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How to Refresh Your Home in 7 Simple Steps

Refresh your home in seven simple steps – backed up with our best design tips.
After a few years, a home, no matter how well-decorated, can start to feel tired. Whether this is because the trends that were once in a few years before are now outdated or simply because you’ve become used to the same décor day in and day out, your design style isn’t always guaranteed to remain as fresh as day one. Thankfully, refreshing a home is super simple and doesn’t have to involve overhaul. Implement even just one or two steps from the list below to break up the routine and give the air a refreshing change you’ll be able to see and feel.

1. Rethink Your Coffee Table

A coffee table doesn’t have to be a coffee table – it can just as easily be a repurposed accent table, and your space will feel more refreshed for it. Consider swapping out a traditional coffee table for other designs, as well: a storage ottoman, two or three nesting tables, a cocktail ottoman, a bench, a pouf or a side table can all substitute for the more familiar design. 

If you don’t want to buy anything new but still feel like your living room could use a change, try removing the coffee table altogether and replacing it with nothing. You’ll have more space (and a refreshed look)! Pictured here, a woven texture brings this living room to life.

2. Add Wall Art

Since wall art isn’t essential – you don’t need it to sit, serve or sleep – many people tend to overlook this home staple. If this describes you, we urge you to think again! Wall art doesn’t have to mean the kind of original pieces you’d find in a stuffy gallery; on the contrary, you can find wall art canvas reprints for every taste and budget. Size affects the price, so if you’re on a budget, look into smaller art frames. When it comes to refreshment, art is potent.

3. Refresh Your Rugs

Try looking a little lower for a change – particularly, at your floors. If they’re bare, an area rug is an easy home refresh essential. Try shag rugs in the fall and winter and flat weave rugs in spring and summer to keep your toesies warm and cool as necessary – and a year-round refreshing feel. Shapes and sizes vary, so measure your space before buying! Already have carpeted floors? A rug over them will hide any signs of wear and keep the vibe cool.

4. Stock Up on Pillows

Want to know a pro secret? The accent pillows that a sofa comes with aren’t meant to be permanent. Switch them out (but don’t throw them out) for new ones, while keeping the original ones in storage. Every season, switch them back; literally, just throw a new pillow on your sofa – the next time you enter the room, you’ll feel like you’re in a completely different space, and it will have cost you nada.

5. Rethink Your Lighting

Floor lamps and table lamps come in more styles, finishes and silhouettes than you probably even knew existed. Take your time when shopping for one, because the more unique a floor lamp, the more refreshing the space. Popular styles include spotlight tripods, arcs and three-light tiers. Pictured here, lightbulb shades are tiered and adjustable, so you can target the lighting to exactly where you want. The sleek silver shades and base also refresh with modern style.

6. Rethink Your Side Tables

Side tables aren’t just for serving food or giving you surface to place your books and things, and if you bought your side tables just for those purposes, it’s time to rethink them. Side tables have the capability to ‘wow’ – you just need to experiment past the usual four-legged wood design. Refresh with unusual materials like marble, metal, glass, rattan or leather; opt for colors like gold, white or black, features like triangle tops or tapered legs and storage capabilities like drawers, shelving units and lift-tops.

7. Warm Up to Dining Sets

Dining sets – as in, a table and chairs designed with the same finishes, materials and style – can work wonders in two ways. First, they create a defined area, so even if you don’t have a separate dining room for eating, it’ll appear like you do. Second, they come with no rules attached; the chairs and benches in a dining set are multifunctional pieces and can be placed as accent seating throughout the house (not just for dining)!
Watch: Home Refreshing Tips

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