In pictures: Top 5 home makeover ideas

AFTER — Stylist solutions: Maali Al Mutairi’s room was large but needed to be carefully redesigned to make it more inviting and homely. Al Mutairi wanted an interior that combined modern British and American aesthetics, with a touch of 19th century French glamour. When painting the walls, the stylist used a rugging effect over the bed for a statement feature. Richness and texture were introduced through soft furnishings and linen. To give the room personality, warmth and romance, the stylist used textured Riviera chandeliers and bed lamps to create a patterned lighting effect.

BEFORE — The challenge: A small space with an exposed concrete pillar. The Winner: Nabila Abdullah Albloushi, Saudi Arabia.

AFTER — Stylist solutions: Nabila Albloushi’s 18-year-old daughter, Salma, was living in a room that didn’t really reflect her personality. Her walls were painted bright red and her furniture was all the same colour. In addition, her room was small, with an unsightly, exposed concrete pillar. What she wanted was a modern room that was cosy, relaxing and inviting to friends, and that featured some of her favourite colours: pink, purple, gold and silver. Since the space was small, the stylist started by painting the walls in white and light beige to make it feel bigger. Furniture was selected carefully to match Salma’s personality and give the room a warmer feel. The stylist introduced a Tango Purple Arm Chair that brought a pop of one of her favourite colours into the space and introduced velvet for a touch of elegance. The concrete pillar in the centre of the room took up valuable space but the stylist used this structure to divide the room in two, with one side acting as the bedroom and the other as a living space featuring the accent chair, where Salma could sit and read. As a finishing touch, textured wall art was included to lend the room a softer, more feminine feel.

BEFORE — The challenge: No natural light. The Winner: Mohammed Qasem Masoud, Saudi Arabia.

AFTER — Stylist solutions: In this instance, a balcony had been closed off from the outside to create a storage room, which blocked out any natural light. Masoud and his wife wanted to modernise the space and introduce a monochromatic colour palette, interspersed with pops of red. First off, the stylist had to hide the doorway to the balcony. The walls were painted light grey with one dark grey wall as an accent wall. The stylist added Oxford floor lamps, a Ranmak ceiling lamp and lots of filled cushions to give the room a burst of life compensated for the lack of natural light coming into the room.

BEFORE — The challenge: The room had an asymmetrical column and too much empty wall space. The winner: Heba Sayyed Mohammed Sadiq, Qatar.

AFTER — Stylist solutions: Having recently won a battle against a serious illness, Heba Sayyed Mohammed Sadiq wanted a new room that reflected her new outlook on life. Light wood and white gloss furniture were introduce to give the space a more modern feel, while walls were painted in mint green with one accent wall in a warm orchid share. Frames were mounted on walls to fill up the long, asymmetrical column. Another large wall space was filled with contrasting frames and a series of wall art. Additional ceiling lights and a painted ceiling added a dash of drama to the room to make it look and feel cosier.

BEFORE — The challenge: The room was fitted with extremely high windows, so finding appropriate curtains was an issue. Also there were electrical holes on the wall, at eye level, which were an eyesore. The winner: Quantella Nicholas, UAE.

AFTER — Stylist solutions: Having previously always shared a room with a family member, Nicholas had never had a space that she could truly call her own. The stylist started by finding curtains that framed the window properly and made it look proportional. These were hung so they ended just a few centimetres above the floor. The electrical holes on the wall were within the line of sight upon entering the room and created an unattractive backdrop to the bed. The stylist decided to remove the tube light and cover the holes with a flat electrical cap that was painted in the same colour as the wall to make it blend in. If the light source is required on the wall at a later stage, the electrical cap can easily be removed. The Home Centre stylists also introduced matte, dusky shades of rose to create a more mature, on-trend look.

For its annual Home Makeover Competition, Home Centre presents 25 people from across the region with the opportunity to completely revamp a room in their home. The competition is never short of entrants — for 2013, some 37,000 people registered in the hope of sprucing up their least favourite space. The makeovers, valued at a total of Dh250,000, were carried out by Home Centre stylists over the course of one day in December. Having trawled through thousands of submissions, the stylists have a unique perspective on the key challenges facing homeowners in the GCC. We asked them to identify the five most common interior-related challenges that they come across and to explain how they went about addressing these issues when it came to the latest batch of winners. All photos courtesy of Home Centre.