January is a time of change - new year, new resolutions, a perfect time for a fresh start.

The holiday decorations are all packed up and put away, but before you mindlessly arrange your stuff the way it was before you shifted it to accommodate the season, think about ways to give your home a fresh start as well.  Rethink furniture placement.  Eliminate clutter.  Organize your space so it works efficiently for you and it is comfortable and a pleasure to live in.  Easier said than done? Totally!

Here is a new year's resolution challenge for you - don't keep something  just because...use this opportunity to challenge the status quo.  William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.".   This famous quote is a great measuring stick to use to determine what stays and what goes.  Don't waste your money trying to buy things to go with a piece of furniture, paint color, or floor covering that you hate in the hope that they will somehow help you hate it less.  Buy what gives you joy.

We had a client who called us in to rescue her master bedroom suite  - she liked some things about it (much of her furniture, her custom bedding and window treatments, her collection of jadeware and artwork), hated others (the oppressiveness of the wall color, the rug, the uncomfortable loveseat).

We recommended some pillows and a rug in patterns that would pull together the golds and burgundies in her bedding and valances with the jade in her accessories, a lighter, but still warm, paint color, a pair of comfortable chairs and ottoman for a useable lounging spot by the fireplace, and simple re-arrangement of artwork and accessories.  She was excited by our suggestions and delighted with the outcome!

New rug ...

Pillow and upholstery fabrics ...

Rearrangement of the artwork and accessories ... and voila!  A fresh new space that is comfortable, functional, and distinctive with just a few key changes!

Look at your home with new eyes and decide what about it you need to change and what gives you joy!