Do you have cabin fever? How about your home? It’s a proven fact that the lack of sunlight in the winter can cause feelings of depression and fatigue. Well, your home can actually suffer from this illness too and could actually be causing some of your symptoms of cabin fever. So what can you do about it? Redesign your home.

Now, I don’t mean go out and totally renovate your home by knocking down walls and buying new furniture, although that would work! What I mean by redesign is to give your home a facelift using everything you already own. How could that work you ask? You know how you feel when you give yourself a day of pampering at the spa? You feel refreshed, rejuvenated and renewed. You can also make your home look and feel refreshed, rejuvenated and renewed, all in one day, with a redesign.

It’s referred to as the “art of placement.” I can give you all kinds of technical tools we designers use such as balance, scale and proportion, but all it really comes down to is putting your things in just the right spot to give you that designer look. To a designer, a lot of how we place things is instinctual and it just “feels right.” However, I can give you a few tricks you can do on your own to help rid your home of cabin fever.

First, you need to evaluate the room’s architecture and fixed focal points. What is the shape of the room? Do you have a fireplace or a great view out the windows? Determine what your focal point is and arrange the furniture to compliment that element.

Always keep function in mind when arranging your furniture. How are you going to use the room and what do you need to include in it to make it comfortable? Extra side tables, lighting, need to see the TV? Make sure to set it up so that it works just as well as it looks.

Never place your artwork or accessories until everything else is in the perfect place. That’s like picking out your jewelry before you pick your outfit. Your accessories should compliment the room and its furnishings, not stand all by itself. Use them to “fill in” spaces around the room on tabletops and on walls to complete the look. Make sure they relate to something in the room, for instance color, style, material, etc. If it doesn’t work in that room, try it in another room.

Give redesign a try…it only takes one day and you could be very surprised at how it changes your room and how it changes you!

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