How to Make Your House Look Clean

Furniture Should Be Raised, Not Resting on the Ground

Important furniture like couches and tables can really weigh down a room if you're not careful. When a couch is clunky and rests on the floor, it immediately creates a barrier to the rest of the space and prevents light from flowing. Instead, raise major pieces of furniture on legs to allow a breezy feel and prevent that trapped heaviness.

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Instead of a Chunky Comforter, Try a Crisp Blanket

If there is any chore I do every day, it's making the bed. Being the lazy person I am, I'm not about to fold down sheets and make hospital corners; I have more important things to do. With a comforter, no matter how nicely everything is tucked and pulled, everything still looks clumpy and disheveled. Why go through all that work to still have a bed that looks unmade? Once I switched to blankets that I can merely lay across the bed, my bedroom went from unkempt to smooth and finished.

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Nothing Looks as Disorganized as Multicolored Walls

Image Source: Stock snap/ Breather

Painting various walls different colors throughout the house — or worse, different colors in the same room — is an easy way to make a house feel disorganized. Besides being dated, it gives those coming into your house an uneasy and disconnected feeling. If you want your house to feel put-together, colors should be similar or at least part of a complementary palette. Each room should feel like it belongs to the same house, not to a bunch of different roommates who happen to share a roof.

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Center Art With the Wall, Not Furniture

Image Source: Stock snap/ Breather

A hard rule that I had to learn was to stop centering art based off a current layout. It looks great for the time being, but all it takes is a quick rearrangement and your perfect collage wall now hangs a foot off balance. This creates a feeling of unease and wildness. It's better to center art to the wall and then adjust furniture accordingly. Trust me: it'll prevent a lot of headaches, and save your plaster, in the future.

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Contrasting Patterns Should Work With Each Other, Not Against Each Other

Mixing patterns is a dangerous game, with hopefully beautiful results. It may be tempting to put a floral rug next to a Navajo tapestry, and you may equally like both parts, but consider the disjointed effect it gives. If you plan on mixing patterns, keep within a similar color palette and the thickness of the lines. Also, think of it in terms of sizes. A crazy, awesomely patterned rug should be a statement piece, and while a cool designed accent wall may look amazing, maybe it'd be better to pair that rug with a couple of interesting throw pillows.

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Don't Clutter Display Pieces — Organize Them

This will come as a shock to no one, but the quickest way to make a home look cluttered is by cluttering it with knick-knacks, tchotchkes, and whatever else is gathering dust. Instead of strewing your thimble collection across the house on various shelves, have a designated location, like a bookshelf or mantle, for the important display items. Personally, I favor a shelf with a glass door to help me with my goal of never dusting.

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Don't Line Every Wall With Stuff . . . Allow For Openness

There must have been an interior designer in the '80s who came around to people's homes and chastised them for leaving a wall devoid of furniture. This overstuffed approach, instead of making a room look rich and well furnished, makes the space feel like it's busting at the seams. Think about what a room really needs, get that, and stop trying to jam furniture up against every wall. At the very least, it'll be less you'll have to clean and buy.

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