You ever look around your living room and wish that you could afford to redo the whole thing? You may have loved your home’s décor when you first bought it, but now it’s looking a little old and tired. Some of the pieces are still great, but you’re still bored with seeing them in the same way every day. Short of winning the lottery or living on ramen noodles for a few months, you might think that there’s really no hope for you to redecorate... Or is there?
There are actually a lot of really cool things you can do to revamp your living room and family areas without spending a lot of money or buying a lot of new stuff. Essentially, the key is to shop your home for new décor and then put in a little bit of creative effort to make it come together the way you want it. Here are a few tips to get you started and help you get that refreshed look you’ve been dreaming of.
Turn an Old Twin Bed into a Stylish Daybed
Do you have an old bed frame or even just an old mattress that one of your kids has outgrown? Put it against the wall in the family room, drape it with some attractive fabric, throw a few pillows across it, and you have a cool space where you and your family can lounge around and watch TV. The key is to choose fabrics that wouldn’t normally go on a bed, so don’t go with sheets. Instead, go with a cool coverlet, and choose throw pillows and pillow shams that you’d normally put on a couch.
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Take Mismatched Bowls Out of the Kitchen
Do you have some cool but mismatched bowls in your kitchen? Take a couple of them out of the kitchen and repurpose them as fun organizers for other rooms in your house. A big mixing bowl could hold an attractive arrangement of pinecones and twine balls on the coffee table in your living room. A smaller china bowl could hold rings and bracelets on your bed stand.
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Have an Unused Desk?
If you have a desk that you’re not using, and you have a freestanding sofa in the middle of your living room, place the desk behind the sofa. You’ll be amazed at how convenient this spot is for sorting mail, leaving notes for family members, and staging your briefcase and keys for work in the mornings. It’s also a great spot to put a vase with some flowers or to display other cool knickknacks, too.
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Have Fun With Some White Paint
Do you have a bunch of mismatched accessories and organizers in your living room? Take your vases, bowls, bookends, and other decorative items that aren’t overly valuable, and paint them all in the same shade of white. White paint is inexpensive, and a single bucket can go a long way with this kind of project. Plus, you can add even more cohesion to your décor by painting picture frames or the frame of a hanging mirror white. Just a coat of paint on a few key decorations can go a long way toward giving your living room a whole new look.
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Cut the Legs Off Your Old Kitchen Table
If you have a kitchen table that you haven’t been using or that you’re about to replace, pause for a moment. Could you use it as a coffee table if the legs were shorter? Instead of throwing it out or giving it away, carefully take a saw to those legs and give yourself a free new coffee table for the living room.
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Don’t Forget About the Power of a New Layout
Finally, don’t forget that you can really change the look and feel of a room just by moving some things around. Take a good look at your living room and then take some measurements. You might be surprised at how much more open and welcoming your space can feel when you play with where you place the sofa and chairs, not to mention your bookshelves and other furniture.
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You don't have to spend a fortune to redecorate. With these tips, you may need to buy a can of paint or a couple of throw pillows and some fabric, but these things don't cost much. And you probably already have some stuff in your house that you could also use for a redecorating project. You can feel like you have a whole new living room with just a little bit of creative repurposing. Have fun!
