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5 Simple Ways to Refresh the Style in Your Home

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Paint. Although we were compensated to write this post, all opinions and content are our own and we stand behind all brands and products we are sponsored by.

Nap times are all the time we got lately. Who’s with us? And we use that time wisely.

This past weekend while the boys were napping we decided to give one of our living room spaces a little style update.

We bought our home last winter and knew that we were going to slowly but surely update each and every room. We are a gray kind of family and within this place, from top to bottom, were all beige.

And with all the oak trim work throughout, the brown and yellow were screaming at us! So the paint colors have been the most important thing on our priority list that has got to go.

However, now that we’re slowly transforming each room with more gray, white, and blue tones…the oak is growing on us.

We often get asked if you can mix oak and white woodwork and yes, yes you can. And we’re showing you how we did that today in a subtle way.

So today we wanted to share with you guys 5 ways on how you can refresh the style in your space all within a nap times worth.

1. Paint

Walls, trim, or ceiling- paint is always a great way to freshen up your space. And sometimes all your space needs is a little fresh new color.

A little paint goes a long way and, let’s be honest, you always feel a little cleaner after you paint a room too.

We grabbed our HGTV HOME™ by Sherwin-Williams paint from our local Lowe’s. They are a leading paint brand that marries the design expertise of HGTV with the legendary quality of Sherwin-Williams and the convenience of Lowe’s.

For our paint, we chose HGTV HOME™ by Sherwin-Williams’ Showcase® Interior Paint & Primer. This new and improved formula locks in old, difficult-to-remove stains and provides a durable finish that is easily washed and clean. The perfect paint for the potential messes that could occur with two little ones running around!

You don’t need to be an interior designer to paint like one with HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams. But paint colors can be tricky. So luckily with HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams’ Color Visualizer you have an awesome resource for finding the perfect paint colors for any walls within your home.

You can virtually paint your home by uploading your own picture or experimenting with one of the brand’s example rooms. I mean how cool is that?!

Since the day we bought this home we’ve been debating on painting the woodwork in this place white or replacing it with dark walnut. And with this program, we were able to find the perfect color that we visualized for our new space – on the walls and fireplace mantle.

And seriously, even after just simply changing the walls from beige to HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Rare Gray (HGSW3275) and brightening up the fireplace mantle with their Extra White (HGSW4005) we already aren’t minding the oak woodwork anymore. It definitely made the brown within the home tone down, and we now don’t have the yellow screaming at us.

Check it out…

Before…

…& After

Walls: Rare Gray | (HGSW3275)

Mantle: Extra White | (HGSW4005)

Both of these colors that we used for the walls and mantle are part of HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Natural Wonder Color Collection, which happens to be the brand’s 2017 Color Collection of the Year.

This year HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams unveiled their first Color Collection of the Year, the Natural Wonder Color Collection. The collection features twenty coordinating colors with eight trending hues making up a palette of earthy neutrals that bring the outdoors in.

And you know how much we love bringing those earthy hues and textures into our space! They merge rich minerals with mossy greens and earthy, wooden pigments.

The hues of this color story, when brought into a light-filled space such as our living room, create an oasis that is as calming as it is beautiful. This palette is perfect for creating an eco-chic look that pairs well with repurposed glassware, salvaged or rustic wood items, and natural woven textiles and floor coverings.

Jamie and I were actually laughing because as we were painting he thought the Rare Gray (HGSW3275) was mint green and I thought it was bright blue. But we were both wrong and kinda right- ha!

The color brings the earthy tones right in and once dried, it definitely had undertones of both. Which I was excited about because that means we can change out the decor and it’ll create a whole new look against the paint color palette.

The eight paint colors that articulate this trend include Less Brown (HGSW3432), Extra White (HGSW4005), Rare Gray (HGSW3275), Privilege Green (HGSW3253), Software (HGSW1463), Ivoire (HGSW2177), Useful Gray (HGSW3497) and Hopsack (HGSW3143).

I am a gold kinda girl. I love big, bold, and gold accents. And when we had beige walls and oak trim, I was starting to dislike the gold decor.

But as soon as we painted the walls Rare Gray (HGSW3275) and mantle Extra White (HGSW4005), the gold mirrors fit right back in at home and against the Rare Gray (HGSW3275) really gave it an extra pop!

We love to use a gray color scheme within our home with pops of blue. The Rare Gray (HGSW3275) has a lot more blue undertones making the space feel a lot more warm yet colorful and still creating the warm serenity.

