Whether preparing your home for sale or the parade of holiday visitors, here is our list of 9 tips to make your home shine.
Commit to the deep clean. It may not be spring, but a deep and thorough cleaning will make you see and feel a difference in your home! Tackle these often neglected areas or consider hiring a pro to do the dirty work.
--Steam clean carpet
--Wash windows, sills and trim
--Wash walls
--Wash baseboards and floors by hand
--Take down overhead light shades and globes and wash them up in hot soapy water
--Clean cabinetry, especially around the hardware
--Do a cobweb sweep of ceilings throughout the house
Eliminate the clutter. Donate or sell what you don’t absolutely need. You will appreciate what remains more and it may even free up some mental space too!
Hide the necessities. Stash your to-do piles and everyday gadgets like phone chargers and keys in decorative containers. Making the functional more beautiful may not only brighten your mood but also help keep your life organized everyday of the year. (Pictured right: Wood boxes hide countertop clutter and cloth napkins.)
Pare down the furniture while making the most of what you keep. Can a cedar chest also serve as seating in an entryway or under a window? Can you use a bookcase for storage and as a room divider?
Touch up your walls, trim and baseboard if you still love the colors. Consider painting your ceilings if it’s been a while, it can make a giant impact! You could freshen up your white or get adventurous with the color.
Repaint if you're ready for a whole new palette. Choose complementary paint colors for rooms that connect to improve the flow of your home and make spaces feel larger and more cohesive.
Update your window covers, rods and/or brackets. Hang rods slightly higher than and farther out from the window trim to give the illusion of bigger windows. Floor length curtains also make ceilings feel taller.
Update your lighting. I love Cree LED bulbs. They give the appearance of higher wattage. I recently put these bulbs in all of my ceiling fixtures and lamps. What a difference!
Replace bland artwork with pieces that make you happy and help tell your story. Consider framing snapshots from your last vacay, favorite cards from friends or even your child's artwork. (Pictured left: Collages made from items collected on an extended cross-country road trip.)
functional more beautiful may not only brighten your mood but also help keep your life organized everyday of the year. (Pictured right: Wood boxes hide countertop clutter and cloth napkins.)