While I’m usually pretty happy with my home and it’s interiors I do find there are times I grow restless and want change.  I’ve come to realize that when the restlessness occurs it’s best to wait it out with some minor changes and sprucing up, as opposed to calling in the demolition team to tear down a wall or rip out a built-in.

I confess, it took a few major disasters for me to figure out that sometimes, for whatever reason you subscribe to (mood swings, boredom, a home tour, general dissatisfaction with everything), it’s best to use common sense when you decide you’re ready for change.

A couple of years ago Traditional Home addressed this very topic with a feature titled, “Common Sense Decorating”.   It’s suggested that you “re-visit, re-cover, re-place, re-define.  Remind yourself what matters most.”  The recommendations for little things you could do to give your home a lift were spot on so I kept the feature in my file.

Here are some of my favorites:

Replace what you have with its opposite.  If you currently have solid pillows on your sofa, try patterned pillows for awhile.  I have always thought pillows were an economical way to spruce up a room.  They can give you a sense of major change in a room and can be found so inexpensively.  You can make your own with very little sewing skill.

Change the shades on your chandelier.  That is such a fun change.  Ballard Designs sells a great selection of patterned shades and I’ve seen some pretty decent ones at Target on a good week.  I have a good friend that has 2-3 sets of shades and she changes them for the season.  I love the look they give the room, very custom, and it’s always caught my eye when I enter her family room.   While we’re on the topic of lighting, try changing lamps between rooms or pick up a couple of new lamps for a spot that needs a serious sprucing.

Paint a room.  This is a relatively simple change that probably can have more impact than any of the other suggestions.  It also requires a bit more work but if you’re really sick of a room, what better way to start a major change.

Refresh a room with new curtains or slip cover a chair.  These can be a little more expensive to achieve, unless you are one of those amazingly talented folks who can whip up a slip cover in an afternoon; I’m not one of them.

There are things you can add or take away from a room that has been in need of a face-lift and you’ll be surprised at how much change you will achieve.  I sometimes remove all accessories and then put back only what I want.

And finally, if you have no time or money but are still dissatisfied with a room, spring clean! It’s amazing to me how much happier I can be with a space if I give it a total ceiling to floor cleaning, as if the Queen is coming for a visit.  It really works.  It’s why people who spruce up their homes for a real estate sale are often sorry they are moving.

What do you do to spruce up around the house when you start feeling restless?