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how to restyle your living room for the new year
Are you ready to restyle your home with The Design Twins? Learn how to choose a theme, tell a story, and bring the wow factor to create rooms that inspire. We’ll show you how to restyle your living room just in time for the new year. Let’s get started.
It’s a New Year filled with exciting possibilities, both in life and decor. We are so excited to team up with an inspiring group of bloggers to showcase our individual takes on restyling our living rooms for the New Year. We hope you will continue the blog tour at the end of this post. You won’t want to miss any of the inspiration to come.
Why Restyle?
We think it’s important to express your optimism for a fresh start by showing it in your decorating.
When your decor is new and exciting it creates an atmosphere of heightened stimulation.
You can motivate yourself to be more creative and productive in the rest of your life by creating inspired surroundings
The opposite is true as well. When you are surrounded by the same old, ho-hum decor you can feel like your life is in a rut.
We share our easy ideas for swapping out the old and putting a fresh face forward for your best life.
Restyle After the Holidays
Decorating after the holidays is always interesting and has its unique challenges.
The holidays are so full of reasons to decorate: the tree, the lights, Jesus’ birth, holiday gatherings and on and on. We go from an overload of reasons to a void.
Some love this. Others feel a lack of direction. It’s not nearly as clear as the holidays. We must follow our own lead.
- Some choose “winter white”, or a cozy theme.
- Others head straight into spring.
- Some put Christmas away and enjoy the “uncluttered” look for a while.
- There is no right or wrong way to restyle, so enjoy the freedom to follow your mood, even day to day, as we move through this “less is more” time of year.
Refresh and Restyle: Tips & Choices
We are excited to share our best tips and advice to restyle your home for the New Year.
1. Remove Christmas.
- This seems obvious and straight forward. However, there are choices to be made.
- A lot of greenery might stay and be used in different ways. You might have faux evergreens, pinecones or other details that could still be used.
- We like to remove what stands out and does not blend with our styles.
- For example, for some people glitter can work year-round.
- With our farmhouse style glitter really says Christmas.
- Another obvious decision is to remove all the red
- We put Christmas away in stages. For one, it is a big job. But spacing it out over a span of days allows the decisions of what must go and what might still work to become clear.
2. Choose a Theme for Your Restyle.
- Choose the direction you want to take your restyle. For today: Follow your mood. You can always evolve as your mood changes or as ideas come.
- For example, we chose winter whites and neutrals with pops of black for contrasts. We don’t usually like “sea of white.” We prefer white and neutral to stand out against a contrasting backdrop of some kind. That’s just our style.
- Uncovering the black kitchen table was a great start. Adding the black and white geometric pillows on the couch brought this effect to the middle of the space.
3. Refresh with Wow.
- Christmas is a whole lot of WOW! The aftermath can be a letdown.
- We really do love the feeling of less after the mass decor display present during the holidays.
- However, we like to add some kind of “wow” to bring life back to our spaces. Jodie achieves this with flowers. Usually Jodie heads to Trader Joe’s for affordable floral choices.
- This time it was a little different. Keep reading for more details about these amazing flowers.
4. Restyle and Add Interest.
- Besides wow, the best decor tells a story.
- How do you make your decor interesting?
- We love to add antiques. They tell a story with their past. They have built-in character and tons of charm.
- Jodie achieves this with an old cloche showcasing vintage salt & pepper shakers, a pile of antique breadboards, and antique soup tureens.
Side Note: Now, you may look at these incredible floral displays and wonder why or how she spent so much on these fab arrangements. Well, Jodie’s home was photographed for Cottages and Bungalows Magazine, so she had a wonderful florist provide all the gorgeous arrangements you see in these photos. After the photo shoot it was a magnificent time to repurpose the heck out of them.
Flowers provided by Sheela @sarahsgardendesign
5. Restyle and Make it your own.
- We love to make our homes feel uniquely ours, right? So, let your own personality shine.
- Get ideas and inspiration from everywhere, and then make it your own.
- We love to use custom pillows to express ourselves.
- We also love to add fun details to things we have bought to make them special.
- The chandelier over Jodie’s table got a holiday touch with evergreens and red ribbon.
- Instead of taking it all away Jodie decided to just remove the red.
- Add your little touches throughout your home.
- Have fun and don’t be afraid to make your own rules.
6. Begin with a neutral base.
- Jodie and I find it very helpful to start our decor with a neutral base.
- Most of our furniture and walls present a neutral palette which allows us to “play.”
- We have a lot of flexibility to style and restyle because of this.
- It’s is not a rule, but it is one thing we recommend.
- This is especially true if you love to change your decor. We like to restyle based on season and even mood.
- Our furniture needs to be flexible for our changing decor habit.
- We simply change out the details. Swap throws, pillows, flowers, dishes, linens, the little things, and voila. We have a whole new look.
What changes will the New Year bring you? We love a fresh start, and we believe attitude is everything. So why not refresh and restyle your surroundings in little (or big) ways? It just might provide that push you need to make positive changes flow through the rest of your life as well. Cheers to your best year ever.
Now please join our other wonderful decorators on the blog tour (links below). We are certain they will inspire you with all their artistic restyling and clever ideas. Enjoy!
