Do you feel it? The crisp air moving in, the rustling of the leaves, pumpkin spice… everything? Autumn and winter are on their way, which means another year is almost up. It’s time to sit in your space, take inventory of what is serving you and what no longer does, and plan out an indoor design refresh as the colder months approach.

You’ve heard of spring cleaning, but this is winter cleaning (and it might be even more important). This type of refresh isn’t about sorting through clutter and taking a trip to your nearest donation site. This is about replacing products in your home to create a space that is clean and comfortable before the winter months come and you’re trapped inside all day long.

In other words, winter is coming… So, let’s talk about some home design improvements you should consider!

LIGHTING IS EVERYTHING

If you are a consistent reader of our blog, then you have a good idea of how important lighting is to me personally and why it should feel important to you, too!

In our blog, Reclaiming Your Work Life in a Persistent Pandemic and 5 Ways Good Interior Design can Save Your Mental Health, we dive into the importance of choosing good and purposeful lighting in your home. This is especially important for seasons in which days start getting shorter.

Here are some key takeaways:

• There is a difference between ambient lighting and task lighting. Ambient lighting fills and illuminates the entire room, but it can also be harsh or too dim. This makes focusing on one task more difficult than it has to be and can result in mental exertion that leaves you fatigued. 

• Task lighting, usually produced by a lamp with a direct beam, encourages you to focus on the work in front of you while the rest of the world melts away long enough for the work to be completed. 

• A continuous lack of natural sunlight in the home definitely can trigger sadness and other habits of depression. This element of good design, incorporating good lighting in your home, is so important and should never be overlooked by designers or yourself.

When the sun starts setting earlier in the last stretch of the year, like we are starting to experience, then that is the perfect time to refresh your home’s lighting.

During that time, the world is gloomy and the weather is, too. If you think you or someone you know is experiencing some form of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or “winter depression,” they could benefit from a light like this. Plus, this particular light would look great on any table — a win-win! 

Also, you should definitely consider Switch, a Cincinnati-based vendor featured in The Scout Guide Volume Six that offers stunning lighting installations (as well as one-of-a-kind furniture pieces).

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR (LITERALLY)

Just like spring cleaning, winter cleaning is meant to help you breathe a little easier.

But what if you could actually invest in a product that literally helps you breathe fresh air in your home?

When winter rolls along, we spend more time inside than any other time of year. For this reason, investing in air purifiers will help circulate air in your home, eliminating any stuffiness that usually accumulates when the outside temperature drops and you spend more time indoors.

Here are some great air purifiers to consider:

• aair Lite by aeris Air Purifiers

• Air Pro by Molekule

If I am the first to tell you this, then I’m glad you finally know! We are not unaffected by toxic or polluted air when we stay indoors. In fact, air pollution levels can rise inside your home depending on your typical behavior, especially within the kitchen.

Quite a bit of toxic air can be produced when you cook, which is why you should invest in quality ventilation products, such as this Jennair ventilation hood or this one by ZLINE. 

If you want to test your home’s air quality at home, consider using products such as Home Air Check’s VOCs and Active Mold Test – Indoor Air Quality. This single-use test identifies various kinds of VOCs (volatile organic compounds or common ground-water contaminants). It also checks your home for actively growing mold! 

This product can be found on Amazon at about $140, which includes the cost of an official lab analysis of your results. It also provides advice on how to improve your home’s air quality while identifying what might be making you feel sick.

PILLOWS & BEDDING: KEY TO A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

If you are anything like me, during the winter months I spend much more time snuggled up in my bed. However, when was the last time you changed the sheets? (If you can’t remember the last time, take it as a sign that it’s been too long). Out of all your household items, this might be the product you buy the least often. Think about your current pillows and bedding. How old are they? 

According to the Sleep Foundation, experts recommend replacing your pillows every one to two years! I know… Yikes. 

When you replace your pillows, you are choosing a cleaner, more supportive product that doesn’t hold any of the allergens your older pillows are certainly carrying. Take it as a sign to replace your pillows if you’re having a difficult time finding a comfortable position to fall asleep!

