Ever since I was a kid I loved to change up my space. Whether it was spending a weekend moving the furniture around, adding new posters to the wall, or asking my parents to paint the walls pink (which they did) I always felt a sense of satisfaction with having some control over my room.
Every time I made a change, it turned my room into a new space with new possibilities. I still do this today. Get me in a home decorating store and I’m thinking of ways to re-work a room in my home. Each time I make a change it still makes me smile. Sometimes I’ll just sit in the room and stare at whatever the change is and get that same satisfaction I used to have as a kid.
That’s why I made the protagonist, Yvonne Cable in my debut novel Redesigning Happiness, an interior designer. She designs her client’s spaces in a way that makes them feel comfortable, happy, and safe in their home or workplace. Sometimes it takes a rework of the things around you to get a little bit of happiness. If you’re like me and like to make changes, but aren’t into hiring an interior designer to the stars like Yvonne, I’ve got a few tips of ways you can spruce up a room.
- Paint the walls. It’s amazing what a coat of paint will do. I know this is simple, and probably obvious, but changing the color of a room can quickly set the tone. My bedroom has a soft, earth tone color on the wall because I want to be relaxed and calm in my bedroom.
- Hang up new curtains! Maybe I like this idea because I can get lost in an internet rabbit hole looking at curtains for a window. Curtains allow you to try different colors, textures, and patterns without buying new furniture. If you’re handy with a sewing machine even better, because you can make your own.
- Print out those pictures in your phone and hang them up! Last year I made a point to print out all of the pictures in my phone. Okay, not the selfies, but you get me. Then I displayed some the pictures using a variety of inexpensive frames. I’ve gotten the best response from visitors about the pictures. I’ve even surprised family and friends with framed pictures I’d taken of them that they’d forgotten about.
- Don’t neglect your outdoor living space. I’m no gardener, but I can at least grow a shrub. Lol! I recently planted roses in an empty corner in my backyard because I look at that corner every time I sit outside. Now I get to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and the roses I planted.
- Finally, move around your furniture. You don’t have to spend money to reinvent your space. Change the location of your bed, dresser, or mirror. Sometimes a new perspective can make the same old room seem new.
I hope these tips gave you an idea of ways to change up your living space! Let me know how you reinvent your living space in the comments below.
Witty, sharply-observed, and warmly wise, Nita Brooks’ debut novel tells the heartfelt story of a suddenly successful single mother who finds her perfectly-designed, fame-bound life upended by a surprise from the past . . .
It wasn’t easy for Yvonne Cable to get over a heartbreaking relationship and revamp her life. But now the once-broke single mom is Atlanta’s most sought-after interior designer—and one-half of the media’s hottest power couple. She and her celebrity fiancé, Nathan, are a perfect, practical match, on—and off—camera. And with their new home improvement reality show the object of a fierce network bidding war, there’s no limit to how far they can go . . .
But Yvonne is stunned when mogul Richard Barrington III unexpectedly makes an offer for their program. He’s the man she thought left her for a more successful woman. And he’s the father of her son—though he didn’t know it until now. Richard wants to get to know their boy, and Yvonne agrees, though she’s wary. Yet little by little, she’s finding it hard to resist the responsible, caring man Richard has become. But when a scandalous leak puts everything Yvonne’s worked for at risk, she’ll have to look beyond surfaces to come to terms with who she is—and discover what she truly wants.