By Traci McBride
How’s it working for you?
We’re talking about your space.
Spending an entire year mostly homebound, working, relaxing, teaching and cooking, we learned what is and isn’t working for us. As we slide into spring 2021, many of us are more motivated than ever to improve our spaces to better reflect our personalities, activities and families. It’s not about perfect magazine spaces but curated joyful spaces.
I’m a fan of starting where we are by shopping our own homes to use what we already have and create a plan to implement over time. Make a list with the following questions to help you turn your home into your Happy Place.
Assess What You Have
Start Here:
Understanding the function of each space and how it makes you feel is the key.
- How do you feel now in your space and how do you want to feel?
- What do you love about your space and what drives you crazy?
Choosing the space to begin:
- A small space will be a manageable starting point or select a place where you spend a lot of time
- Consider the space you avoid or a space that affects the most people in your family
Perhaps you dread using the laundry room. It’s dated, disorganized and filled with odds and ends that don’t belong. Even if it is in the basement, it can be much more pleasurable to use. It might need only to be cleaned, organized, painted, or it would be better with a cabinet or shelf with a few baskets to store the detergents.
After you’ve picked your project, clean and declutter the area. If something looks dated but still works perfectly, consider an inexpensive spray paint transformation. It’s the perfect revamp for lamps, vases, baskets, frames and furniture. Remember, there is always a product or YouTube video to help you fix or update anything – someone with zero experience can paint Formica countertops.
Budget Ideas:
$0 investment: Just Elbow Grease
- Organize the pantry or junk drawer
- Rearrange art or furniture
- Declutter everything
- Fill vases or baskets with spring branches from the yard
- Put away winter: bedding, coats, snow-related items
- Restyle what you have: bookshelves, dressers, coffee tables, countertops
- Use leftover paint to freshen the trim
$50- $200
- New shower curtain
- Real or faux greenery
- Pillows
- Rug
- Stylish mirror that reflects the space
- Raise your ceiling with new rods hung higher for curtains
- Peel-and-stick wallpaper or paint
- Spray paint door knobs instead of replacing them
- Update the ceiling light fixture
$201- $500
- New nightstands (or paint the ones you have)
- New cabinet hardware
- Accent chair in your favorite material
- Replace front door
- Change the kitchen sink
Doable 2021 Trends:
- Navy: use it on a chair or couch. Paint a piece of furniture; for drama, paint an interior door
- Plants: Real or faux will liven things up
- Monochromatic walls and furniture
- Wall texture and dimension with wallpaper
- Mix metals with wood and stone
- Outdoor spaces are key to expanding living space for summer
- Less is more. Minimalism.
A Stylist’s Words to Live By:
- Mixing styles creates personality while sharing your story. When you curate your selections over the years, your home becomes more timeless.
- Form and function will always serve you. Everything needs to be attractive and serve a purpose.
- Creating a functional and visually exciting patio space for everyday eating, entertaining, or working from home is perfect for maximizing every inch you have.
- Avoid anything that is overdone and can be seen everywhere you turn. Example: word art signage, framed sayings: Bless This Mess (or coffee bar, bathroom, laundry room). Save your money – skip this fad.
- Speaking of fads: They come and go very quickly, usually in one season.
- Trends: don’t do any of them unless you love it, can afford it, and work with what you are already doing in your space.
- Don’t do all your shopping at box stores. Consider local vintage, consignment and resale for an eclectic mix that brings you joy.
- Thrifting & reworking items can save you a bundle while creating a joyful home.
- Your home is a living, breathing space that evolves just as you and your needs evolve.
Dated to Updated
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- Old, heavy drapes with fringe and tassels – Update with light curtains or panels
- Vinyl roller shades – Update with fresh blinds or shades with a button, not strings
- Popcorn ceilings – Update with fresh drywall for a clean line
- Old wall paneling – Update with paint after filling the grooves with filler
- 20+-year-old linoleum – Update by replacing it with luxury vinyl plank
- Dated colors: Hunter green, mauve, olive and golden harvest – Update with light and fresh greys, tans and off-whites
- Matchy-matchy bedroom or living room sets – Update by breaking up the groups by painting or moving pieces into another room
-
- Mirrors attached to dressers – Update by removing or use in another room
- Carpeted bathrooms – Update with tile or planking
- Tiled countertops from the ’80s – Update & modernize with marble, granite, etc.
Shopping Décor
Local Stores:
- Home Goods $$
- Target $$
- Marshalls $$
- World Market $$
- Hobby Lobby $$
- At Home $$
- Ikea $$-$$$
Donate Your Old Stuff & Shop for New-to-You Stuff
- Goodwill $
- Salvation Army $
- Volunteers of America Thrift $
Shop & Sell or Consign:
- Transitional Design (Broadview Heights) $$ transitionaldesign.net
- VNTG Home (Cleveland) $$ vntghome.com
- Consign Home Couture (Westlake) $$ shop.consignhomecouture.com
Shop Online:
- Amazon $-$$
- Wayfair $$-$$$
- Birch Lane $$-$$$
- Ballard Designs $$$
Get Inspired
- Catalogs & Magazines
- Local Model Homes
- YouTube
Northeast Ohio Life Stylist Traci McBride of TeeMcBee Consulting Ventures has elevated others to embrace their style in closets and has expanded to include home design. Learn more at zSPACES.teemcbee.com.
