In the age of the internet, the overwhelming amount of information at our fingertips has made it infinitely easier than ever to research how to “do it yourself.” Life hacks are no longer for the few but for the many as online shopping and social media sharing has allowed for the democratization of some life-saving tips and tricks to make our homes, jobs, and habits ever-more optimized. Now that winter is behind us and winter clothes get shoved into storage, our lives inevitably adjust, and so do our habits.

Now is the perfect time to find ways to free up time in your schedule and be present in this change. Freeing up time can do wonders for your subconscious mind and can allow for more creative thinking and better rest. Similar to freeing up space in our schedules, freeing up space in our homes also works wonders for us. The spaces we inhabit act as extensions to our subconscious mind, so the methods in which we utilize our most-inhabited spaces play a huge role in how we feel, behave, and think.

What Goes Down Must Go Up

All homes contain spaces with quirks, strengths, and challenges. There is an infinite number of ways you can approach the redesigning of a room or an entire home. But through experimenting with small additions and subtractions of items, you can realize more space and hidden strengths in the places you inhabit every day.

With winter items in storage, more closet space can feel freeing. Similarly, placing items up on shelves or higher up in closet space can help make your space feel larger. If you are storing a bike in your apartment, consider placing it on a bike rack that lifts it off the ground. If you wish to add potted plants to your home, consider purchasing plants that can hang from the ceiling, like a Hanging Fern Plant Décoration which comes in several styles. This is a hack that is more powerful than people realize. Placing items higher up in your home not only utilizes unused extra space, but also makes your home, whether it’s an apartment, a condo, or a house, feel significantly larger.

Walls That Open Up Rather Than Close in

Plants that draw attention to the size and shape of your space are hidden gems in the interior design world. Think of plants as attention-grabbers that can accent the special quirks and strengths of your space when placed properly. If the area you are redesigning has tall ceilings, consider playing with plants that can cling to the wall and reach great heights like the Schefflera Leaf Vine. This vine can come in different styles and be customized based on the number of bushes grouped. Additionally, the subtle, yet vibrant addition of an Orange Berry Vine can be hung on a wall and span a length of thirty-nine inches.

Developing Your Own Art Style

Large spaces can accommodate all sorts of tall design choices, such as large paintings and light fixtures. Alternatively, there are items like picture frames and smaller paintings that can complement a wide range of smaller or tighter spaces. If you are looking to dress up some new-found space in your home that doesn’t have as much height, consider plants that sit in a frame, such as Succulent Wall Art. Like a painting, it hangs from the wall and can be placed next to other framed items as part of a larger display or collage of frames. For a slightly more freely falling plant, a good alternative is the Madagascar Staghorn Fern, which hangs from a frame-like wood board. Both of these plants give off an energy that sings of summer, and they can serve as a great tool for a wide range of environments during the start of this refreshing new season.