Interior Design
12 Updates That Will Refresh Your Home
Usher in new beginnings with a clearing out of clutter and freshening of spaces
Take advantage of the days leading up to the new year to hit the reset button and look for ways to refresh both your home and your state of mind. To get you started, here are a dozen straightforward and cost-effective ways to bring new life to your home – including how to repurpose holiday decorations and the easiest way to enliven a room with just one purchase.
2. Rearrange framed photo
Instead of purchasing something new to fill a space on a blank wall, work with art and photos you already have but combine them in new, engaging ways. For example, open up more space on your desk, side table or bookshelf by removing all stand-up frames. Combine them to make one high-impact gallery wall – the more eclectic and personal the better.
Instead of purchasing something new to fill a space on a blank wall, work with art and photos you already have but combine them in new, engaging ways. For example, open up more space on your desk, side table or bookshelf by removing all stand-up frames. Combine them to make one high-impact gallery wall – the more eclectic and personal the better.
3. Let the light in
Bring the sunshine in by raising blinds or replacing heavy drapes with gauzy curtains. Pale wall paint, crisp white linens and sparse accessories also help make a room feel lighter and airier.
Bring the sunshine in by raising blinds or replacing heavy drapes with gauzy curtains. Pale wall paint, crisp white linens and sparse accessories also help make a room feel lighter and airier.
4. Freshen home decor
For a bright look for the new year, go for clean white, cream, pale blue and metallics. Whereas holiday decor often falls into the camp of “more is more,” a minimalist approach – such as using a single colour for decorations and keeping them sparse – can have a light, refreshing feel that is all the more appreciated after holiday gluttony. Here, white candles and sprigs of baby’s breath in glass vases make a lovely, simple centerpiece.
For a bright look for the new year, go for clean white, cream, pale blue and metallics. Whereas holiday decor often falls into the camp of “more is more,” a minimalist approach – such as using a single colour for decorations and keeping them sparse – can have a light, refreshing feel that is all the more appreciated after holiday gluttony. Here, white candles and sprigs of baby’s breath in glass vases make a lovely, simple centerpiece.
5. Repaint old furniture in a bright colour
Updating existing furniture with a fresh coat of paint is one of the most economical ways to give an old piece an entirely different look. To add more energy to a room, choose a bold paint colour like Kelly green or sunny yellow. If you get tired of the colour in a few years or it no longer fits with your decor, you can always repaint in a subtler hue.
Updating existing furniture with a fresh coat of paint is one of the most economical ways to give an old piece an entirely different look. To add more energy to a room, choose a bold paint colour like Kelly green or sunny yellow. If you get tired of the colour in a few years or it no longer fits with your decor, you can always repaint in a subtler hue.
6. Repurpose Christmas light
Before packing away all of the holiday lights, pull out a few strands of all-white ones to use. String the lights up to add a subtle glow to dark areas, such as a reading nook like this one set under the steps to the home’s front entrance, or under the upper bunk bed in a kids’ room.
Before packing away all of the holiday lights, pull out a few strands of all-white ones to use. String the lights up to add a subtle glow to dark areas, such as a reading nook like this one set under the steps to the home’s front entrance, or under the upper bunk bed in a kids’ room.
7. Rearrange your furniture
For a completely different perspective, try rearranging your existing furniture. Reorient your sofa to face a new direction or reverse the layout of your living room. Go a step further by removing any pieces that are no longer being used or that add clutter to crowded rooms, and either sell or donate them.
8 Approaches to Take When Placing Living Room Furniture
For a completely different perspective, try rearranging your existing furniture. Reorient your sofa to face a new direction or reverse the layout of your living room. Go a step further by removing any pieces that are no longer being used or that add clutter to crowded rooms, and either sell or donate them.
8 Approaches to Take When Placing Living Room Furniture
8. Declutter, declutter, declutter
Set aside five minutes each day to clean up and put away papers, accessories and general loose items. It may not seem like much, but it could be enough to make a dent in your desk clutter, clear off a horizontal surface or reorganise your bookshelf. Over a week, just five minutes a day spent decluttering can add up to a clearer, calmer space.
5 Choices That Can Lead to Clutter
Set aside five minutes each day to clean up and put away papers, accessories and general loose items. It may not seem like much, but it could be enough to make a dent in your desk clutter, clear off a horizontal surface or reorganise your bookshelf. Over a week, just five minutes a day spent decluttering can add up to a clearer, calmer space.
5 Choices That Can Lead to Clutter
9. Reorganise your desk
Clear off the holiday to-do lists, receipts and scraps of wrapping paper, and lay the groundwork for staying organised in the upcoming months. For example, designate one spot for incoming papers. If papers are thrown around haphazardly, they can add up to a lot of desk clutter and be difficult to locate when you need them. Once mail or documents come into the home, do not place them anywhere but your designated spot for incoming paper. Also, use crates, baskets and boxes to collect loose items and hide wrapping materials or accessories that can look cluttered.
8 Work Smart Tips for the Home Office
Clear off the holiday to-do lists, receipts and scraps of wrapping paper, and lay the groundwork for staying organised in the upcoming months. For example, designate one spot for incoming papers. If papers are thrown around haphazardly, they can add up to a lot of desk clutter and be difficult to locate when you need them. Once mail or documents come into the home, do not place them anywhere but your designated spot for incoming paper. Also, use crates, baskets and boxes to collect loose items and hide wrapping materials or accessories that can look cluttered.
8 Work Smart Tips for the Home Office
10. Give your bookshelf a colour boost
Transform bookshelves by covering the interiors with a wash of bright paint or wallpaper. Choose a rainbow effect or a single warm hue for an unexpected hit of colour in your living room. Once the paint has completely dried, move books back in place and mix in artistic bookends, potted plants or other accessories to add diversity.
Transform bookshelves by covering the interiors with a wash of bright paint or wallpaper. Choose a rainbow effect or a single warm hue for an unexpected hit of colour in your living room. Once the paint has completely dried, move books back in place and mix in artistic bookends, potted plants or other accessories to add diversity.
11. Stock up on fresh fruits and veggies
Make sticking to those New Year’s resolutions a cinch with easy-to-grab healthy snack options. Bowls of fruit set on the table or on the sideboard by the front door can be a great way to tempt family members to reach for a piece instead of a bag of chips on their way out the door.
Make sticking to those New Year’s resolutions a cinch with easy-to-grab healthy snack options. Bowls of fruit set on the table or on the sideboard by the front door can be a great way to tempt family members to reach for a piece instead of a bag of chips on their way out the door.
12. Welcome the new season
Bring in something fresh and spring-like, such as a budding branch of cherry blossoms or a bouquet of flowers to act as a daily reminder that spring is just around the corner.
TELL US
What do you do to start the new year right? Share your ideas in the Comments below.
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Bring in something fresh and spring-like, such as a budding branch of cherry blossoms or a bouquet of flowers to act as a daily reminder that spring is just around the corner.
TELL US
What do you do to start the new year right? Share your ideas in the Comments below.
MORE
9 Healthy Home Habits to Cultivate for the New YearWhat’s Your Lucky Colour in the Year of the Rooster?
Freshen up an indoor space with living plants. Bringing in even a single potted specimen, like a fiddleleaf fig (Ficus lyrata, seen here), will give your living room new life and a welcome hit of green in winter. Most popular indoor plants – such as ficus, ferns and philodendrons – grow best in bright, indirect light. Choose a spot by a window where the plant will receive four to six hours of indirect sunlight. Many succulents and cactuses appreciate at least six hours of bright sunlight.
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