Design Resolutions: Be House Proud

Every January people write a lot of words about resolutions, name-checking all the classics: Lose weight, change jobs, write that novel you’ve been kicking around for years. And every year there’s a second flood of articles about how to make those resolutions stick.

What’s often missing from that conversation are design-related resolutions. Haven’t you been living in chaos for too long? Your mental state is often reflected by the state of your living space (and vice versa), so a few design resolutions can actually help you with your personal resolutions. The good news? They don’t have to be complicated and require a ton of work – even simple changes can have a tremendous impact on your life. Here are a few simple resolutions to make this year your best design year ever.

Resolution: De-Clutter

This is the year you’re not going to just pick up and dust like a demon in January and then neglect to do it for the rest of the year – this is the year you’re going to make design resolutions for creating a system for keeping your home clutter-free.

Storage is your key: Make sure each room has a purpose-appropriate storage solution. The dining room needs a china cabinet and/or a sideboard, the living room needs media storage, the family room a toy chest, and if you need more closet space, bite the bullet and invest in some free-standing solutions.

Resolution: Party Ready

This is one of the more fun resolutions: Once you have a system in place that keeps your home looking good all the time, it’s time to see your friends and family more often, which means making your home party-ready.

The simplest thing to do is to make the gathering areas of your home (the living room, the outdoor spaces) into a collection of conversation spots. Arranging furniture into small groups allows people to easily gather for chatting, and giving those groupings room to breathe lets people easily move from group to group, keeping the party flow smooth.

Resolution: Change Out the Lighting

Another simple way you can re-invent the whole look of the house is to put a critical eye to the most-overlooked aspect of your home design: the lighting. If your light fixtures are out of date, covered in dust, and look like they were beamed in from a previous era, now’s the time to take them down and replace them with some new, modern-looking pieces.

It’s fairly easy to screw in a new light fixture – just make sure you turn off the power first, or hire an electrician or handyman if you’re totally lost or don’t have a step-ladder handy. The result will be a dramatic new look – and probably a lot more light and a reduced power bill.

A final tip? Consider changing out your wall art – if you’ve had the same photos and pictures on the walls for years, this is the year it all changes. We’d be happy to help you with that – just select some great paintings or personal photos and click here – we’ll make it incredibly easy to change the look and feel of your whole home!