Auld Lang Syne, friends…days gone by. The year 2021 is outta here, and good riddance! If you’re anything like me, once Christmas is in the rearview mirror, you get antsy. It feels like a good time to find ways to refresh your home and get off to a fresh start, especially right after taking down all of your festive Christmas decorations.
How Do I Make My Home Look New Again?
We’re glad you asked! You can make your house look updated and refreshed with some simple home updates. You can do small things, like rearranging, or bigger things, like repainting. Let’s explore some options.
Repaint
Nothing makes a bigger impact than a fresh coat of paint. Whether it’s a cool greige, a warm white or a quiet shade of blue, your room will look transformed at the stroke of a brush. Here at HartLand, we love so many colors that sometimes it’s hard to choose, but we do have a list of some of our Benjamin Moore favorites:
- Chantilly Lace OC-65
- Simply White OC-117
- White Dove OC-17
- Classic Gray OC-23
- White Diamond OC-61
- Paper White 1590
- Baby’s Breath OC-62
- Harbor Haze 2136-60
- Palladian Blue HC-144
- Yarmouth Blue HC-150
- Constellation AF-540
- Dolphin’s Cove 722
- Spring Rain 723
- Pink Essence 881
- Light Yellow 2022-60
- Lemon Sorbet 2019-60
Custom Slip Covers
Do you have any clue how dirty your upholstery gets? Probably not, especially if it’s a dark color. All of our furniture is slip covered. Not only do our sofas, chairs, ottomans, and counter stools look fresh and crisp, but they are clean. People ask all the time how in the world we live with so much white. Are we perfect? Do we never have pet accidents or spills? Of course not! What’s our secret? All of our slipcovers are machine washable. Sweet little Teddy, who belongs to Kyle and Cheyenne, sometimes has “accidents” (and I use that term very loosely; please do not tell me dogs aren’t a tad spiteful at times), and we sometimes have accidents too! We have had all manner of makeup, dirty hands, blood, food, you name it. The good news is that if treated promptly, the stains come out, and even better, your furniture is actually clean. Still not convinced? Read our post on slipcovers.
Throw Pillows
Throw pillows are a fantastic way to change your look for each season. It’s especially easy to do this if you have white slip covers on your upholstered furniture. You can switch colors for holidays, seasons, or just because.
Floral Arrangements
Whether or not to use faux flowers and greenery is sometimes hotly debated on the internet. In our humble opinion, there is no debate. Many faux flowers on the market today are so life-like that it’s difficult to tell if they’re real without touching them, and sometimes not even then. Just like throw pillows, faux flowers can be changed each season or holiday for a totally different look. Purchasing good quality florals is not inexpensive, but if well-cared for, your faux flowers will last for many years. Take a peek at our post on our winter faux florals for ideas and inspiration.
New Art
Get yourself some new art. People often have difficulty choosing art, and we can see why. There are so many options, mediums, styles, and colors. Find something you really like and then select colors that are repeated in your decor. One project we intend to work on this summer is creating a gallery wall using our childrens’ art projects and drawings, and framing them. We plan to hang them in our stairwell. The shiplap will make the perfect backdrop.
Shelves and Cabinets
Switching up your display space can be a fun refresh. Consider adding some wallpaper to the back of an open cabinet, swap out your tired old shelves for something new and updated, or hang a pretty distressed curio cabinet to display a few trinkets or treasured collectibles.
Light Fixtures and Bulbs
Replace your outdated lighting fixtures with some classic lanterns or a crystal chandelier. Look outside as well as inside. Sometimes we forget that our exteriors need to be updated too! And while you’re at it, don’t forget the lightbulbs. Replace a typical lightbulb with a more modern bubble style bulb, or ditch the Edison bulbs. In some cases, get yourself a few Edison bulbs, particularly if your style is industrial farmhouse.
New Area Rug
We’re doing that right now! Our super soft white area rug has seen better days, so it’s time for us to refresh. Stay tuned! Area rugs are available in endless colors, patterns, and materials; people often become overwhelmed with so many choices, just like with light fixtures. Pay attention to your furniture layout to ensure that you are choosing the right size for your room. In a room with a sofa or two and several chairs, we prefer to have at least a third of the rug under each sofa, and at least the front legs of our chairs on the rug. There are no hard and fast rules to follow, but most people find general guidelines helpful. We personally do not like to see a rug sitting in front of your furniture; to us the rug looks too small for the room.
New Cabinetry Hardware
Do you have good quality cabinetry that looks tired? Do you not have the budget for a makeover? Switch out the hardware. Try painting your cabinetry rather than tearing it out if you need a major makeover, but often new hardware in an updated style is enough to satisfy your urge to change things. Take a look at Brittany’s kitchen makeover from last year.
Window Treatments
Consider adding window treatments to bare windows or replacing old ones. Again, stay tuned! We’re in the process of this incredible way to refresh our home. Often simple white panels are just enough. Less can be more.
Bedding
Get a whole new look by changing up your bedding. We love a layered look. Our post on styling your master bedroom will give you plenty of ideas.
Scents
Do you have a signature scent in your home? Maybe it’s time to find one. We absolutely love The Antique Candle Company. Be sure to check them out!
Plants
Real or faux, indoor plants put the finishing touches in a room. Place them in corners, on a window sill, or in your bathroom on a white wicker plant stand. We especially love faux greenery from Grandin Road.
New Furniture
While not an inexpensive venture, getting new furniture is sometimes absolutely necessary to update your home. Be sure you work on a cohesive style so your entire home feels pulled together, both inside and out. We love to mix it up and really don’t like matched sets of anything. Try combining wood and wicker, metal and wood, and slip-covered sofas with chippy end tables. A matched pair of end tables is nice, but find a coffee table that’s totally different. Feel free to contact us for a consultation or assistance!
Declutter
The eye needs a place to rest, which is why you don’t need to fill every corner. Too many nicknacks are overwhelming and chaotic, so edit what you have. Edit doesn’t mean throwing away. Edit simply means rearranging and storing. You do not have to display everything you own all at once. Check out KonMari for expert advice on how to organize your home.
Deep Clean
Nothing says fresh like a nice clean home. Deep clean from top to bottom, focusing on those areas that you might neglect most of the year:
- Range hood filter
- Backsplash tile
- Grout
- Shower tile
- Heating and cooling vents
- The garage
- Rugs and carpets
- Light fixtures
- Baseboards, cracks, corners, and crevices
- Closets
- Exterior
- Porches
- Inside cabinets
- Refrigerator
- Filters
- The oven
- The microwave
- Shelves
- Ceiling fans
- Windows
- Tops of doorways
- Moldings and baseboards
If this list makes you tired, don’t despair, you can always squeeze in a nap. We wish you a 2022 full of beauty, light, and love! Happy New Year! Until next time…