Simple Steps Can Brighten Any Room.

This little secret is one interior designers have long known: A home is a work in process. That bedroom your daughter loved when she was five years old won’t carry her through her teen years. And furniture styles and your own tastes will change. That’s why many homeowners tackle big updates on a room-by-room basis, while simply freshening other rooms.

Here are 4 quick and easy ways to spruce up your home.

1. Give your windows something new to wear. Ready-to-hang window treatments are easy to install and yield dramatic results, transforming a ho-hum dining room or living room. Or start smaller. Maybe all it takes for a fresh look is a new curtain rod. Experiment!
2. Update your hardware. A stylish new door knob or new drawer and cabinet pulls will give a room a new feel
3. Brighten up with new lighting. If you’ve had your eye on an antique lamp or fun lampshade, why resist the urge any longer? A new lamp will make you feel you’re in a brand-new room. You can install strip lighting above cabinets. Also consider redirecting your existing lighting to highlight particular features of your room.
4. One word: Paint. Granted, “paint it” is the most common suggestion you’ll hear to update a room. But it remains good advice. Don’t feel bound to one shade of Sherwin-Williams, either — get creative and paint your walls and floors with borders, vines, even faux rugs.

Once you start freshening rooms, you may not stop. That can be a good thing. Making subtle updates to a room is fun and a satisfying form of self-expression and creativity. Your guests and family will enjoy your changes, as well.

As for that daughter who wants to move to a big-girl room? You may find that involving her in the new look of her room can be fun and entertaining as well. Even if you feel moved to temper some of her design enthusiasm a bit, working together to update her room with a look you both love can be a great experience that you and she will remember.

Not every room needs a total makeover. These simple, fun and often inexpensive updates can make a big difference in your home. Enjoy!

The Grimes Group