Little Shifts to Lighten Up in New Year

Are you the type who waits until Spring to declutter? I like getting to it after the bustle of the holidays. But it’s cold so a slower pace is perfect. Little shifts to lighten up have a big payoff, but they aren’t necessarily social media worthy. Let’s discuss.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Little Shifts and Serenity Now

Small moves are underrated. Let’s face it; they aren’t in the spotlight now since interior design blogs have evolved. The bar is sky high for transformation and dramatic DIYs. First, there’s all the imposters, fakery, and Ai tricks depicting near perfection. Also, followers have been conditioned to expect BIG moves not small ones. Where does that leave blogging dinosaurs enamored by subtle moves, subtraction, and simple style shifts? In post-holiday serenity and winter declutter mode I guess.

Serenity With Smaller, Simpler Changes?

So often, supplies of our time, energy, and funds are depleted. Especially in the cold of winter post-Christmas holiday.

Instead of waiting for creative energy or physical strength to swell, I’m thinking small.

Small because there are matters far more important than pretty rooms sparkling with order and creativity.

Small because when I approach a project of any sort with a spirit of calm and quieted mindfulness, both the process and the outcome are more satisfying.

Often, when we’re seeking an orderly, less fussy, more balanced space, it’s about making small thoughtful changes. Before I added this 1950s telephone stand and sconce to a teeny area near our bath, it was one more dark corner.

Now, it’s a cozily lit moment: a perch for this sweet portable humidifier from Hey Dewy for easier breathing and rest.

Steering Clear of Comparison

A few years back, our former home’s laundry room needed TLC. Instead of a gut job, we quieted it with low-cost modifications perfect for us and not for instagram clicks. Some followers voiced disappointment and criticism of the decisions I made to suit myself.

This is where we’re at: strong opinions about how a utilitarian space to launder clothes should have changed. Even my voiceover video was criticized (which I anticipated since my Chicago accent is somehow shockingly disappointing to some residing outside the Midwest.) Good gracious. It’s vulnerable enough simply showing a humble utilitarian space. Could I have delivered an over the top laundry room, used photoshop/AI and involved sponsors? Sure. I didn’t have time, health, energy, or interest.

We didn’t even upgrade the washer and dryer. (Both continue to work perfectly in a tiny home where we relocated them.) FLASH FOWARD TO TODAY. Years after the negative feedback, the image above is trending on Pinterest. Bananas. I’m asked all the time about where to buy the little table between washer and dryer that was a gamechanger in the wee space.

It was found at Homegoods for $50 still having a moment, AS IT SHOULD. Small moves still matter. As more folks awaken to the beauty of the slower and the simpler, maybe more hustlers will calm too.

Simplicity & Understatement

While I was after simple and understated, I still had to mix the right updates to that utility space. Out went a ceiling light and in came something sparkly to highlight a new polished marble mosaic tile backsplash.

This hushed blue-grey for walls added contrast for white. Simple elements brought no headaches, diy meltdowns or second mortgages. One of our recent DIYs? Making small moves in a bath in our snowbird house:

Have some small moves to make in this post-Christmas, pre-Spring chapter?

Table Talk

Every once in awhile, I crave change in the kitchen. I used to swap our big harvest table for a round dining table.

Sometimes I will add a rug or subtract a rug.

If you own more than one table, have you considered swapping kitchen/dining/game tables in your home?

It’s a small thing, but a room’s mood and function may shift.

I’m not one for design rules about how big is too big for a space. I loved having a great big table in our smallish breakfast nook at our former home because I needed space to fold laundry. (The small utility room was steps away.) If it works for YOUR eye and YOUR needs, go for it.

Little Becomes Much

Another small change for a kitchen to add charm, character, and big impact? Petite work tables.

A vintage industrial steel cart scored for $10 became a hardworking kitchen cart with paint and the leftover quartz sink cut out I salavaged.

Here’s a petite model with clean lines and a similar scale:

Life With Less Visual Noise

We often forget that all this stuff we live with carries energy that may affect our nervous system regulation.

Sometimes living with less can be more beneficial than adding more. Less clutter and less fussy decor is easier to maintain.

Prioritize What Works

If yours is a modest sized home, it can be more challenging to keep surfaces clutter-free.

It helps to creatively make your decorative items work hard…embellishments that are merely for show should be minimal. For example, I love ironstone pitchers, and they can be pulled into service for multiple tasks.

They make great vases, utensil holders, and watering pitchers.

Can the item be used in multiple rooms and outdoors? Even better.

I also love wooden rustic stools for seating, tables, step stools and beyond. They even work as a tub-side perch:

or a vanity stool:

or at the piano:

as well as a little outdoor table:

Petite wood stools can even become bedside tables where space is tight!

Are you seeing the beauty of what I mean by making pretty things earn their keep?

Small & Serene Shifts in the Kitchen

Do your kitchen countertops threaten to spoil the potential for serenity? While it may not make sense to invest in stone or quartz if cabinetry will be replaced anytime soon, maybe swapping dark laminate for butcher block or a marble-look laminate will help.

Have you seen readymade laminate countertops mimicking marble with thick edging lately?

Should you decide to invest in stone or quartz, plenty of options will feel calm and not too energetic. Nine years after install, I am still hearing from folks who find my posts about our kitchen renovation and choose Viatera Minuet quartz for their own design.

HERE’S THE BEAUTY OF NEW COUNTERS (whether laminate or high end stone) FOR A SERENE LOOK IF THE BUDGET IS THERE: Little to no DIY. For me, this equates to SIMPLE!

Small Shifts to Mindset

Looking at inspo on social media is not always helpful for feeling optimistic about your own project. However, little homes, teeny budgets, and even time crunches are relative. Small footprints and budgets can be beautiful. There are plenty of thrifty makeovers and tiny living ideas!

If you aren’t already cozy with the idea that you can be a slow decorator. try it!

Hi There, I’m a Slow Decorator

I have a special talent for being a slowwwww renovator and decorator when it comes to our homes. Chronic illness means I have very real physical limitations and can’t tackle projects quickly.

Who knows? Maybe all of the serenity around me also slows my pace – not the worst side effect of tranquil timeless environments.

Serene Neutral Palettes

White paint is maybe one of the more trustworthy strategies for quieting the noise of an interior.

Most walls in our former home were painted BENJAMIN MOORE White OC-151. We needed this crisp cool white to counter the strength of the yellow natural light.

Not sure what whites to sample? For a bright, cool, gallery-like white try OC-151, and for a soft white in a room you want to feel freshly modern, try BM Chantilly Lace. If the white is for a vintage home or space where you want the mood to feel traditional or timeless, sample Benjamin Moore White Dove.

Changes With Softened Texture

Serene moods often call for cool colors and minimal decor. The drawback is how the look may turn too cool. Layering with warmth and natural textures helps. The window seat in our former breakfast nook was okay in its before…

but cozier and more functional AFTER:

The handpainted FLOWER MARKET sign above the windowseat is from Urban Farmgirl. Find a few options HERE.

Sometimes just a little warmth from a wood candleholder will contrast softly in a field of white:

See more resources from my homes here, and find more sources for the decor here.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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