Fresh Start February: Small Edits, Big Impact

1. Start With a Top-to-Bottom Scan of Each Room

Before you touch a single throw pillow, take a slow, intentional sweep of each space. A fresh pair of eyes (or even your designer’s eyes) can reveal what you stopped noticing months ago.

Start high: light fixtures, ceiling paint, recessed lighting—are they outdated, dusty, or begging for repair? Then move to the walls. How’s the artwork placement? Is the scale right, and is everything proportioned correctly?

Review your furnishings: is that sofa cushion sagging more than you remembered? Does the floor covering look tired? Check surfaces: coffee tables, consoles, shelving. Are they meaningful, or creeping toward clutter? Evaluate soft goods—rugs, throws, bedding, drapery—and look at how the room functions now that the holidays are behind you.

This step is all about identifying anything that feels “off” and deciding what needs to be purged, cleaned, rebalanced, updated, or replaced.

2. Create a Room-by-Room Action List

Now that you’ve noticed everything, it’s time to organize. For each room, make five mini-lists—a designer favorite:

• Purge (donate, recycle, let go of what you don’t love)
• Add (task lighting, art, a better side table, fresh accessories)
• Clean (light fixtures, upholstery, rugs, drapery)
• Restore (frame repair, reupholstery, refinishing wood pieces)
• Replace (anything beyond saving or no longer matching your vision)

Intentionality is what makes high-end homes feel effortless. Designers always start this way—itemizing every single detail before refreshing or remodeling.

3. Identify the Right Experts for Each Task

A truly elevated home comes from using the right talent for the appropriate tasks. Depending on your list, you may need:

• Electricians for new lighting, rewiring, or fixture updates
• Plumbers for bathroom or kitchen fixes
• Upholsterers for cherished or high-quality pieces
• Fine art installers for proper gallery-level placement
• Painters or wallpaper installers to ensure perfection
• Interior designers to oversee everything, curate choices, and ensure a cohesive look

This is where having a team like ADJ Interiors becomes invaluable—we’ve already vetted trusted trades and can coordinate the work so you don’t have to. Using experts protects your investment and ensures elevated, lasting results.

4. Gather Bids and Interview Labor

Before saying yes to anything, take time to compare your options.

Ask tradespeople about similar past projects, timelines, pricing structures, and warranties. Review portfolios, or even better, visit completed work to assess quality. And keep your comparisons fair: make sure all bids reflect similar materials, scope, and craftsmanship.

Designers handle this step for clients all the time, streamlining communication and making sure expectations are clear from the start.

5. Implement Your Plan

Here’s where the magic happens. Start with the edits that will make the most visual or functional impact—lighting updates, paint refreshes, new textiles, or furniture rearrangements.

If your schedule or budget calls for it, break the updates into phases. The key is to maintain momentum while letting each change enhance the next. And don’t forget professional styling or seasonal refreshes to complete the transformation. The result? A home that feels lighter, clearer, more intentional, and totally aligned with the year you want to have.

Ready for Your Own Fresh Start?

The post-holiday period is a beautiful opportunity to reassess your home with clarity and purpose. Whether you’re craving small upgrades or dreaming of a full design overhaul, the ADJ Interiors team is here to help: editing, sourcing, coordinating, and styling until every room feels exactly right.

If you’re ready to step into the year with a refreshed, refined, and inspired home, reach out to us to schedule a consultation or room review.