Design diaries

Spring is a great time to refresh and start anew from winter. It’s when flowers start to bloom, grass begins to grow, and any/all holiday decorations are completely put away (at least I hope so!). The days get longer which means more sunlit filled hours. When you start to look around your home, what do you see?

This time of year is when I begin to notice scratches, marks, dents, stains, and tears around my house which seem to appear out of the blue. I’m always puzzled how I never noticed before. I think it’s the holiday decorations and the shorter days (less sunlight), which camouflage them - even from my very perceptive eyes. But this year is a little different. This year there seems to be more scratches and dents, darker stains, and harsher tears than the previous years. I realize it is because my house took a major beating from everyone being home due to Covid. And I do mean EVERYONE and ALL THE TIME. As one client said to me… it’s similar to when expecting to put 10,000 miles on a car in a year but actually put 30,000 instead. That analogy is so very accurate and sums it up to a tee.

We literally spent 24 hours, 7 days of the week at or around home, which caused a lot of wear and tear as everything was exponentially used: the number of times someone ran their hand along the wall, a chair was sat on, a table was used, or a rug was spilled on. So, how do you begin to refresh your space and enjoy the beauty of Spring? Where to start?

Color! One of the best ways to refresh your house is with a new coat of paint or wallpaper. More and more homeowners are experimenting with colors other than gray - whether it’s painting a room a dramatic color, going with a bold hue on the front door, or wallpapering a single wall. My experience has taught me a beautiful paint color or wallpaper makes a room more interesting all year round, especially during the cold winter days.

So, dig deep within yourself and and try a new color that inspires you or perhaps a beautifully patterned wallpaper instead. Don’t be afraid to call a designer if you need help figuring it out. And in the meantime, let’s all hope (and pray) that kids will go back to school in the fall, spouses/significant others will leave the house (at least occasionally), and pets will return to sleeping most of the day (instead of scratching the door when the Amazon delivery arrives)!