Spring is the season for freshening up and there’s no better time to make some simple home updates while you’re at it. A dull, outdated room can come to life again with a few easy updates. In my opinion, rooms most commonly suffer from poor layout, poor lighting or just too many things going on.
I’ve collected some tips I use when setting up a new room or refreshing an old one:
Simplify your Layout
- Centralize a space with a rug: One of the most easily-fixed issues I commonly see is furniture that’s awkwardly situated in a room. I can’t praise area rugs enough for this. A common rule is to center an 8×10 (or larger depending on your space) area rug in the room, then use the rug as an anchor point for your furniture. A rectangular rug gives you a few foolproof options for furniture layout depending on if your room is narrow, wide or square. A rug can also add color and set the vibe of the room.
- Pick a focal point: A fireplace is great for this. Your room will look easily put together with all of the furniture pointing toward a focal point.
- Less is more: Don’t fall into the rabbit hole of thinking every empty space should be filled. This is hard for me, because I like decorating and when I see something cute I’m tempted to fit it in my home even if it doesn’t need to be there. Damn you, Target!
Lighting is your Best Friend
- Lighten elements in the space: Update dark furniture, walls or built-ins. This doesn’t mean you have to do a full reno. This could simply mean painting your fireplace surround white, or painting the walls a more neutral shade. The darker your walls, furniture and built-ins, the smaller your space will look.
- Let the light in: My all-time biggest pet peeve is having the blinds closed during the day. I can’t tell you how painstaking it is to come inside a home and see the shades are blocking out your best (free) asset: natural light! Trade heavy drapes for semi-sheer blinds and leave them open during the day. Add a storm door to let in light from multiple angles.
- Create evening ambiance: Place lamps throughout the room and don’t use harsh overhead and can lights.
Update your Decor
- Update your throw pillows. This is a foolproof color-update for living rooms.
- Fill shelves with a cohesive palette. Pick items in the same decor family and color palette so they look less busy on your shelves.
- Collect artwork in gallery wall. Art tends to look better clustered together rather than spread sporadically throughout the room. Again, a common family or color palette will help this look clean and neat.
- Update lighting fixtures. Another foolproof update similar to updating throw pillows is simply updating your lamps, adding sconces, or putting a pendant in place of an old can light.
- Add plants! Always add plants.
