When I take down the decorations, I breathe a sigh of relief at the simplicity. Do you feel that way? But as I am replacing my “everyday” items, I realize the holes in my decor, the “blah” that I have let creep into my home. Time for an edit! Here in North Texas, it’s easy to embrace our early spring, so I recommend shuffling what you have, getting rid of things, and adding a few key items to refresh your home as a prescription for the post holiday season!
Bookshelves
Pattern mix
1) Remove all items from your shelves and other horizontal surfaces. Get rid of the ones you’re done with (never liked it, kept it because you felt you “had to”, have just had it forever and never thought about how dated it looked!)
2) Sort the remaining items by metal finish, type, color, etc. Consider keeping collections together rather than spreading them all over the house. Clean all items.
3) Pick 3 of these groupings for each area keeping the contents as simple and uniform as possible. Keep each surface 1/3-2/3 empty.
Pillows
Check your pillows: remove ones whose color schemes don’t fit with your current look. Consider buying a little fabric and having them recovered! I think you need some pillows on your couch, but even 3 will do the job.
Bedding
1) Is your bed quick and easy to make in morning? If not, edit the layers and pillows to a manageable level. I’m all for layers, but if it’s too hard to put it all together, it may start going unmade!
2) Build your bed to cover the “real people” stuff. This usually means having decorative pillows over the ones your head touches, and a cover over the blanket or duvet you sleep under. Adding these will really neaten things up.
3) Mix up the textures. A bed that is all cotton is boring. Add linen, fur, velvet, matelassé for interest.
Lighting makes a difference
Lighting
1)Walk you home for lightbulbs that are out and replace with LED Soft white bulbs. Not only will everything look brighter, but they will last longer. This goes for table and floor lamps as well. Consider having your handyman or electrician replace your existing recessed can lights with LED as well.
2) Add lamps. Each room should have 3!