Clear the Clutter

• Nothing breathes new life into a room than deeply cleaning and de-cluttering it. The piles of papers and daily detritus bog down any type of decor. Take a long, cold look at your current possessions and determine what you can sell, donate, store or update. Establish some functional but aesthetically pleasing methods of storage, such as low cabinets, a hand-painted armoire or simple floating shelves lined with baskets for hiding and sorting small items. Create a landing strip at your doorway with a low shelf or different sizes of lidded baskets for holding shoes, mail and magazines. Add some hooks for backpacks, purses and coats.
  
  

Paint Your Walls

• One of the quickest ways to add a burst of color to a room is by painting the walls. Hit all four walls with a new neutral, such as antique white, pale sage green, mellow yellow or a sophisticated blue-based gray. Accent walls can afford more color saturation. Go Indian-inspired with poppy orange trimmed with fuchsia, Moroccan with turquoise and cream or Mexican rustic with cobalt blue and terracotta. Opt for a small burst of color by using stencils to paint a trim of paisley, fleur-de-lis, flowering vines or an ethnic motif along the baseboards. For a bolder look, paint a mural on a wall or use a packaged kit and paint in some embellishments.
  
  

Bring in Nature

• Lighten and brighten a room by trading out heavy, opaque drapery for something more modern. Window scarves, sheers and cafe-style curtains allow the sun to shine in and travel through the room. Opt for translucent cotton fabric in off-white, pale shades or faded earth tones or patterns. Rearrange your furniture so light can travel through the room easily, without tall pieces casting shadows. Frame doorways and window frames with leafy green plants, or line a window sill or floating shelf with repurposed glass jars and bottles filled with wildflowers and sprigs of herbs. Accessories made of natural materials such as bamboo, sisal, stone, wood, glass, paper and straw give a room a fresh look.