New Year, Refreshed Home: Easy Interior Updates for Modern Homes 

The New Year is a perfect time to step back, take a good, long look at your home's interior design, and plan some easy updates to freshen it up. From changing the cushions and throws to a new colour scheme that fills every room with a lighter, brighter energy, it’s simple to transform a dull, tired-looking room into a space that feels welcoming, friendly, and comfortable.

In this blog, we’ll give you some handy hints on how to reset your living room, shake up your storage ideas, and introduce new colours that capture the spirit and energy of your environment. We’ll guide you through the thought process of resetting a living room, decluttering and brightening with smart storage and multi-functional furniture, and take a look at how fresh, clean, neutral tones can echo the natural world around us. 

At Crate and Barrel, we look beyond the everyday to give you that bespoke interior look that reflects you, your world, and your personality. Let’s start with those all-important colour considerations.  

Neutral palettes suited to Middle Eastern light 

From the soft golds and ochres of desert dunes to the brilliant blue of a summer sky, the colours of the world around us are enhanced by the clarity of the unique light in this part of the world. You can emulate that natural beauty by adopting a neutral palette for your home. 

Not only do these neutral tones feel lighter and more relaxed, but they also create a sense of space, making them particularly suitable for smaller spaces. A neutral colour scheme also allows a certain amount of room to introduce bold patterns without them becoming overwhelming. 

Hallways, stairwells, and corridors

A hallway decorated in a subtle latte or buttermilk tone provides a perfect backdrop for some bold wall art, creating your very own gallery space and making a positive visual impact for guests as they arrive. The lighter tones also brighten dark stairwells or corridors, making them feel more welcoming.

Living rooms

In a living room, tranquil sage greens and delicate taupe colours allow you creative licence to embellish with colourful, geometric rugs and home décor that adds real character. If you tend to kill off real plants or are too busy to look after a real orchid, introduce faux plants to add a touch of organic beauty. Artificial plants are so realistic now that it can be difficult to tell the difference. The effect is striking, and lets you carry on with your busy life without the hassle of watering, nurturing, and pruning.

Bedrooms

A bedroom with a neutral palette can be turned into a restful oasis by adding linen and bedding that complement the tones. Our top tip: For a soothing effect that’s also modern and enlivening, embrace the ombré principle of colour coordination, using graduated tones from the same colour family. So, for example, go from a pale sand through latte to deeper ochre tones, then underline the colour grouping with rich tones and patterned rugs that incorporate chocolate browns. 

Introduce a little dash of metallic (gold or copper) to add a lift, and you have a classic bedroom interior that is enhanced by the golden sunlight we experience in the Middle East.

Bathrooms and kitchens

Bathrooms and kitchens are the ideal place to introduce bright whites, gentle yellows and greens, or pale blues to add a sense of freshness. These paler tones can be made to feel less clinical by introducing pops of colour or dynamic patterns. In a kitchen, classic French Le Creuset pots and dishes add bold cerise, berry, or subtle seaspray colours, while copper pans hung from simple wall hooks bring a country-kitchen feel to the room. 

In the bathroom, soft towels and robes in neutral tones make any bathroom feel like a spa retreat, while absorbent rugs in geometric patterns add a sense of energy for that morning shower.

Living room resets

Living rooms can look tired after a while, no matter how clean they are. The living room is one of the easiest to reset, and you don’t even need to redecorate! If you’re happy with your current colour palette, especially if you’ve already embraced the fluidity of neutral tones, then a trip to Crate and Barrel to stock up on new cushions, throws, rugs, and décor could revitalise your living room in an afternoon.

For a larger transformation, adding an accent chair in luxurious leather creates a focal point around which you can reset your living room décor. Introduce contemporary accent tables that can be moved around to change your living room's look, or add a plush touch with a faux-fur throw that’s touchably soft. 

Storage and multifunctional furniture

One of the best ways to reset your décor, especially in a busy living room, is to include storage and multi-functional furniture into the mix. Ottomans are a simple way to hide tabletop clutter that would normally make a coffee table look messy, such as magazines, remote controls, and games. Upholstered options also double as comfortable seating when you have unexpected guests over.

A media console tidies up your tech, with spaces for everything from gaming consoles and TV boxes to DVDs and CDs, leaving a clean, fuss-free look that balances with the rest of your room. Floating shelves bring new interest to a living room by introducing a clean, simple horizontal element with ample space for organic sculptures in natural materials like stone and wood.

Change the layout

If you have a large living room, break it up into smaller areas with a room divider. These multi-shelf items add extra storage to a room without blocking light, thanks to their open design and use of natural wood, which works particularly well with a neutral interior palette. It also allows you to display treasured items from different angles, bringing a new element into your décor. 

Make the change with Crate and Barrel

This is the ideal time of year to revitalise your home with Crate and Barrel. From delightfully simple, quick resets to more structured, mindful revisions, let the colours of your environment influence you and reinforce your connection to the landscape that has inspired our culture for thousands of years. You’ll find even more ideas and inspiration at Crate and Barrel, including lots of helpful hints and tips to transform your home this spring.