Now’s the perfect time to show off your new home with your favorite vibrant colors, eclectic art, and daring sense of fashion. Maximalism is putting individuality and a sense of fun back into home design. It’s excessive, exuberant, eclectic, and highly personal.

 

Start with your living room. Place the largest pieces you want to see in the room, including tables, chairs, sofas or loveseats. Remove everything else. Move the pieces around like an interior designer until you like the layout and flow—then you can add accessories. You’ll have multiple focal points, but to give the eye a rest, group similar but mixed and matched elements together—a wall of eclectic paintings, a case of books, or a row of embellished pillows replete with embroidery, tassels, and trims. Unify the look with a bold paint color or wallpaper.

 

Make coziness and comfort your priority. Upcycle damaged heirlooms and flea market finds with new finishes (gold gilt, black onyx stains, low sheen wax) and plushy fabrics (textured velvet) replete with tufts and trim.

When interest rates rise, buying a home becomes more expensive, so you may need to tighten your budget. However, there are advantages. For instance, if you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payment remains unchanged—a strong hedge against inflation even as home prices and other costs climb. Additionally, higher rates help your savings and money market accounts grow faster, making it easier to build cash reserves. 

 

The disadvantages to higher interest rates are that all loans are more expensive, including credit cards, so it’s best hunker down and keep debt to a minimum.

 

Lower interest rates mean you pay less interest, can buy “more” home, and possibly pay your mortgage off faster. If you have a mortgage at a higher rate than “today’s” rates, you can refinance to a lower monthly payment, eliminate or lower private mortgage insurance, or trade a variable-rate loan for a fixed-rate loan. The disadvantage is that other instruments that pay interest to you will provide lower yields.

Before you apply for a mortgage loan, check your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. This site, by law, allows the three major credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, to provide a free look at your total credit history once a year. You’ll find the following:  

• Bill payment history
• Loans
• Current debt
• Bankruptcy history
• Lawsuit records and liens

Compare all three reports carefully. One-third of Americans find at least one error, and mistakes can hurt your mortgage application. Credit bureaus don’t fix errors, report credit scores, or communicate with each other. If you spot an issue—whether it’s a reporting error or a late bill—you’ll need to contact the reporting entity directly, resolve the dispute, and provide proof of payment if necessary. This process can take 30 days or more, so acting early is key.

Finally, double-check your personal details, such as your name, address, and Social Security number, to ensure everything is accurate before applying. A small error can cause unnecessary delays.