One of the things I’ve always done as a Designer is move things around in my home – furniture, art, accessories. Sometimes to test a new idea, sometimes to come up with new styling options for clients, and sometimes, just for fun. Here’s some ideas you can do to refresh your home with what you already have.
1. Rotate your artwork. It’s amazing how a room changes with artwork. If you have a few larger pieces on walls around the house, try relocating them to another room. Sometimes the piece takes on a new feeling just in the context of the other items in the room. When you put a piece of art in a room, the wall colour changes the way it looks, any similar colours in the room (from a pillow or rug, for example) will be highlighted in the art that were more muted in another room without that colour. In contrast, if you bring a piece of artwork that is mostly green into a room that is mostly grey, it injects a new energy into the space.
2. Rearrange furniture.
I’ve been doing this all my life, in living/family rooms mainly, and its amazing how a space changes based on furniture placement. If you have furniture against a window, try placing seating to face the window instead. If you thought you couldn’t place furniture against a window and its your longest wall in the room, try moving your largest piece of furniture there and see how it opens the room, just make sure to consider traffic flow around the furniture and into the room. It’s also a good time to create a book nook. Pull one armchair in front of window with a small side table and lamp for a cozy getaway with a book. If your room is square shaped, and you don’t have an obvious focal point, like a centrally located fireplace, try moving furniture in a diagonal, starting with the rug. It’s a very avant-garde look that works well in larger rooms.
3. Photo Gallery Wall.
Many people have framed family photos all over the house. If that’s the case for you, try bringing them all together on one wall. My first choice is in the family room where you spend the most time and can enjoy them. Secondly, the staircase allows for interesting placement. The frames don’t have to all be the same and if you have interesting small pieces of artwork to place on the wall it makes for interesting composition.
Photo decorlovin.com
4. Collections.
Similar to the photos concept, rounding up similar items into a collection that can be displayed on a tray makes for less clutter and a more powerful image. Whether its shells, gemstones, candles, trinkets, etc. the smaller the object, the more impact the display by grouping like objects together. All those trays you may have in the cupboards that come out over the holidays can be used to pull collections together. Even in the bathroom, put all the counter top clutter on a tray and see how it looks instantly more organized.
5. Styling.
This is another area where you can pull out various accessories from around the house to add interest in different rooms. Bookshelves don’t just have to store books. You can place small items, photos, plants and other objects to create visual impact and create sections for your books by topic, or even by colour if you’re so inclined. Start by taking everything off the shelves and adding one item at a time, once it looks good, leave it alone and put away other items (that you can rotate back in at another time, i.e. in the fall when the outdoor colours change).
I also like to switch out pillows and throws seasonally or change them by room if you have them around the house. Small pitchers can become holders for flowers or greens. Pull out pretty bowls for your fruit to encourage eating healthy instead of reaching for junk food, some fruit actually tastes better at room temperature.
If you want some more ideas, check out my Pinterest boards DIY, Styling, Just Too Pretty