Change Is Good

Jay Johnson -- Sometimes you can make a decorating decision and you'll be stuck with it for a long time. You decide to put a wall . . . over there . . . and once it's up, you'll undoubtedly think twice about removing it.

But the beauty about many decorating elements is that you can change them up again and again. You can rotate works of art on the wall. Getting tired of Still Life with Cactus and Plate of Brownies? No problem. Just take it down, store it in the closet or attic, and replace it with Little Girl in a Swing. Or whatever floats your boat.

It amazes me how many people are terrified to make changes in their home decor. When you put an assortment of paper weights on your coffee table, please note that they are not Crazy-Glued to the furniture. There is nothing holding you back, except for your imagination, from rotating your knick-knacks and accessories.

Change is Life, folks. Plants begin to sprout, mature, flower, and die away. You change your clothes to go with different style trends, the weather, or the occasion. So why are so many homes maintained status quo, year after year, like Museums of Design Decisions from Long Ago?

Pick out fresh paint colors and go for a different look. Switch around the art and accessories. Substitute colors and textures on throw pillows and throws. Put new lampshades on your lighting to freshen up the look. Sell or recycle what you're tired of and find some replacements from a store, yard sale, or on eBay. Rotate the pieces of a collection that you have on display to avoid boredom. Find a new purpose for a seldom-used room -- like a son or daughter's old bedroom in an empty nester's home -- and make that sewing room, hobby space, office, home theater, or meditation retreat that you've always wanted.

Just don't stay stuck! While the world changes outside your front door, your home is not meant to stay in a decorating holding pattern. Be brave, make changes, add more stimulation to where you live, and switch your home from a museum to an exploratorium.

In the over 200 home videos contained in my Design2Share Video Diary on YouTube, you will see examples where I have taken my video camera -- a sturdy palm-sized Radio Shack $99 camtastic special -- and gotten bursts of design inspiration from my travels. This week's Video Diary takes you to a north shore resort town on Lake Michigan, and I do some video window shopping in  Rug Talk. I was hooked on the rugs (get it -- hooked, rugs?) in the window of an old-fashioned dry goods store, and it suddenly dawned on me. We can change rugs to make quick changes to our home decor, too. So roll up a rug, store it, and roll out another one. Change the look with the season, switch rugs according to your mood, or roll out an extra-special welcome. In the video, you will see this inspiration slowly take shape as I commune with the rugs in the window.

So, dear reader, what's it going to be? Death by Design Stagnation or Regular Invigorating Design Changes? (You've already got my recommendation.)

Share your design make-overs and brave decorating changes with me. Please add a post . . . .