The plastic bins come out, the
Christmas decorations come down, and then you look around and think . . . now
what? The temptation is there to run out
and buy new accessories and décor to fill in your now bare, sad looking tables,
shelves, and other furniture tops. After
all, Christmas decorations fill up your home, and they’re warm and homey, and
when they’re put away, you want that feeling to stay behind. A little simple redesign can be what you need
to make your pre-holiday look feel fresh and new again.
Moving things around and
rearranging can make a big difference, because you’re introducing your eye to a
new layout to feast on. This is a great
time of year to rearrange furniture like the configuration of your couches or
the orientation of your bed. If you feel
like tackling that project, the time and energy investment will allow you to
reap the rewards well into spring.
Whether you go big or not, you
can focus on your small décor and ratchet up its pop factor with a series of
switcheroos. To really carry it
throughout the house, clear the dining table and maybe some other nearby
furniture surfaces. Take every small
decoration on display around your home and place it on the table. Remove your frames, vases, bowls, book
stacks, little statues, figurines, candlesticks, and the like. Now would be a great time to really dust
well, by the way. And then go
“shopping.” Look over your in-house
selection and take your own pieces and place them in new places in different
rooms. Make fresh groupings of accessories
on your shelves and tables. In the end,
save yourself something for a dining room centerpiece.
Another step to take would be to
move your wall art around. You may have
a hallway mirror that would look great in your entryway for a while. A family collage of photos hanging in the
living room could get a revamp with more current images and a different
layout. There could be smaller pieces
spread here and there that would take on a more gallery look if they were hung
all together on a prominent family room wall.
You’ll find that your eye is
drawn to your new creative arrangements when you walk into a room in the same
way it is when you bring something brand new home. The same ol’ same ol’ can get stale with time
and familiarity. Shake things up this
January for a renewed look and perhaps outlook in 2014.
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star January 5th.
