The question I received this month, regarding interior painting, gave me the idea to talk about quick color fixes to spruce up worn and tired spaces. Thanks to Old Man Winter more of us are spending increased time indoors, causing all of the things that bother you about your interior spaces to scream for attention.

Think about all the activity that goes on in your house: People rushing around, banging doors against the walls, carrying heavy furniture in between rooms or scuffing sports equipment across the baseboards. All of this kinetic activity often times contributes to unsightly chipped paint on areas such as door jams, trim work and grease-like marks on baseboards that are apparent all over the house.

The good news is that you can spiff up your entire interior space in just about two hours. Store your extra paint in left over plastic to-go containers. Mark the top with masking tape and label the colors manufacturer, the paint name and finish and the room you know exactly where to use it. Put on your favorite paint clothes and arm yourself with a paintbrush and a small container of the interior trim paint. Walk around and apply one or two simple coats to hide these marks. The contrast of the fresh color on the trim work really gives your room a welcome punch of freshness that can make it feel like you’ve painted the whole room. I also like to brighten up the winter blues by using different accessories in the house that fit the season. Change out your throw pillow to ones in rich jewels, or shades of winter white and be sure to use different textures like knits, velvets and rich chenilles to really make you want to snuggle in for the winter. Also, change your drapes in the winter, hang a window treatment that is lined and made of a cotton based velvet or heavy cotton to help keep the warmth inside and the heating bills down low. Even moving the decorative items already in your home from room to room once in while can help you appreciate your home all over again.

For the more adventurous do-it-yourselfer, identify an entire interior space. Think of the bathroom. While luscious soaps and soft linens are always at the ready, often times this room gets overlooked in terms of tangible upgrades because it’s one of the most expensive rooms in the house to renovate. However, a coat of fresh paint can infuse some energy while a couple of decorative additions can transform the space for next to no cost.

For the bathroom, I personally love the combination of a robins-egg blue hue for the walls and a light silver ceiling to create a refreshing, ethereal space. In the bathroom it is always best to use an oil-based primer because of all the moisture that can accumulate in the room; this will help your latex top coat to adhere well. And remember, it’s always a good idea to use a paint additive, like The Flood Company’s Floetrol®, to ensure consistent paint coverage without the mess of brush marks. When the paint dries, try hanging a collection of mirrors on the wall, it looks great to mix and match shapes and sizes. You can really create a beautiful point of interest by utilizing a group of similar objects. Cut out pieces of paper to match each mirror and experiment by taping them to the wall to get the right look before you commit to hanging the mirrors. Hanging a funky chandelier in the center of the room instead of the usual bathroom lighting fixture gives that wow factor and makes the space totally your own.