Keep Your Home Fresh -According to LiLu
Fresh Home-Fresh Perspective
It’s 2021, and yet, many of us are still staying home a lot more often due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As we do so much more from home, there is a loss of variety in our environment. There is less excitement in looking around and seeing the same thing, day after day, and that can have a negative impact on a person’s mental health. To negate this, some companies are releasing products like the new “Sky Scape”, a 22-inch screen surrounded by a plastic frame that is meant to simulate looking out an airplane window – flying above the clouds – for those who can’t help but miss flying as we enter our eleventh month of travel restrictions.
You might be missing variety and excitement too, but you might not want to splurge on a simulated airplane window for your home office. If that is the case – you’re in luck! Our blog today is all about how to keep your home fresh – providing variety in the home at a time when we need it more than ever.
Change Your View by Changing Your Artwork
Artwork naturally keeps your home fresh. It provides color, intrigue, and just enhances the overall vibe of a room. That being said if you’ve been staring at the same painting for the past ten months; if you’ve memorized every detail of the photograph hanging in your kitchen: it might be time to rehang your artwork! To do this, take everything down, and move it around to new spots in the room or in your entire home.
Make sure to consider scale when rehanging your art! If rehanging isn’t enough variety for you – consider adding one or two pieces of new art to your space.
Thinking of adding some new artwork?
Check out our posts on these artists.
Adam Field
Shelly Mossman
Windy O'Connor
Freshen Your Styling
One easy way to add variety to your home and keep it fresh is to restyle your mantle or shelves. Like the changing of the seasons, your decorative spaces can invoke different moods you want to reflect or moments you want to recall. Pull out those decorative objects you might have stashed away in a closet and use them to add a bit of variety to your home!
A great way to do this is to use objects that hold significance to you, but you might not have thought of as accessories previously. Maybe it’s your grandma’s sugar bowl, maybe your mom’s jewelry, or maybe your grandpa’s hats – either way, these family objects can make great mantle or shelf décor as well as evoke memories that are positive.
Add Color or Interest to Your Table
Consider freshening up your tablescape this winter to help freshen up your space. You might paint a tablecloth yourself, creating a fun creative project that leads to a fun, creative space! Or, you might subvert the concept of a tablecloth completely and use an unspecific cloth – like that scarf you haven’t worn since 2019. Beyond the tablecloth, you might add a pop of color with new ceramics that are more exciting than your average porcelain – or some objects that add intrigue. Some examples are feathers, plant cuttings, bonsai trees, or any other atypical centerpiece. Not only will this create more variety to your mealtime views - it might also deepen your connection to nature and green during the winter.
New Bedding for a Fresh Feeling
Switching up your bedding is a pretty basic way to keep your space fresh, but there are two ways to do it: 1) add a new layer, and 2) take a layer away. To add a layer, maybe add a throw, or change the pillows to a new color or print – or rearrange them for intrigue. To take a layer away, you might remove some pillows or a throw. Maybe you are in need of simplicity or simply want a change of pace. If so, taking a layer away from your bedding might be the way to go!
Rearrange
Finally, one of the most time-honored ways to keep your home fresh, rearrange your furniture! Variety in your environment is incredibly important - pandemic or not – which is why we often build the concept of rearranging furniture right into our work. Sometimes, when we design a room, we intentionally plan two different layouts - one for winter, and one for summer – to keep variety in mind for our clients. These layouts use the same furniture, just in a different arrangement! You’d be surprised to see how simply changing the layout of a room freshens a space. If you don’t feel particularly like expending the energy to move your sofa to the other end of your space this week, that’s okay! You could try something as simple as rearranging your pillows or swapping throws between sofas. Another great (and simple) way to keep your home fresh in this way is to put out fun, interactive objects like instruments, games, and books. These might just be eye-candy for variety’s sake, but they might also inspire you to pick up that guitar, or finally start reading that book, in moments of boredom. So, take that book off your bookshelf, and take the chessboard and move it somewhere new!
Bringing Intention Home
For more than a decade, LiLu Interiors has been designing intentional living environments that reflect the singular values and needs, lifestyle, and aesthetics of each individual client. With care, joy, and trust, we’ll creatively collaborate with you to design a home that uniquely expresses who you are and how you live. Intentional design, no matter the style, requires thoughtful attention to detail and deliberate choices.
Let’s make life better. Let’s bring your intentions home.
16 January, 2021 at 7:59 am
Perfect ideas, Lisa, to easily refresh a space. I particularly like the notion of using sentimental/meaningful items displayed in new ways to invigorate a room! I’m less inclined to buy the airplane window LOL…I mean I love and miss travel, but not the claustrophobic experience of hours trapped in an airplane seat!
16 January, 2021 at 11:16 am
It’s like you were reading my mind, Lisa. I have been thinking about exactly this, this week. Thank you for these great suggestions. I will be working on them!
17 January, 2021 at 11:29 am
I loved seeing all of these beautiful and fresh spaces! So many great ideas for this time of year!
17 January, 2021 at 12:31 pm
These 5 ideas are perfect for anyone looking to refresh their space (which I’m sure is everyone). All of your ideas are practical and easy to create (while so may still wish to utilize the talents of a designer).
The bunny art is still my absolute favourite!
17 January, 2021 at 10:38 pm
I love all your tips, especially rehanging and restyling your art. Love those beautiful plates and the idea of unexpected colors for your table top. Such great ideas for ways to change things up without having to buy new things!