As we move our clocks ahead an hour this weekend and get ready to welcome Spring (I know, there is still snow on the ground), it is also a great time to start thinking about freshening up our homes that have been "closed up" for so many months. Interior Redesign may help give your home that freshening up it needs.
Spring-cleaning refers to more than just housekeeping. Spring-cleaning is also a time to clean out the clutter, banish winter from our homes, and lighten up our rooms. Redesigning a room, or rooms, in your home is a great Spring-cleaning project, as it will also help you in the housekeeping of your home. Here are 6 tips to help you in your redesign.
1. Begin by emptying out the room of all accessories, wall décor and furniture, except for the largest, heaviest pieces. They will most likely stay in their given spot. Use another room nearby, table and/or countertop for everything you've moved out. Put items into groups (i.e. candles, greenery, pillows, books, etc.). Use this opportunity to clean the room.
2. Start your redesign by bringing the furniture you will be using back into the room, setting it off a fixed focal point, or one you will be creating. Resist the urge to line the walls with your furniture. Contrary to what you may believe, it does not make the room look bigger.
3. Before bringing any other items back into the room, look over what you took out of the room. If you don't like it anymore, it has no sentimental value, or you have a "don't care either way" attitude about it, don't put it back in the room. Either trash it, donate it or sell it.
4. Always keep function in mind when arranging your furniture. How are you going to use the room and what do you need to include in it to make it comfortable? Do you need extra side tables, lighting, line of sight for a TV? Make sure to set it up so it works just as well as it looks.
5. Never place your artwork or accessories until everything else is in the perfect place. Your accessories should compliment the room and its furnishings, not stand all by themselves. Use them to "fill in" spaces around the room, on tabletops, and on walls to complete the look. Make sure they relate to something in the room; for instance, color, style, material, etc. If it doesn't work in that room, try it in another room. Don't be afraid to store things. A year from now you may switch out one thing for another.
6. Think outside the box. Just because something has always been in a particular room, doesn't mean it can't be reworked and used in a new setting. An old chest found in the basement becomes a side table to accent the couch. A picture that you are tired of in one room may take on a whole new look in another room.
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior redesign, interior decorating, home staging, color consultations and more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.
