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Design Dilemma: Refreshing Weekend Fixes For Your Home

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Sometimes, a home needs a complete overhaul. And sometimes, it’s just a few little tweaks. What does your house need? Whether you think you may need a major renovation or not, we encourage you to investigate the smaller weekend projects first. You may be surprised at how much your home changes with very little effort and even less cost.

Stuff you can do for free:

1) Declutter. You’d be amazed how just organizing and editing can renew a space. Do you have reams of papers, mail, and random objects hanging around on tabletops and counters? Are books and boxes piled in corners on the floor? Do certain items annoy you every time that they catch your eye? Time to shed the stuff!

Check out the dining room below. Here’s the before:

And here’s the after:

Ahh…. doesn’t that feel better?

2) Rearrange your furniture. So maybe you can’t afford a new couch. Well, it doesn’t cost a penny to move that couch from one side of the room to the other. Rearranging furniture can provide you with a fresh new perspective on your home. In moving stuff around, you may discover a layout that allows for better flow or an airier feeling. The entire personality of a room may change. Experiment!

Below, check out a living room, pre-rearrangement:

Hmm…. nice but maybe a little static. Here’s what it looks like afterward:

The homeowner wanted to create a space that worked better for entertaining, encouraging people to move around and circulate. By breaking up the sectional the goal was to create multiple conversation areas. What do you think, was she successful?

3) Rearrange your artwork. If you can’t afford to buy new art, what about moving around the artwork you already own? Sometimes, simply moving a painting from one room to another can really renew a space, and it keeps you looking at the art as well!

Below, the homeowners have elected to compose a “gallery style” wall of color photographs.

But imagine, for a second, the same room, with just one big painting. Maybe it would look something like this:

The large colorful paintings brings a whole new energy to the room, and instantaneously becomes a new focal point.

Stuff you can do for minimal cost:

If you can afford to throw a little money at your changes, here are a few things you can do at minimal cost.

1) Change your pillows. You’d be amazed at what a difference a new bold pillow color or pattern can make in your room. The room below has a classic modern air, with its black leather couch and Persian rug. But the colorful pillows add a funky factor that would otherwise be missing.

Here’s the same room minus the pillows:

It feels more classic, no?

2) Paint. We don’t mean you need to paint the whole house. Just painting small select areas can dramatically change the feel of a room. You may opt for an accent wall:

Or maybe you can paint the inside of bookcase:

Or cabinets:

3) Change out a light fixture. Exchanging a tired old standard issue ceiling fixture for something with more pizazz can bring instant style to any room. What would this room be, without this dramatic fixture?:

Or this room:

Yep, without the light fixtures, these rooms lose a lot of character.

What else can you do to quickly change a room? For a few more bucks ($1000 or less if you are a real bargain hunter) you can:

• Invest in a new area rug, which can really add color and texture in one fell swoop.
  
• Invest in a new piece of art, which can instantly add sophistication.
• Invest in curtains, which can help a room feel more “finished.”
• Add or subtract houseplants.
  

You see, it doesn’t take a big budget to make over your space — all it takes is a little imagination!

Images: apartmenttherapy.com; www.matteroftasteonline.com