Turning January Blahs to “Ahhhs”

by Lee Mink, ASID

January is often the most dreaded month as we come face to face with how much money we’ve spent and how much we ate during the Holidays.

Gone are the fragrant greens, twinkling lights, the colorful arrangements, and the eye-catching display of cards from well-wishers. Poinsettias are half dead and even the fragrant aromas of baking are no longer tempting us. With the holiday decor stowed away, your home suddenly looks bare and colorless. We could use a general lift in our spirits for the months ahead.

Here are some tips and inexpensive ideas for updating the seasonal look of your rooms from ASID designers that they use in their own homes.

• Renew the scent in your home with fragrant flowers. An inexpensive pot of sweet-smelling narcissus in your entry helps you look forward to spring and brightens outlook. Also replace those poinsettias with cyclamens and impatiens. Their colors are clear and bright and they will live on in your garden when you transplant them.
• Add scented candles. Choose your preference from a variety of aromatherapy candles labeled with the mood they evoke. Lighting them will also add a welcome glow on dark winter days and evenings.
• Change skirted tables to add new and temporary color by throwing a brightly patterned silk scarf over a solid base skirt. When spring really does appear and the days are brighter, your scarf can return to its place in your closet.
• Have seasonal covers made for your throw pillows – or make them yourself! The winter is a perfect season to try fuchsia, purples, light lime green. Against the beiges and browns of your basic furniture, these colors will light up your room.
• Upgrade light bulbs. As January has some of the least hours of sunlight of the year, try putting higher watt bulbs in your lamps. (Check carefully, the manufacturer’s label so as not to overload  a fixture!) For another lighting idea, replace “cool white” fluorescent tubes with the “warm white” type. The difference can be quite dramatic.
• Change bedding covers. Duvet covers or spreads can be replaced and used with an existing bed skirt of a compatible neutral color. If a plan to purchase new bedding is in the works, choose a spread or quilt that is  reversible for year round use - a light color on one side for spring and summer; a darker, bolder color for the other months. Or simply throw a brightly colored quilt over existing bedding.
• Change out guest and family bathroom towels to lighter, brighter colors.
• Take stock of existing decor. January is a good time to take an inventory of your furnishings and make plans for changes. Planning charts and lists give you a feeling of progress while not costing a cent.

These simple, quick-changes throughout the house will elevate everyone’s spirits through the winter and sets up the anticipation of welcoming the warming days of Spring.

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Lee Mink, ASID, heads Lee Mink & Associates Interiors, Pasadena, California, which provides residential and commercial design, space planning, and custom designed furnishings services. She can be reached at (626) 796-3900 or email: lee@leeminkinteriors.com

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