We have all had those days where we look around our home and realize that we really want to freshen it up but don’t want to spend a whole lot of money or time to do it. Well there are a few things that can be done quickly, easily and inexpensively.

The first easy quick fix is to create flower arrangements. First fresh flowers will automatically brighten the atmosphere in the home. Flower arrangements are not for just the dining room table. They can go in the kitchen, bathroom, entry, on scones and in bedrooms. Isn’t it nice to see beautiful flowers first thing in the morning? Or how about when you first walk into your home? Pick a color of type of flower and create the arrangements around the color or flower. For instance if you want to accent your home with white you could use white calla lilies, white roses, carnations, daisies, baby’s breath and jasmine. Each arrangement could have all of the flowers you selected or just one or two, then as you change rooms you could change flowers. As an example the entry could be calla lilies, the kitchen daisies and the bedroom roses. Another way to do it would be to use only one type of flower but all the different colors. If going this route then the entry could be multicolored calla lilies, the kitchen yellow and red calla lilies and the master red and white calla lilies. There is really no wrong way to incorporate your flowers just use them and make sure to change the water in cut flowers on a daily basis so that they last as long as possible.

The second quick and easy fix is to change the fabric on your dining chairs. If you have simple seat only cushions on your dining chairs this is really easy. You don’t need an upholsterer to do this. Simply find a fabric you love, and you don’t have to spend a lot on the fabric. You can find remnants at your local fabric shop, or call your local interior designer to see if they have any leftover fabrics. A dirty little secret in the design business is that there is always leftover fabric. When we are making window treatments and bedding we have to order enough for the repeat to match so sometimes there could be a yard or two left over. I know I am always happy to help out a client with these remanent fabrics and will sell them at a very discounted price. Now that you have your fabric simply unscrew the pad from the chair. Lay the pad on the fabric and cut around it leaving about 2″ larger than what you need to cover the visible parts of the cushion. The all you need to do is wrap and staple the fabric. Re-attach to your chair frames and you have a whole new look!

And the last quick and easy fix is paint. This can be painting a wall or a piece of furniture. To freshen a room creating an accent wall will add a wow factor. If your room is in dark tones go with a light accent. If you room is light find a dark accent color. The easiest way to determine an accent color that will coordinate with your existing color scheme is to use your paint fan. Find your color and if you are dark to begin with go three steps lighter. If you are light the go three steps darker. This will refresh your room and make it look like a brand new room. If you choose to paint a piece of furniture find one of yours that is an accent and doesn’t other pieces. Great options are hallway chests, accent tables and mirrors. Just remember to sand the piece first and don’t choose one made from plastic or resin.

Now you have the tools so get going on freshening up your home and putting a smile on your face!