Tag Archives: Oz Design

Refresh and Organise Your Home This Spring!

Spring is the season of cleaning, refreshing and organising your home. As the weather gets cooler and the days get longer, we find ourselves opening up the windows, dusting off the cobwebs and removing the winter layers of our humble abodes. With the upcoming season of entertaining upon us, it is time to get our homes in order and renew them accordingly. Below are our top tips for refreshing and organising your home this Spring.

Step 1 – The Spring Clean

In order to make our homes feel fresh and inviting for the holiday season ahead, they need to be spic and span. Spring is the perfect time of year to undertake all the tasks you have been putting off throughout Winter. The weather is warmer, and the days are longer, which means you can spend a day on the weekend outside in the sunshine, cleaning your exterior windows, blasting your alfresco area and ensuring your garden or pot plants are looking amazing.

Spring is also the perfect time of year to tick off the cleaning tasks in your home that you have been avoiding. Write down a list of everything you would like to achieve, then set aside one weekend to tick everything off in one go – time batching! Cleaning tasks we suggest for Spring are to dust skirting boards and architraves, clean light switches and doorknobs, dust ceiling fans and lights, remove marks from walls, clean fly screens, wash windows, remove and shake out rugs, wipe down all furniture and dust artwork and frames. You can also dive into a deep clean of your bathroom, kitchen and laundry including disinfecting all surfaces, cleaning the oven, defrosting the freezer and so on. Your home will feel amazing after and the process will give you renewed energy to see your space with fresh eyes and be thankful for the wonderful home you have!

 

Step 2 – Organising

Now that your home is sparkling and is the cleanest it has been in years, it’s time to get organised! The Marie Kondo movement was huge this time last year, but have you maintained the organisational systems you put in place and still follow the ‘only keep what sparks joy’ mindset? If not, don’t fear, we have a few simple tasks that you can undertake to get your home organised and working efficiently in no time! This step includes the fun part of popping in store and picking up all the beautiful and effective storage solutions!

The main areas of the home we need to focus on when re-organising are the kitchen, wardrobes and storage areas. These are the main sections of the home that tend to build up over time without anyone noticing.  Start with the kitchen and remove everything from the cupboards and assess if you have used it in the last 6 months, is it functional and is it necessary? Try cutting down on any items that tend to turn into collections over time such as mugs, glasses and serving ware – unless it is ridiculously sentimental, brings you joy or belongs to a lovely matching set, it has got to go. Wardrobes are another area of the home that burst at the seams and we ignore for the most part as they’re behind closed doors. The wardrobe has very similar organising principles to the kitchen – remove everything, keep what is essential as specified above, then organise. Sorting by clothing type, then by colour is the most efficient way to categorise and save you time when getting dressed. Pick up some gorgeous matching hangers from Howard’s Storage World to ensure it is visually pleasing.

The last aspect of the organisation transformation is the storage areas of the home such as linen cupboards, under the bed, storage cabinets and garages. This process will take a bit of time to sort through, but if you dedicate a few hours each weekend, it will become more organised in no time at all.

Once you have sorted out all your essentials you can then look for storage solutions to make everything look beautiful and function well. We recommend baskets, labelled boxes or plastic containers in varying sizes. Pop into Howard’s Storage World to see an abundance of storage solutions that will make everything work more effectively in your home! Be sure to check out Freedom, Tk Maxx and Oz Design for some beautiful baskets and furniture storage ideas too.

Step 3 – Preparing For The Upcoming Season

Summer in Australia not only includes summer holidays and outdoor entertaining, but Christmas and family time all rolled into one. Our homes need to be functioning at 100% to ensure we have a stress-free holiday season and get to enjoy the time spent with family and friends.

 

When organising your home in a Spring refresh you will inevitably come across your Christmas decorations and Summer entertaining supplies. We recommend taking everything out and making sure all items or decorations are in good condition, still work properly and they still bring you happiness. You will find that once you have simplified your Christmas decoration pile, you will have more joy when putting them up as December rolls around. This may even open up the opportunity to buy some gorgeous new decorations that bring a refreshed feel to your home this Christmas! Adairs and Freedom have some absolutely gorgeous Christmas decorations to adorn your home with this season!

