Spring is in the Air!

It makes me want to just tear the house apart and refresh everything.  Spring cleaning is needed and a little something new and different is nice too.  Rearranging the furniture and adding flowers on the deck and porches also appeals to a lot of us the minute the skies turn blue and the temperatures rise.   
When my company, Interiors by Design, did home staging for real estate companies, I wrote some articles for an online magazine called Blissfully Domestic.  This is one of the first articles of mine they published. 
Outside The Box

"I saw these flowers on Simply Stated and thought they looked so pretty. I wouldn't have thought to put them in black and white vases and that made me ponder "thinking outside the box" when creating new possibilities for our homes.

Sometimes in decorating our spaces we become so emotionally invested in the comfort of things as they've always been, that we don't try anything new. That is one reason why another pair of eyes is often helpful.

One thing that I have learned as a professional home stager and redesigner is that change is difficult for all of us. That is why when our Interiors by Design team goes into a home to stage or redesign it, we need the home owner to be gone for the day. It is hard for them to envision the change while it is in process. Clients are strongly influenced by the emotional aspects of the changes and the preconceived notions they have carried with them for so long. It is best to go with the "big reveal" when the project is complete.

How are you when it comes to changing things? Are you open to the suggestions of others? Have you been pleasantly surprised trying different options? Poke a hole in that box you are in and peek outside. It is fun and besides, what's the worst thing that could happen? It is better to look for the possible benefits. Without trying...how will you ever know?

Flickr

Try These Things To Help Get The Process Going

• Look at your room with a critical eye. What works and what doesn't?
• Get rid of the space fillers you don't love.
• Get some furniture slides and start trying different furniture arrangements.
• Make a wish list of things you'd like to add to the room as your budget allows. Rome wasn't built in a day!
• Allow yourself a few days to get use to the new arrangement. Adapting to change takes time.
• Enjoy! Make your home a place you and your family love to be.
• If you need assistance call a qualified professional for help."

I am still interested in design work but retirement has taken me in new directions.  Still my love of decorating prevails and that desire to create an inviting, comfortable environment with just a touch of whimsy (lest we take ourselves too seriously) will always be a part of who I am.  How do you feel about changing it up around your home?  

What are some of the economical ways of doing it?  One of my favorites is re-purposing something or resurrecting it from someone else's cast-offs. I love thrifting.  One thing I have learned about design work through a lot of experience is this.  The most important thing is not what you have, but how you place it that makes all the difference. 

***If you'd like more posts on Decorating...please let me know.