How to Freshen Up Your Living Space

January 30, 2018

If it’s been a year or two (or three) since you added, subtracted or moved things around in your living or family room, rearranging and changing things up can open up the space and give you (and your family) a lift!  According to Psychology Today, altering our environment “lifts moods, provides concrete satisfaction and instills a sense of effectiveness.”

It takes eye for artistry and comfort to come up with good interior design ideas for your living room, so we asked Angela Harris, a Denver-based interior designer and the creative director at Trio Environments, for suggestions.

Paint a Pick-Me-Up

“The most dramatic transformation you can achieve is from paint and it’s also the most economical,” says Angela. “That can be an overall paint makeover, accent paint, or paint detail — anything from a stripe on the wall, to a design on the ceiling — you can create a big difference with paint.”

If that sounds like too much time and effort for the reward, think about just trading out accessories.  “Keeping the main pieces of furniture and adding new pillows, an area rug, and I don’t want to call them tchotchkes, but eye-catching accessories can produce a completely different look,” say says.

Learn How to Use Lighting as Art

The other suggestion Angela and her staff at Trio Environments always give is to revamp the light fixtures. Lowe’s is just minutes away from Southshore on Wheatlands Parkway, and there’s a Lamps Plus on Colorado Boulevard in Denver, and the Galleria Lighting about 28 miles from Southshore on Rio Grande. Consider wall sconces and torchieres, new lamps, ceiling lights, lamps and LED fixtures.

“You already have a junction box in your house and replacing fixtures can be a simple change with dramatic results,” Angela says.

Scale Reigns Supreme

Angela and her team also suggest fewer accessories on a larger scale. “For example, instead of three vases, change them out with one big sculpture,” she says.

“When speaking about accessories, try to find consistency, a common thread,” Angela adds. “You don’t want things to look too hodge-podgy.”

Overall Angela advises people to stay away from any steadfast rules and find the balance in your space. “Instead of merely looking at measurements and thinking, ‘yeah that fits,’ consider scale and balance.”

Rearrange a Change

Rearranging furniture is another economical way to freshen up your living space with a little LITERAL heavy lifting.

When you start moving your furniture around, “always nice to try to find a focal point,” Angela advises. And don’t get stuck on what you’d traditionally think the focus of a room should be, she says, like the fireplace or the TV.

“It could be the view,” she says.

For more no fail tips on furniture arrangement, with inspiring photos to match, check out Better Homes and Gardens for rooms big, small and somewhere in between!

The rewards for rearranging your furniture, beyond just getting a new look and feel to your space includes extending the life of your flooring, maximizing solar performance (we had to look that one up!), and making rooms feel bigger!

Southshore Fresh

Living in Southshore gives you access to shopping and entertainment, and, the fresh air opportunities that miles of trails and acres of water offer at the Aurora Reservoir. Drop by for a visit and tour the stunning models from Toll Brothers, Century Communities and Richmond American Homes. It’s lakeside living, in both ranch and two-story designs, priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.