It's a new year!!! It means a blank canvas, a fresh start, and, for some people, it means out with the old and in with the new. Especially when it comes to your home. Here are a five design tips and tricks I use when a space is in desperate need of a refresh.
Curated not Coordinated: A great way to instantly make a space feel fresh is to mix together objects and art that have a memory attached to them from different times in your life. It can be something you brought back from a trip or a gallery wall of photos that you took of your dog or cat. Curating a space means that things don’t match perfectly but there is a very obvious theme that connects everything. Mixing wood tones, metals, and patterns that speak to you is a great way to achieve a curated look that doesn’t look like it was bought all at once.
Rearrange the Furniture: This is probable the hardest to do because your brain is so used to seeing things the way they are. It can't possibly imagine the space working any other way. To break through this, draw your space on graph paper (either measure and draw it to scale or use your best guess) and use cut out furniture pieces to move things around and see what else works. I suggest doing this in another room so that you can let your imagination run a little wild with possibilities. Once you have it arranged on paper, try it out and see what you think. If you live in a smaller space think in terms of multi-use furniture. I often use a dining room table as a desk so that when it’s time to entertain you can just clear it off and voila, you have a place to eat with your friends. A vintage chest is storage, a coffee table, and a bench (put some throw pillows on it so that its more comfortable to sit on). Get creative and you’ll be surprised how many different uses you can find for your furniture pieces.
Bring it to Life with Lighting: I always, always, always stress the importance of lighting in any space. It can make or break the way you feel when you’re there. Even if your home has recessed or overhead lighting in all of the rooms, you need table and floor lamps, especially in your living room and bedroom. These additions not only let you set a mood but also acts as task lighting for reading your texts and scrolling through Instagram. The other part of this important element is what bulb you put in your lamp. All your bulbs should have the same light temperature or kelvin (Google it). I recommend that number be around 3000k. This gives you a nice warm light that won’t put a strain on your eyes.
Curtains are Key: Changing up your curtains is a relatively inexpensive (check out IKEA) way to bring some new life into your room. If you don't already have curtains adding them will not only will it add color and softness to your walls, it also gives you another layer of light control and privacy. Make sure your curtains go from floor to ceiling and the ends of your rod interest and helps your eye to move around the space. Pick a few places around your home where a cluster of pictures and paintings would bring some life. If you’re going for a clean and simple look pick one or two large scale pieces to bring color and interest to focal walls. Either way, try to pick a common theme – color, subject, technique, etc. – to your art and don’t be afraid to curate your frames.
Art, Art, and more Art: Changing the art around in your home is a great for making a space feel fresh. Pick a few places around your home where a cluster of pictures and paintings would bring some life. If you’re going for a clean and simple look pick one or two large scale pieces to bring color and interest to focal walls. Either way, try to pick a common theme – color, subject, technique, etc. – to your art and don’t be afraid to curate your frames.
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