Divorce Decorating Checklist: A Primer

Decorating can be your immediate first step to reinvention after divorce; you can do it right away! A new sofa or carpeting will quickly transform your home from drab and dull to chic and cheerful – in one swoop! Change transforms – create a home that is happy, beautiful, peaceful & serene!

Your Home

  • Your home needs to reflect a sense of security and serenity.
  • Redecorate to reinvent; make your home look like the “new” you.
  • Evoke a comfortable, cheerful appearance through furnishings and color.
  • Reflect who you are, surrounding yourself with objects you like and collect, object that make you feel good about yourself.
  • De Clutter – get rid of nonessential possessions, especially those of your past.
  • Your home needs to reflect a sense of security and serenity.
  • Redecorate to reinvent; make your home look like the “new” you.
  • Evoke a comfortable, cheerful appearance through furnishings and color.
  • Reflect who you are, surrounding yourself with objects you like and collect, object that make you feel good about yourself.
  • De Clutter – get rid of nonessential possessions, especially those of your past.
  • Repaint for a fresher, cleaner look with light reflecting colors that are bright and cheerful.
  • Furnishings: Buy new furnishings that reflect your new life – in a style that reflects who you are and want to be. So, if you prefer a cleaner modern look, make it more minimal and geometric in gray, white, and black tones. Woods veer towards the darker side. For a more traditional feel, more curves and soft edges in colors of greens, yellows, and beiges. Here, light colored wood veneers.
  • Lighting that is bright and ambient is essential – it changes your disposition, like the sun! Make sure that the light is up, down and through.
  • Bedding: Always buy new bedding and, if possible, a new bed.
  • Redecorate quickly – so that there is as smooth a transition as possible.
  • Balance between having a home for you and one that accommodates children – a fine line between a “family” home and the “single” home.
  • No MAD MEN drab and dull, but clean, neat, bright and light.
  • Scale of furniture is important – no longer need a larger Dining Room table, but a “Chicer” one
  • Keep your home neat and tidy – a clean space helps you think more clearly.
  • Kitchen needs to be update or new, clean, and essential… new items, fresh paint
  • Create an Office Space at home that is well organized and structured.
  • Audio systems with good and proper clear sounds, reflecting a new clarity
  • Maintain an organized home, where your possessions are easily located.
  • From “Man Cave” to “Woman Castle,” the reinvented home reflects one’s personality.

Decorating can be your immediate first
step to reinvention after divorce; you can do it right away! A new sofa
or carpeting will quickly transform your home from drab and dull to
chic and cheerful – in one swoop! Change transforms – create a home
that is happy, beautiful, peaceful & serene!


Gail Green is an interior designer whose firm Gail Green Interiors practices interior design, architecture and decorating. With a full understanding of the complex position a recently divorced person faces, Gail Green Interiors enables them to transition smoothly from one home to another, taking care of their decorating or renovation responsibilities.

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