Consider A Home Refresh

Posted on February 25, 2025 under Site News

The best way to start off the new year is with a home refresh. If you are not planning a large-scale renovation, what do you do when you want to revamp the look and feel of your home? First off, consider how you use your home and customize it to fit how your family lives in that space. With minimal changes like paint and lighting the room can serve a different purpose entirely.

This elegant dining room is open to the kitchen beyond, where a small conversation area with soft swivel chairs sits in close proximity to where a cook might be making dinner.

A designer can meet with you and ask the right questions about how you utilize all the rooms in your home to create the best functioning version of the space for your family. Formal dining rooms are prime candidates for a refresh, with modern families needing square footage for a TV room or similar gathering area more often. “Depending on how comprehensive the upgrade is, the space can always be converted back when your family’s needs change,” says Michael Hansen, owner of Open Gate Collective. Even adding some additional seating in a room can make a difference for functionality. “We have seen a lot of small seating areas added to kitchen spaces, offering a place for conversations between guests and whoever is prepping food,” says Hansen.

A wood-paneled office was converted to a moody TV room with a bar, using the right shade of paint and some luxurious lighting.

Once you decide if you want to make changes to room functionality the next step would be to envision what is needed to transform the space. The first step would be to consider the look and feel of the new room. A designer can help select the right paint colors or wallpaper that evoke the feel you are trying to convey. According to Hansen, “A fresh coat of paint and new lighting go a long way. Together they can create the illusion of a completely new room, with a minimum of time and effort.” A new chandelier or strategically-placed task lighting is essential to a beautiful, well-functioning space, as well as acting as the “jewelry” of the room, completing the overall look.

The expert designers at Open Gate Collective work with clients every day to help them envision what they can do in their homes. They can be involved in every step of an extensive remodel or consult on a simple refresh for your home in 2025.