Ins and outs of a spring home interior refresh

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press/USA Today Network • March 5, 2022

It’s almost spring in Southwest Florida and thoughts have turned to cleaning out the old and no longer useful and refreshing our homes.

Along these lines, I wanted to share some the work I’m doing for clients and what they’re are telling me they want most this spring.

As a Bonita Springs-based interior decorator working throughout Southwest Florida, I’m finding that homeowners want a refresh that updates their home. Many of my clients may have been in a home for 20 years and it’s looking a bit dated. Or they’ve just moved to our area and have a pile of furniture from a previous home that may not work. And most of all, they want comfort in their homes. You can do a little or a lot depending upon your budget. Here are a few update tips from recent projects:

• Get rid of entertainment centers. Heavy and mostly unattractive. My clients are saying goodbye.

What we are doing: TV on the wall. Accent pieces or vintage find for console underneath.

Popular handwoven rattan is used in these Avalon dining chairs with Terrace dining table. Tinsley table lamp in white and Sanibel chandelier provide beautiful lighting. Centerpiece is the colorful artwork that brings the room to life. Photo: Serena & Lily. serenaandlily.com

• No more mass-produced, matchy-matchy furniture. Many of us may have started with this years ago. It was affordable and how easy is it to walk into a big box store and order up the “living room or “bedroom”? Now your tastes are more defined and you know what you love.

What we are doing: starting with an investment in a great sofa. You will never be sorry. Then add pieces that don’t all match but work together. Sprinkle in an antique, flea market find or gorgeous accent piece and you have a room that is yours. Then we add gorgeous accessories. It takes some thought about what you like and you will need a plan before you buy anything.

• Say goodbye to the old fashioned hutch in your dining room. This dated staple (and at one time a luxury piece) in our grandparent’s or parent’s homes once showed off a prized China collection. Many were inherited and clients tell me they have an emotional time saying goodbye. These attachments are tough. But here is the thing: if you love it, keep it. If you don’t, send it on to someone who will use it. Remember: your home is not a storage garage for someone else’s memories.

What we are doing: purchasing a beautiful console that will store items that you use for entertaining. We are styling the top with lamps, artwork and some of your favorite possessions.

• Formal living rooms. These really date a home, especially in Southwest Florida where we have that open concept and Florida rooms.

What we are doing: transitioning these rooms into entertainment rooms, dens, offices. Whatever fits into your lifestyle. Something useful rather than a room that you just pass through.

What’s hot and what’s not in interior decorating

If you’re in the process or thinking about updating your home, here are a few tips to consider.

• Hot: Bonita Springs interior designer Diane Torrisi of Diane Torrisi Designs tells me that she’s seeing a significant trend in the use of hardwood flooring.

“Some of the things we have been lead to believe about the use of hardwood flooring in this part of the country, are just not true, “Torrisi says.

“They are beautiful and timeless. Not easily damaged. Contrary to the myth, they can be used in a kitchen. Are not too expensive and they do not require high maintenance. It’s an option to tile that homeowners are exploring and using.”

• Not: Carpet. Homeowners are ripping out carpeting by the truckloads. I know, you like the feel of carpet under your feet in a bedroom. But keep in mind, carpet is a haven for allergens and they become airborne every time you walk on your carpet. Instead, hardwood or luxury vinyl and area rugs.

• Hot: Rattan. It’s readily available at different price points and it works beautifully with other furniture. Think dining chairs, two matching chairs with a sofa, pendants. It’s a nice, fresh update.

• Hot: Colorful artwork. It offsets the sea of beige that we are seeing in homes.

• Hot: Painting and reupholstering old furniture to give it a new life.

• Hot: Skipping the entry mirror because there is no rule that you must have one! Instead, hang a beautiful piece of art.

• Not: Black matte faucets. They may look trendy now but give them a few months.

• Not: Accent walls.

• Hot: A wall covered in grass cloth or wall covering.

• Hot: Wrapping rooms in bold color.

• Hot: Paint your baseboards. A refresh that won’t cost much and is a perfect spring project.

And because it’s spring, power wash the exterior of your home and the walkway.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solve decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information, visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 239-850-5800 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog