When it comes to redecorating at home, oftentimes we feel that we need to dish out a lot of money to see a significant change in a space. According to HomeAdvisor, the average homeowner spends around $6,500 on interior decorating or designer costs for a room. If you’re on a tighter budget, that number can be discouraging, however there are tons of ways to significantly lower that price point by handling the project on your own! I have several room makeover ideas to share with you that can totally transform your space without breaking the bank.
How To Redo A Room Without Breaking The Bank
Gather Your Room Makeover Ideas And Make a Plan
Diving into a room rehaul can be intimidating, but the first step should be to take a good look at the room you want to redo. What needs to change? What do you like about the space and what would you keep to repurpose? Creating a list of the pros and cons about the room will help you realize where you want to go with the design. After you’ve reviewed the room, see what’s in your budget. This way you know your spending limits and can delegate where your money is spent, and where you can DIY.
Another critical step in the planning process is to find an aesthetic for the room. There are tons of different themes you can play with, from modern to contemporary. Pick the colors you want to include, and whether or not there are things already in the room that would fit with the new theme. Sketching out possible layouts of what you’re envisioning will also help to!
Declutter and Refresh
Once you have a plan set in place, it’s time to start clearing out the room. Research from the National Association of Productivity & Organization reports that one in seven Americans have a room in their home they can’t use because it’s filled with too many things they rarely use. If you haven’t used the stuff sitting around in your room for more than 6 months, you probably don’t need them anymore! Remove furniture and items that won’t fit into your new room plan, and either sell or donate the pieces you don’t want to a local center.
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
After decluttering the space, it’s time to paint. A great color can go a long way in transforming a room, and doing it yourself will cut the cost of hiring outside help. If you don’t want to repaint a whole room, or are just trying to expand your interior decor boundaries, adding a statement wallpaper to one wall will showcase your space. Choosing a wall to accent is a great way to shape where your existing items can fit, and what will add to the room to make it pop.
Some rooms of the home just need a facelift. This can easily be done with a new coat of paint. Keep in mind that there are a variety of paint styles and techniques that can be used. Stripes add dimension and flair to a wall. Most of the time when stripes are used, it is only on one wall. Striping an entire room can cause it to look too busy. If you choose to do stripes, be sure to measure the tape lines from top to bottom to ensure that each line will be straight. Also make sure to measure between each stripe to ensure an equal distance. You can get some fun, unusual paint project ideas here.
When selecting a paint color, pick something that is going to complement the space or make a smaller room look larger. Smaller rooms should have lighter paint colors or neutral tones. Color can be added in different ways. Large spaces can look cozy with a warm paint tone or an accent wall in a different color. Staying with a neutral color palette in the entire home is going to make it appear to be monotone, dull and boring. Color is a good thing and an easy way to make over a room in just in small amounts.
Change the Carpets
If you have carpeted spaces in your home that are just tired looking, the remodeling period or changing of a space is the ideal time to make it happen. Yes, you can lay carpet on your own. You will want to measure the space and add on about two inches to each measurement to allow the carpet enough room to go under the baseboards and be stretched into place. Don’t forget the padding and sub-floor protective layer. These are important. Also be sure that these are not attached with adhesive glue as it can ruin the sub-floor or natural hardwoods that are underneath.
If you prefer not to use carpet tacks, double-sided carpet tape can work just as well. It is a much longer process but it will still keep the carpet in place. You will want to stretch the carpet under the baseboards and tuck it in tight. Use the carpet tape along the edge with no gaps between pieces as the entire edge needs to be covered. Then work your way inward, slowly, with only about 2-inches between strips of paint in width and length. Changing the color or style of carpet goes a long way to makeover a room and give a different feel.
Rearrange Furniture
Sometimes nothing needs to be done to a space; it just needs a different view. This is simple to achieve by just rearranging furniture. It can also help to create more space as some items will be found to be extra or not needed. The arrangement of furniture in a space defines just how large it looks. Consider placing a long table behind a sofa in order to put it along the outer edge of a wall but bring it in closer to the other seating areas. The table behind it can serve as an additional option for accessories, plants or candles.
If you need fresh furniture, ask family or friends if they have any furniture that they don’t want or need anymore. This is a great idea when you have a budget and are looking to find some new pieces without spending thousands of dollars on a couch or a dining room set. Besides thrift stores, places like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great resources when it comes to looking for inexpensive furniture. Acquiring new pieces that have had some life before your home is always fun, and you can even upholster the furniture with some new fabric for a DIY project!
If you haven’t seen my home office post, I talk about revamping old pieces of furniture with some fresh paint. However, to further give old furniture a new life, try replacing the knobs on dressers in your room! They’re usually inexpensive, yet they can completely change the way a piece looks.
Older furniture items can easily be repurposed with a bit of imagination. Rather than throwing out furniture pieces to make room for new items. Look at that piece and envision it as something else. For instance, a cedar chest makes a great bench. All it takes is adding on some legs and building arm rests while permanently affixing a back rest to the area and adding a padded cushion on top of the seating area. This will double as storage and will be unique. Another idea is to take an old table and turn it into a magazine rack or cut off the legs and turn it into a floating shelf on the wall with a fresh coat of paint or stain. There are endless ways to repurpose old furniture.
Getting the furniture right is one of the most important room makeover ideas because it will set the purpose and design of the room. Rearranging the furniture that you have for the room is something that can make or break a design. Play around and try different placements for your pieces, as it will help you decide where to hang your accents and wall decorations.
Consider New Blinds Or Curtains
Blinds are a good way to help regulate the amount of sun that comes through a room. There are so many different types, sizes and the option of them being vertical or horizontal. Blinds can be made from plastic, wood, bamboo and a variety of other materials such as vinyl. Vertical blinds allow you to move them completely to one side if full sun is wanted. If you need some help with ideas, see here for a few nice examples of what is available and how they could work in your space.
In combination with curtains, window treatments such as this can add warmth to a space and make it seem more inviting with added privacy for a romantic evening at home or a bright space when guests fill the room. Swap out dated curtains for new ones, refreshing your atmosphere.
Add Texture with Throw Pillows
When the walls and carpets in a room are rather neutral in color, texture can be added with throw pillows. Select complementing colors in alternating patterns or a variety of textures. This will help to break up the monotony of the single color use. Texture can also be added with a throw blanket to match the pillows if you wish. Because pillows are small ticket items, they can be swapped out seasonally as well!
Pulling it Together
Filling your room with cool artwork or pictures is something that will upgrade your room design. Photographs of your family, friends, and important moments in your life need to be showcased! Placing these memories in photo frames can really help tie a room together, and getting the same frame for each picture will make the room look cohesive rather than disarray with mismatched frames. This way your room design will look more organized and orderly, as if the photos belong in the room. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to get simple frames that will make you look like a design pro.
Accessories are important to a space and an easy way to makeover a room. At the same time, it is important to keep accessories to a minimum. Too many can make a space seem cluttered. Changing out accessories from time-to-time is also an ideal way to introduce pops of color for a super quick room makeover. In your local area you may be able to locate a consignment shop that you can take your old items to in order to obtain funds for more updated items. Accessories in a space always need to look fresh and modern, unless the décor or style of a room is done with a vintage or retro design intentionally. Less is more when it comes to accessorizing in a space.
Conclusion
These simple DIY home projects can help you to update a boring or tired space with minimal time, money and effort. All of these things can be done by yourself and without the need of a contractor or designer. Before painting, get a sample and try it on the wall next to a window or where direct light hits to see if that is really the color that you wish to have on the walls. These simple changes can makeover a room and leave it feeling bigger and looking rejuvenated.
Redesigning a room doesn’t have to be intimidating, nor should it be costly. There are so many ways you can completely change a room’s feel on a budget. Once you have the tricks to know what to look for when creating a new space, you’ll be the design expert on any room. Which of these Room Makeover Ideas was your favorite?
Related Posts:
Does Your Bathroom Decor Reveal Your True Style?
Sofa And Carpet Cleaning
Creative Ways To Hide Electrical Cords