow factor. Instead of adding hardwood floors in a standard design, you could lay the planks diagonally, make a chevron pattern, or even do a herringbone pattern. You can try this even if you’re more into larger-scale tiles for an even bigger impact.

The Wow Factor of Utility Rooms

Most people don’t put much effort into the design of utility rooms, so this is an area that you’ll want to focus on. Incorporate the utilitarian function of these rooms with thoughtful decor to create a space that’s inviting.

Design a One-Of-A-Kind Bedroom

Another room that designers don’t put a lot of focus on is the bedroom because it’s merely seen as a relaxing space in the home where you know what you expect to find. Yet, this is a room where you can do something unexpected.
For example, children’s bedrooms can contain bunk beds where your child can invite friends for a sleepover. The main bedroom can have an elaborate bookcase with a window seat that’s perfect for avid readers, or the bed can be elevated on a platform made from a rare material. The possibilities are endless.

Mix and Match Furniture

An easy way to convert a plain living or dining room to a showstopper is by adding different furniture. You can choose a sofa and armchair from contrasting styles, group diverse chairs at your dining table, or pick complementary textiles to make these rooms special.

Update Fixtures

An easy way to elevate a kitchen or a bathroom is to update the generic faucets and taps. Use gold, copper, or brass to warm up the room, or go with brushed nickel or matte black for a more modern look. And the best part about this is that these fixtures will last you for years to come and still be trendy.

The Small Details Are the Most Crucial

To achieve the wow factor, every room in your home needs to have a statement piece, regardless of how big or small it is. In one room, it can be a large painting, in another, it can be a unique wall, but whatever it is, it needs to make the room feel special.

The Importance of Different Textures

Texture can completely transform a room, so you can use different textures to make a room feel both cozy and luxurious. Mix and match textures to achieve a bohemian look, or go with similar textures and materials for a more contemporary look.

A Headboard or Bed Frame Can Make a Bedroom Exclusive

Another idea is to individualize the bed frame or the headboard in your bedroom. They can become the statement pieces in a room and everything else can be neutral. If you don’t like the idea of having an intricate bed frame or headboard, add cushions and colorful and patterned throw pillows that will make the bedroom truly cozy.

Find the Right Balance

There’s a big difference between a house that looks unique and homey, and one that looks staged. That’s why working with a great team will make a huge difference when it comes to how good your place ends up looking. If you’d like to get an estimate for how much upgrading your home to have the wow factor would cost, add all your information to our budget estimator, and you can leave all the rest to professionals that will truly make your home jaw-dropping.

However, if you’re a fan of DIY and love creating and designing, tackling this project yourself may sound like the perfect creative outlet for you. Sprucing up your place can be just the right thing that will increase the wow factors and the market value of your property, while also providing you with a long-term project to which you can dedicate your time and effort.

Whether you go the DIY way or hire a person to do these upgrades for you, including one or more wow factors will certainly make your home look stunning.