Be sure to make time to visit all of the amazing blogs in the tour:
You both amaze me!! Jodie, your home looks amazing! I’m loving the neutral colors, and those flowers!!! I’m so glad you had the opportunity for the photo shoot, and those flowers were the icing on the cake!!
Amy, Thank you so much Sweetie Pie! Your support and friendship means so much to us! You are a blessing every time we interact. Can’t wait to see all you’ve done in your home. Headed there next! XO ~ Julie & Jodie
Jodie and Julie,
Your blog post is magnificent! The flowers are stunning and I could stare at them forever. Your advice in regards to decorating is spot on, and I always enjoy learning your process! Thanks so much for touring with the group, you two are such incredible bloggers!
Aw Janine, your kind words fall lovingly on our hearts as always. Your sweet friendship is the greatest reward we have received from this journey. Your guidance means so much to both of us. Can’t wait to see and read your post. We are headed over there next! With love, Julie & Jodie
Hi Ladies! How beautiful it all looks. I love your floral arrangement and how you also added black and white geometric pillows. Your home is s cozy and you definitely have made it your own! looking forward to what you create next month! Blessings! Amie
Amie, your kind praise means everything to us! You have such talent, and we hope you know how honored we are to be among such a group. So many benefits to being in this group, but friendship has to be the greatest blessing! Can’t wait to see what you have to share. Headed over there now. With love and gratitude, Julie & Jodie
What a wonderful post Julie and Jodie! I love all of your ideas – especially the “make it yours” idea. Those personal touches make such a difference. And the flowers!! Amazing – love them all! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous home and wonderful ideas! xo
Kathleen, You are so generous with your praise. It means so much to have your support. When we read your posts we learn so much! It’s definitely a mutual admiration society we have going on here, and we just love it! With gratitude, Julie & Jodie
Jodie the room looks absolutely gorgeous! You’ve managed to re-style it in such a way that it is fresh and unique. You would hardly know it’s the same room!
And those flowers are spectacular. I wish I could just throw together a bouquet like that! Congrats again on the Cottages and Bungalows shoot. That is amazing and I’m so excited for you!
Sheila
xo
http://www.maisondecinq.blogspot.com
Thank you Sheila! You are so sweet! Julie and I feel so blessed to be connected with you here on the blog. Your support and friendship means so much to us both. With love, Jodie & Julie
Jodie,
Your home looks stunning! I love how you laid out the steps on how to refresh!
Great job, very inspiring! 🙂
XO
Lacey
Aw Lacey, you are so sweet! Thank you very much. Isn’t it great how we learn from each other? Just love it! Julie and I adore you and your mom, and count ourselves very blessed to be connected to you in this way. With love, Jodie & Julie
A neutral base is very important in my home. Before the holidays, I decided to go for a neutral base in my living room using Furnishr (www.furnishr.com) and switch up the accent pillows and lamps depending on the decorating season and it worked out great. Furnishr helped me to save time and money by designing the perfect neutral space, delivering the furniture and then setting it up. This gave me a headstart on my Holiday season/ Spring 2017 looks
We are so glad you enjoyed reading our Restyle 2017! It sounds like you have great ideas and a fantastic plan for your restyling. We can take a note from you! We love to create from a neutral base. It’s just so practical. And then we have lots of fun with our decor add-ons, changing things up all the time, to fit the season and our moods! Thank you so much for stopping by our blog and leaving such a kind reply. We hope you will return often for more decorating ideas. With gratitude, Julie & Jodie
I’d like a one-hour design consultation if I win the Giveaway!❤
Anna, Jodie and I truly love your enthusiasm. Your chances are quadrupled so that’s pretty awesome. Come back tomorrow if you want! The giveaway is open through Saturday! XO ~ Julie & Jodie
You girls are so talented!! I need some serious help decorating a small sunroom:/dining room (13×12).. It has 6 floor to ceiling windows. One window has a bed sheet over it? Yup that’s how stuck I am with deciding what to do with this space with beautiful views?
Well Jill, We sure are glad to have you join us here on our blog. First of all welcome. Secondly, if you don’t win you can always hire us or someone in your community to give you the help you need if you are truly stuck. If I’m stuck on a space I usually try to remain calm, and I ponder it over time. I eventually work it out, but some spaces take more time because they are tricky. We wish you luck with the giveaway, but we really hope you will stay and make us part of your daily ritual, like meeting a friend for coffee. With love & many blessings, Julie & Jodie
I’m excited to get the keys to our new home here in April . Regarding decorating I couldn’t agree with you more on decorating new /exciting !! As I’m cleaning out our condo I’m selling old decor and going to start fresh & new . I finally get a dining room and a extra living room area that is a blank canvas where I’ll start with fresh new color and furniture … will slowly add my touches as we go . I look forward to reading more of your blogs and other people’s comments etc … looking forward to “March Maddness” you guys are the sweetest ????
