Revamp a not-so-favorite-space into the decor of your dreams.
Lots of people ask me to help them redecorate a room or wonder if I can come over to help with a refresh of sorts. I get it, decorating can be hard and completely overwhelming. Sometimes I get stuck making a space look fresh and new in my own home. It’s extra hard to envision a change when you look at the same thing day in and day out. Sometimes an image is so burnt in your head that change is incredibly difficult to imagine or accept. Decorating and life are very similar.
My daughter wanted to redecorate her room for her birthday. Of course this makeover-loving mama was thrilled with the prospect. The process uncovered a list that may help you if you are feeling stuck, uninspired or just plain out of ideas. Here are seven tips to help you revamp a not-so-favorite space into the décor of your dreams.
1. Take inventory
Start by picking the target space or room you’d like to change. I encourage you to start small and go one room at a time…don’t bite off more than you can chew. It will just leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. Look at every aspect of the room, decide what you like, what you don’t like and what you are indifferent to. Make a written list if needed.
2. Purging is hard but necessary
Once you take inventory, it’s time to put action to the lists you made. If you don’t like something, it’s on its last leg or you just haven’t gotten around to tossing it, now’s the time. Make four piles. This is a little different than the typical three piles you hear organizational people talk about. The extra pile is one I learned about from my daughter. Make a keep, donate and trash pile. Key tip: Get rid of what you don’t love even if it’s your couch, table, rug or some key element in a room. You will take longer to replace it if you keep a fill-in hanging around, but if you don’t have anywhere to sit you will move much faster on finding a new couch. The fourth pile is for the items you aren’t quite sure you can part with. Maybe they mean something to you, hold a sentimental value or you just think you’d miss them if they were gone. These items are going to hide away in your attic or closet, out of sight for at least three to six months. If you think about them and miss them you can pull them out. If you haven’t thought of them in three months then it’s time they move on to the donation spot of your choice. If you want to love your space, you need to love everything in it.
3. Work with what you have
I just told you to purge, but I want you to use fresh eyes when you do. Cost is the number one reason people don’t redecorate, so using what you have is key to keep costs down. Thinking of tossing an accessory because the color doesn’t go with the new scheme you’re hoping for? Consider if it can be painted or updated. Look at shape and functionality over color and style. Pillows can be recovered and paint is a miracle worker.
4. Accountability
Let’s face it, most things are better with friends. Decorating is no different. Invite a friend to join you on the journey and offer to help them in return. Their fresh eyes and ideas will help you when you are stumped, but better yet when you carve time out of your calendar and set decorating dates projects actually get completed.
5. Have a plan
The internet is bursting at the seams with ideas. Start a Pinterest board full of inspiration for your target space. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, just gather your favorite ideas and implement them. Again, use laser focus on just one room or space at a time.
6. Start empty
The easiest way to implement your plan is by starting with a clean slate. Take all the pictures off the wall, move furniture if you need to and build fresh from the ground up. This will help you see the space differently. This is where getting rid of the couch or rug you don’t love pays off, you will see what you need and rework a space accordingly.
7. Be patient
Don’t buy something just to fill a hole. Wait until you find what you love. The most inviting spaces are ones curated over time, full of meaning and purpose, not items bought on a whim. Decorating seems so intimidating, but at the end of the day your home is about you and the people living in your walls. You can’t do it wrong. Nothing on this list is about decorating rules, styles or trends it’s about practical ways to change up what you have. It’s not rocket science, it’s surrounding yourself with what moves you. So what are you waiting for? You can do this.
[“Source-theeagle”]
