Room Refresh: Summer Edition
Hope everyone had a great Independence Day! Finally feels like Summer is officially HERE. I'm currently working on a project for a Blue Room client, and was inspired by her goal:
Upgrade her neglected guest room!
When the heat of the season hits, and you know you'll be welcoming more guests, just a few simple changes to lighten up the space can have you and your guests feeling cool and inspired all summer. Here are some Simple Room Refresh Tips:
1. De-clutter!! Easiest way to freshen up a room is to remove STUFF. A guest room especially can become the "room where we put things that have no home" - ha - so get tough and throw out, donate, or redistribute as much as you can from the room.
2. Organize - If you can't get rid of it, hide it or make the mess look pretty! :-)
Getting a few cheap baskets at Marshall's or Michael's (they have great sales!) can help hide papers, linens, shoes, whatever you want out of site.
Turning books around (spine facing the wall, raw pages out) or color coding them makes shelves instantly more chic. Bonus if you can layer your books with plants or other nick knacks... BOOM high-end shelfscape!
3. Should We Paint? Sometimes just a fresh coat of paint or lightening up the colors on the walls will instantly transform the room without having to do much else. Yes, this option takes a bit more money and time, but luckily lasts at least a few years and can do wonders in a weekend.
4. Linens! My favorite way to switch things up is with pillows and rugs. Head to Marshalls, Home Goods, Target or search sales online to find some cheap fun pillows, a throw rug to layer in, or some fresh curtains. If you're doing a bedroom, grab a new duvet cover. I like doing white or neutrals for bedding and curtains and then getting crazy with color/patterns on pillows and rugs, but that's just me :-)
5. Accents - Before you hit the store, shop your house! Survey the rest of your home to find things you might be able to move around. Everyone re-arranges furniture, but few think to re-arrange their accessories. Or hop onto society6.com, allposters.com, or Ebay and grab a snazzy new piece of art for the room. Here is my Art Pinterest board for some of my favorites right now.
One More Tip... Add some life! Bring in some plants and fresh flowers and you've got a room you'll want to hang out in.
All of these are pretty common sense but are also affordable and quick ways to improve a space. In one weekend you be posting a "before and after" on Instagram and everyone will be begging to come over to your house to hang.
Inspirations:
Below are a few of the inspiration boards I put together for my friend's guest room using some of the tips above.
I'm suggesting a new wardrobe for hidden storage (found online but I'm adding custom legs and pulls from prettypegs.com).
We're also adding a desk, new art, a few metallic accessories, and all new bedding + pillows + rug
I can't wait to visit her and stay in this fab guest room I helped create!
Happy Summer refreshing,
Sam at The Blue Room