In the photos, it looks a lot bluer, but during the day when the light is shining in it looks a lot more of a subtle gray. Choosing your perfect gray can be really tricky.

The undertones can either be cool or warm and colors within your home provoke different feelings. Luckily the HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Color Visualizer helped us select our perfect gray!

2. Shop Your Home

The next tip to refresh the style in your space is to shop your home. You don’t need to spend a fortune buying new decor when sometimes all you simply need to do is rearrange your stuff.

Find old pieces and incorporate them into a new room and it’ll give your home a refreshed new look. Every Sunday I pretty much spend a portion of the day bringing new furniture into new rooms.

Jamie thinks I’m a little crazy. ha! I for sure am, but it makes me happy. For example, this chair was in our other living room. As well as the mirrors we hung on each side of the mantle.

Simple objects like decorating the ottoman tray, the mantle, and the ladder we also had throughout other areas in our home that we just brought into this new space. Try it, you guys.

It seriously feels like you just went shopping. It’s weird and so awesome! Your hubby will be so happy and proud.

3. Update Pictures

When was the last time you updated your picture frames? For us, it hadn’t been since we got married 4 years ago.

Sometimes I think we get so used to the mundane that we forget about our surroundings. So we took a few minutes and got new pictures printed that captured our family and our story.

Before…

And since we updated these frames, every time we walk into the room we just stare at those babies and get a big smile on our faces. And I mean, how much more do those pictures and frames pop with the bold contrast of colors using the Rare Gray (HGSW3275) wall against the white frames vs. the beige?

After…

And picking our pictures, you guys, don’t overthink it. Our clients will always overanalyze their photos and which ones to print. And what I always tell them- when was the last time you had a photo session?

When your kids were born…family vaca…birthday party….?

Find a theme and print them and create a collage. For us, I just grabbed 12 of our favorite family photos.

They weren’t from the same shoot, but they all captured our favorite family moments.

But, remember to stick with the same color scheme. If you want to go with a family collage and, for example, you have one red picture and the rest are purple, you might just want to opt for black and white.

That’s kinda key. Print photos with the same color scheme or else just make sure to go all wild and super colorful so the one or two don’t stick out.

We picked a collage of family photos because that’s what we wanted the feelings to be within our living room, the place where we gather and hang out. Pictures to remind us what our home is all about, our family.

And by the way, those wedding photos that were once in these frames will be moving into our bedroom. But we’ll save that for another post.

4. Rearrange Furniture

We love to rearrange our furniture. It’s always fun to try out new layouts in your space and see if you like them a little better. The best tip, pull those couches and chairs away from the walls. And then think about your traffic flow.

How do you want everyone to interact with one another when sitting on your furniture? Where do you want people to gather?

When we first moved into this home we had the couch facing the TV directly. We have a pretty open area, the kitchen leads into this living room space.

So when people were sitting down their backs were to the people gathering in the kitchen so they were always turning around to chat with the people behind them. That just makes everything awkward.

When we positioned the furniture as we’re sharing, it created a more inviting layout.

And remember to think about the scale and proportion of your pieces and make sure they fit within the scale of your home.

5. Update Curtains

And lastly…do you even have curtains? Curtains make a world of difference and are sometimes the most overlooked decor piece in a room.

Curtains are the best and most inexpensive way to bring depth and elegance to a space. I’d been dreaming of using dark navy blue velvet curtains in a room for a long time and when we decided on the HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Paint in Rare Gray (HGSW3275), I knew these would complement the wall colors so perfectly yet still create a good contrast to make a bold statement!

Simple curtain panels in solid patterns with a burst of color, you guys, this is my jam. You’ll never regret it.

You can also double rod and layer your curtains with a sheer behind and bold in front. However, in this space, I wanted to bring in all the light I could.

These blinds were also black-out blinds so when it came to night they were closed and in the daylight, we wanted them wide open. And make sure to hang your curtains tall and wide! At least a foot on each side.

It’ll give the illusion of higher ceilings and a bigger space. Curtains are the best way to make your space pop with some personality.

And there it is, 5 steps to refresh the style in your space, all within a nap time. You guys got this?

I do have to say- Jams and I tagged teamed this project and our babies (thank GOD) slept for a solid 3.5 hours (which never happens) so if you’re doing this solo you might want to plan for a few nap times worth.

And there’s our little Beckam, 4 months old already. And since we know you’ll ask- no, he’s not sleeping through the night. We are up every 2-3 hours. But we’re a-ok with that with eyes like that.