According to TODAY, you should replace your bedding every 18 to 24 months. This is less dependent on cleanliness and more dependent on the quality of sleep you could be missing out on. When you wash your sheets in warm water and detergent on a regular basis (which you should be), you break down the threading of the product. 

Seasonal bedding, or bedding you bring out of storage depending on the season, is a great way to prolong the quality of your bedding. Use softer, warmer sheets for winter and thinner, cooler sheets for summer! This is also a great way to switch up the mood of your home with different patterns and colors for different seasons.

If you are reluctant to buy new bedding at the moment, then you’re in luck! The holidays are right around the corner. Make a wish list of bedding and pillows so your loved ones can shower you in some high thread count luxury!

Here’s a tip:

Buy the most quality bedding and pillow products you can reasonably afford. These products typically have longer lifespans, even when you wash them regularly!

I personally love the bedding and sheets products from Elizabeth Grace Home, a Cincinnati-based home décor shop!

RUGS DESERVE ATTENTION, TOO

This one might feel the most like a chore, and that’s because it is.

But it’s one of those chores that, once complete, makes you and your home feel brand new. 

Rugs take the brunt of the mess of your home. Unless you’re a shoes-off household, they receive every germ and particle that could be found on the bottom of your shoes. Yuck.

But even if you try your best to keep your rugs spotless, there are just some casualties you cannot avoid. If you have a furry friend that loves to lay on that gorgeous rug of yours, it’s going to need a clean. 

No pets? No shoes in the house? No one can avoid dust. Dust is the inevitable enemy no one is safe from. Because of this, typically every household will need to have their rugs professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months. Make sure to take care of this before the winter months, so you and your family will have a clean rug to fit your refreshed space.

Find out how often you and your specific kind of household should clean your rugs on the Gallagher’s Rug & Carpet Care blog.

If you’re looking to replace your rug entirely, consider The Rug Gallery in Cincinnati. They have a large selection of gorgeous rugs and carpets to choose from!

BATHROOM TOWELS (THE SOCKS OF THE BATHROOM)

Can you guess one of my favorite parts about staying at a resort? Nope, not the room service. Not the complimentary lotions. It’s the towels.

I know I’m not alone in this. There’s just something different about hotel towels; they are always a crisp white and so soft and fluffy. Every time I use a hotel towel, I think to myself: I should be living like this every day. Why am I not, and how can I start doing just that? 

This is something you absolutely deserve to have every day, and it’s very doable! Bathroom towels sometimes tend to be the socks of the bathroom, as it is often assumed that you never need to refresh your towels because they serve their purpose well enough.

But we deserve more than well enough! 

I suggest refreshing your towels before winter to finish this year off right. Again, this is a great option for holiday gifts. So, start dropping hints now! 

I highly recommend using Parachute products if you’re ready to refresh your towels, bedding or even your mattress!

HOW WILL YOU REFRESH YOUR HOME?

When or if you do start renovating your home, it won’t be a quick process. You’ll need to take the necessary time before your project begins to improve your home piece-by-piece. 

The autumn and winter months are the perfect time to slow down and take the time to do this.

But before I sign off, here are some more local vendors to consider as you complete your end-of-the-year refresh for your space:

• Closets and More — This Cincinnati vendor offers professional closet installations, which is a great way to refresh your closet space to better fit your home and wardrobe.

• Simplify in Style — Need those closets organized? Then this vendor is for you. It’s all in the name. They simplify your space and then style it!

• My Flower Service — The inside of your home doesn’t have to be the only space you refresh this year. The outside of your home can look just as gorgeous as the inside with this Cincinnati vendor. They offer seasonally changed flower boxes, which can be installed around your house!

• Oil Paintings by Karen Rolfes — Artist Karen Rolfes produces gorgeous oil paintings that would look amazing in your home, and she’s based right here in Cincinnati. This is a great way to refresh the atmosphere of your home!

Whether you choose to refresh your home in many ways or just one, making design improvements as the year comes to an end could change the way you exit the year altogether.

The tasks you’ve been putting off (because do we really have to buy new pillows when the ones we have do the basic job?) are acts of care that both you and your home deserve.

So, how will you refresh your home this year?

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