Donnamarie, First of all, congratulations on your new home! Such an exciting and celebratory time for you, and we love being a part of it! We will be honored to help inspire you and continue to give you great ideas and hopefully help you on your fun decorating journey. I like to hear you say you are going to take you time because we do recommend doing that. We hope you come back often so we can enjoy this journey together. With love and gratitude, Julie & Jodie
I absolutely adore the way the 2 of you decorate your homes!!! Everything is so stylish but still 100% livable. Always beautiful
Natalie, Thank you so much. That is a great compliment, and I can really hear your sincerity in your voice! Everyone’s style is different, and of course that is a GOOD thing! We are each unique and our homes should be an expression of who we are and what we love and our own aesthetic…not some text book version or some design “professional”. We are thrilled to have you visiting our blog. In addition to 31 chances on 31 days to come and enter our giveaways we hope that we add joy and inspiration to your days. We hope you take away more than you anticipated 🙂 And we hope we are great friends through it all. With love and gratitude, Julie & Jodie
Happy March madness
This is a great read.
Jodie and Julie ~ Yes your right it’s hard after the Holidays and all the beautiful oranges, yellows and Christmas red and bling. But, what you did is so perfect and calming. It’s so tranquil. It’s actually stunning with all the fresh flowers and greenery!
March Madness 🙂
Thank you,
Regina
Great tips that can be used year round! A neutral palette does make things easier… this past November we painted our home from yellow to a nice neutral taupe! Both of your homes inspire me tremendously!Thank you for “March madness” ???? Patti
March Madness, Love these tips! We just bought our first house so now I’m stating from scratch on decorating
Julie and Jodie ….Love all the tips on decorating, especially after Christmas. I always feel sort of depressed after all my Christmas decorations are taken down. Your homes are both so beautiful and inspiring! I appreciate the way your blog post shows ways to uplift yourself (and your home!) by decorating with neutrals and floral arrangements – btw those flowers for your Cottage & Bungalows shoot are FABULOUS!
Bring on March Madness!
Loving your blog. Trying to go through and read each post. I’ve been reading at least one post a day and then commenting. Now that I won a March Madness prize I don’t expect another but love being inspired by all your great posts! I hope to hit some fun shops on my road trip through the Smokey Mountains on my way to Georgia. Your pictures have given me some good direction!
I need more casa beads in my life. And a tobacoo basket. March Madness!
Great tips for decorating. Love looking at your pictures. March Madnesses
I love how you decorate. Your rooms exude a welcoming vibe.
I moved across country almost 2 years ago and didn’t want to drag along a number of large items (couches, dining set, large dressers) because i’d had them forever and no longer loved them and didn’t want the huge expense of having something moved that far that I didn’t love.
So I’ve been looking for “just the right items” since then before buying and there are still a few pieces that I lack. I only just finally bought dining chairs lol.
Sharing your decor choices and homes on IG is great for people to see what they love and might want themselves or even how to arrange what they already have and didn’t think to use an item in such and such a way.
Now, I must go look at the other bloggers on your list 🙂
A neutral base is the best start. I love adding pops of green year round and now you both have me thinking of adding fresh flowers to my to my decor more frequently!
I ❤❤the way you guys decorate your beautiful homes…thanks for sharing…March Madness
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A well- informative article, thanks for sharing this post i really learned a lot.
Thank you for the love on this post. We are so glad you found it informative and helpful. We hope to hear from you again soon.
Lots of love,
Jodie & Julie
I LOVE this blog post!! GREAT tips!! And YAY for Jodie’s home being featured in Cottages and Bungalows! That’s so exciting!!
Thank you for your great tips and a stunningly beautiful post! My living room, family room, and den are begging for a refreshed look, but my creative well seems to have gone dry along with my motivation. This post is the boost I needed.
Annie,
You’re so welcome sweet friend! We are so glad to hear this helped sparked some inspiration for your upcoming projects. You can do this! Hope to hear from you again soon.
Lots of love,
Jodie & Julie
Love your style, it’s similar to mine in our suburban home and I redesign/restyle ALL the time. It’s my favorite thing to do around here. The Mister is always saying he’s glad he’s not blind because he’d never be able to maneuver through the house. LOL. Quick question – I have a hard time each year trying to choose a theme when in my open floor plan is the kitchen with walls that are bright blue. Almost a Tiffany box blue. A few years ago I did it because I was stuck with the dog puke gold walls but now the adjacent rooms are a beautiful neutral color. Anyway, I’m obviously not a fan of yellow. Any ideas? I usually add lots of other bright blue around the rest of the house but sometimes a girl just needs another idea! Love you two ladies. And congrats on the magazine shoot. How fun!
I think my biggest challenge is theme . And in our apartment, we don’t have a fireplace or mantle ( love the look of them). I really like how you both use neutrals and then incorporate colours and textures . I really enjoyed all the different tours . Got to get out of my rut. @wistfulmay on IG. ( Lancia )
Admiring the hard work you put into your blog and in-depth information you present. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Excellent read! I’ve bookmarked your site.
I love all the tips you give for changing things up. Your homes are absolutely gorgeous and this blog is so informative for new ideas. Love it❤️
Monta,
Thank you for all the sweet words on this blog post! We really appreciate it. Hope to hear from you again in the future.
Lots of love,
Jodie & Julie