Sometimes best way to elevate a room is to subtract.  In order to make a room sing and to let the things you love tell a story, you first need to remove the unnecessary.

You can create an elevated look in your own home by prioritizing closed storage and giving smaller, miscellaneous items a home.  In the photo below, a wall length sideboard allows for lots of concealed storage, keeping surfaces clutter free.

Photo Jean Stoffer Design

Here are our top tips for elevating a space by editing.

1. Clear surfaces.  We can easily become blind to our own clutter, especially if it’s organized into neat piles. But clutter visually calls for our attention and can create unnecessary stress.  Of course we all have and need stuff! But if you can invest in a few closed storage pieces like a sideboard, cabinet or built-in, this can dramatically reduce visual clutter. Just remember to keep your things organized (and preferably labeled) inside the cabinets so you know where to find things. Here are links to my favorite pieces of close storage that will help you minimize visual clutter.
2. Decide what to keep, what to move to another space and what to get rid of.  Make sure what you have in your home is only that which you truly need, use and love.  Do an audit of each space and try to remove at least 10-15 items from the space.  Before putting anything back, notice how you feel and if anything changed. You may feel more calm and decide to only put one or 2 things back. 
3. Collections: If you have a collection of something, curate and display it intentionally instead of having a lot of little things in various places that you have to dust and maintain. If you have a gallery wall, try to make it appear unified by like one larger piece of art. Here’s a some examples of that.

Photo by Mindy Gayer designs 

Office Styling

Ordinato by Allie Fackler Photography 

4. Remember scale.  Fewer, larger items is usually better than a lot of smaller decor items.  Display a larger favorite vase with fresh flowers or cut branches.  Bringing in the outdoors and some color and life will add vibrance to your space.  Natural elements are calming and add interest..

Photo by Amber Interiors 

Having less doesn’t have to mean sacrificing coziness or style.  You can still have lots of texture and visual interest without a lot of clutter.