Spiff up home décor to make the new year bright
When the first festive fall holiday arrived in October, we happily adorned our front porches with gourds, while free-falling spiders and friendly ghosts swung from our beams and window frames.
In November, the fall décor continued with harvest-inspired wreaths and swags, banners proclaiming thankfulness and a cornucopia or two decorating our dining tables. And in December, the winter night sky became brighter with strings of light accessorizing just about every nook and cranny, inside and out of our homes.
Yet with a mere 10 seconds notice, that stunning 12-foot diameter Swarovski crystal covered ball dropped and one ton of confetti burst up and down the streets of Times Square. And just like that, the holidays had come to an end.
Post-holiday blues are a real thing. So real that you might not know what to do with yourself this month. Some of us were more than ready to put our holiday décor back in the bins, but others are frozen and still living in the good ole days – when the pumpkins were freshly carved and our homes smelled of fresh pine.
To pull yourself out of this post-holiday design funk, it’s time to start a new design project.
Quick fix
If you’re looking for a quick fix, pillows and throws are easy and safe accessories. They can be purchased from just about home design retailer, in person or online. Typically, retailers are antsy to get their spring colors and patterns out shortly after the first of the year.
Incorporating new pillows and throws into an existing color scheme might be a great way to liven things up while not straying too far from what you’ve already created in your living spaces.
Organization and rearranging furniture and accessories are other great ways to find interest in things you may have lived with for months or years. Consider creating a new furniture layout in your family room or rearranging books and baubles on your bookcases.
We live and work in our kitchens daily, so why not give your kitchen an organization makeover. Clear off the counters, empty those drawers and comb your linen closets, underneath the kids’ bathroom vanity or reach way back in your entry armoire for storage containers or accessories you haven’t used in a while.
The bedroom closet
If all this design accessorizing and general reorganization isn’t enough, head to your bedroom closet. Indulge in individual clear shoe boxes, belt spinners, tie hooks and bins for your summer clothes that might still be intertwined with your winter sweaters.
And, as Joan Crawford so famously declared in “Mommie Dearest,” no wire hangers. Head to the Container Store and pick up coordinating plastic hangers or treat yourself to wood hangers and store your clothing in style.
I think many of us have more design and organizational projects in our homes than we realize or care to admit. Start your design projects slowly this month and next, and by spring, you’ll be ready for that bathroom or kitchen remodel.
Jennifer Leischer is the owner of J. Designs Interior Design based in Clayton. Contact her with questions, comments and suggestions at jenna@j-designs.com.