5 Speedy Spruce Up Steps

Here are five simple, no/low cost ideas that I recently used with clients while helping them spruce up their places.

Reduce and reorganize your book collection.

I love books, and I believe a house is not a home without them. However, it's easy to collect too many. I recently spent 2 hours helping a client who needed to find space in her living room to house her husband's growing record collection. Her bookshelves were crammed with books and framed photos, so we started by removing everything. Then we went through the books one by one. We found old textbooks from when her children were young, reference books that were no longer useful, and even duplicate books. After setting these aside to give away, we organized the remaining books by subject: birds and nature, space, Harry Potter, guidebooks, etc. I then placed the groupings of books back on the shelves carefully, in vertical and horizontal stacks. I set aside a space for the records, and then scattered in the framed photos. It looks and functions so much better now. There are many ways to display your books; some people prefer to organize them by color, some in alphabetical order, some by subject matter. Whatever method you choose, be sure to go through your shelves at least twice a year to keep them fresh and relevant.

Give something a new purpose.

My client had a small wicker trunk that held blankets hidden in a cluttered corner of the living room. Meanwhile, the small open wooden crate she used as an impromptu bedside table wasn't living up to the potential of her bedroom. An easy switch solved both issues—we took the blankets out of the wicker trunk and moved it next to her bed, giving her a new bedside option that looked and functioned better. I challenge you to walk around your own place—how can you give new life to something you've stopped seeing? Can you use a side table as a plant stand, hang a mirrored bar tray on the wall, or turn a wide vase into a utensil crock?

Digitize your photos.

When storage space is at a premium (which is always, right?), don't prioritize clutter--even if it is meaningful. One good example: half of the shelf space in a client's office was occupied by boxes of old photos that she "planned to sort through one day." I suggested she send away these photos to be digitized, so her memories could live on without taking up valuable space. And, it's much easier to create photo albums in a digital format! Both iMemories and LegacyBox are highly rated digitization services.

Move items between rooms.

Sometimes we get locked into thinking our items must remain in a specific room. This was the case with a client who had inherited cool matching lamps from her mother. She thought the lamps needed to remain together in the living room because they were a set; however, there really wasn't space for both of them. We moved one into her bedroom, where it took on a whole new vibe based on the different decor in the room. When something just isn't working, or fitting, in a particular space, move it!

Get creative with textiles.

Another client needed to store her workout equipment under a small table, which meant her rolled up yoga mat and weights were on display. She had shown me some lovely throws she'd collected while traveling in South America, so I suggested tacking one up to the edge of the table as a "skirt" to cover the items below. It also adds great color and pattern to the room. Don't overlook the power and versatility of textiles! Tea towels make great cafe curtains or placemats . . . a small rug can easily be a wall hanging. Be creative!