A Clutter Free Home is Much More Attractive

Have you ever noticed that a room with very little to no clutter in it somehow seems more elegant and attractive? This is why many people like the minimalist decorating style actually, because the less there is in a room, the more appealing it tends to look.

And you can have the exact same room with the exact same furnishings take on a completely different look depending on how cluttered it is. This means you can literally transform - or "redecorate" - any room in your home, simply by removing clutter and using the "less is more" approach.

For example, did you know that removing furniture from a room will make the room look larger? Replacing several smaller pieces with one large piece will create the same effect. Instead of having a couch, love seat, and one or more chairs in the living room for instance, you can replace all of those with one large sectional sofa. And doing so will make the room seem larger than it actually is.

Having multiple pieces of furniture in a room gives it the feeling of being cramped, because it seems as if you've squeezed everything in and there are multiple items which can catch the eye and attention. Putting one large piece of furniture in though, makes the room seem larger because there is a large item of furniture in it - you wouldn't be able to put a large sectional couch into the room if it was really tiny after all, right? This is how your subconscious processes that information. In addition, there appears to be more space because more of the floor or empty areas are now seen.

The same effect can be created in any number of ways. If you have several small bookshelves full of books for instance, it will seem as if you're overflowing with too many books in the room. Remove those smaller shelves and put in one large one though, and you'll immediately have unused bookshelf space which makes it look as if you don't have that many books in the room after all.

You can actually make things look bigger to the eye just by leaving some empty space on or around it too. A bookshelf which has books from top to bottom looks crowded for instance, but if you strategically separate sections and leave those empty, or simply put a small decorative item in the empty space, the book space will automatically seem bigger and less cluttered in the end.

Leaving space is an important decorating tool for your home. When you put up a new shelf with knick knacks on it for instance, try to not fill every inch of the shelf. If you do, that shelf will look cluttered and crowded, and the beauty of your collectibles will be easily overlooked.

If your home is like mine though, you've probably already accumulated more clutter than you ever wanted. So now it's time for a fresh new look. And this is redecorating at no cost. Simply take a good, long, hard look at your favorite area. It doesn't matter if it's the craft and sewing area, a home office, or your living room - just pick an area of your home that you enjoy spending time in. Then clear everything off of all surfaces.

You can start with just one surface if you'd like, such as the entertainment center or that cluttered bookshelf in the corner, but you want to take everything off of it so you'll be able to redecorate it with a completely fresh and new perspective.

Once you have it fully cleared off, then clean and polish it in your normal way. You will already notice a fresh perspective just by completing this step. Then you can take stock of all the stuff you took off the surface, and start putting things back a little at a time.

Choose the most important things first. If you can't stand the idea of not having your great grandmother's anniversary clock on the table, then put it in place first. You can either put it back where it was, or try it in a new position to see if you like that look better.

Take your time putting these important things into place. You can even clean and polish them as you go, so they're looking as attractive as they can as they're put up. At some point during this process you should arrive at a new look that you really like, and one which is much less cluttered than normal.

You should actually have things left which were originally on the surface, that you don't want to put back into place. Pack those things away for another season, or for the next time you want to change your decorating theme in this area. Alternatively find another place in the house for them, where they won't create a cluttered appearance.

The end result with your current surface project will look newer, cleaner, fresher, and much more attractively decorated too!