 

Step 4 – Decorating For Spring

The last, and what we believe to be most enjoyable step, is decorating your home for Spring! As we have said goodbye to Winter, it is time to pack away any heavy blankets, excessively fluffy cushions and the pile of throw rugs from the living room sofa. Try adding a few brighter soft furnishings into your space with some on-trend colours such as a coral, sage green or blush pink. We are loving the lemon cushion pictured below from Freedom! No Spring refresh is complete without adding a beautiful bunch of flowers to your coffee table or kitchen counter. Café 63 have fresh flowers on offer every day and their seasonal bouquets are perfect for Spring!

With new furniture and homewares ranges popping up every few days, it is hard not to get excited about revitalising your home this Spring! Pop into any of the stores at Homemaker The Valley this Spring to see some gorgeous new ranges that will brighten your home and have you looking forward to the holiday season ahead!

Creating a comfortable and cozy living space

Styling your home can sometimes be a tedious job, but someone has to tackle it. The living room is undeniably a vital component of your home styling. It’s the sanctuary for lounging around, enjoying me-time and sharing happy memories with friends. It should create a warm and welcoming embrace and reflect the décor style you’re trying to emulate throughout your entire home. To achieve a cozy living space, here are some different styles to adapt to your space.

If you’re looking for a bit of detox in your home, a natural theme for your living room is a perfect fix. Earthly shades of greens and browns is a solid foundation to begin your design. The mint green Mercer + Reid Mandarin chair from Adairs would inject a natural-looking style from your living space. Don’t be afraid to add a splash of navy to contrast with your greens and browns.

To complement this space as inspired by the outdoors, make sure to utilise houseplants to their full potential. Decorating your coffee table or bookcase with these lovely natural accents. For a plant that brings a perfect blend of wild and homely, Adairs have a lovely Home Republic Pothos on offer. For Houseplants that bring more to the room then just cute decoration, why not opt for living plants instead of plastic. Plants like mother-in-law’s tongue, peace lilies and ferns will grow well in even dark rooms.

To achieve a warm, classical look, experiment with a vintage style for your living room. To hark back to the days of elegance and antique screen doors; embrace welcoming tones of navy, granite, and beige for your furniture and accessories in the living room. Switch houseplants for vintage screen doors and antique-styled wall clocks. Try the charming black lined Frame Clock from Oz Design Furniture to create a slick vintage character. To tie in your vintage pieces, add an elegant gold Bella Screen from Oz Design Furniture.

Lighting can either make or break the mood of your room, too bright and the room is harsh and uninviting, and too low limits the functionality of the space. Hanging lights are a splendid option for creating a cozy feel. To further enhance a welcoming space, it’s best to reduce clutter and only choose a few accent pieces that catch your eye.

Experimentation is key when constructing a welcoming atmosphere that matches your desires for the space. To invoke a charming and cozy mood for your living room, try a romantic theme. When choosing a colour scheme, it’s best to select a couple of darker shades and pair them with neutral and light tones For a romantic look, you can from choose a myriad of pastel pinks, purples or greens, then pair them with some darker shades of grey or gold. The Home Republic Loft Table lamp from Adairs comes in beautiful pastel pink and would contrast perfectly with a dark blue Bushland cushion from Oz Design Furniture. Floral arrangements are always a must to complete a welcoming, romantic theme; they add a spot of nature and a sense of calm to the atmosphere of the room.

The design of your living room not only affects functionality, but it can also have an influence on the mood of your guests. Creating a cozy living space is one of the key aspects of maintaining a happy household. With a plethora of options to suit your décor style, the sky is the limit when it comes to your living space.

For decorating inspiration find us at Homemaker the Valley, corner of Ann & Wickham Streets, Fortitude Valley.