Transform/Refresh Your Home As We Look Towards Spring
By Annie O’Carroll, Principal, Annie O’Carroll Interior Design
Hard to believe that spring is just around the corner, but here are my “Top Ten” suggestions for transforming or refreshing your home as we approach a new season:
1. Slip cover a chair/sofa or upholstered headboard.
A slip cover can transform a room. We tend towards darker colors and textures (velvet-chenille) in fall and winter and gravitate towards lighter colors and textures (cotton – linen) for spring and summer. If you love the style and quality of your sofa or chair, consider a slip cover. A slip cover is equivalent to a couture dress! The slip cover can be loose (think shabby chic) or tailored. You need about 10 yards of fabric for a lounge chair and 20 yards for a 7’ sofa. The cost of fabric will be the biggest variable in the pricing.
2. Create an accent wall with paint or wall paper
Look to new colors for 2010: purples, grays, blues, and corals. Look at the new environmentally-friendly “VOC” paints. Wall papers come in grass cloths, papers & vinyls. Consider using wall paper on a ceiling, or on a bed wall. You’ll be seeing more on wall coverings in 2010!
3. Update your bedroom…new bedding/pillows/paint.
4. Update your bathroom with new towels/rugs.
5. Awaken the senses with flowers and candles.
6. Energize your everyday table using your own dishes with new chargers, placemats and napkins. Select a colorful or textured charger to set off your existing dinner ware.
7. Reframe family photos with new matting or frames. Choose a color pallet like one of the metallic options and use tones in the same family with different frame types. Don’t match!
8. Reposition art and accessories. Moves things around; you’ll see your art and accessories in a whole new way.
9. Look outside your house… consider recovering chair cushions. Outdoor fabrics are not like they used to be (remember how stiff they were?). Now they are luxurious with a soft hand.
10. De- clutter. Do I need to say more?
