Whether you just moved into a brand new space or you’ve been living in the same digs for years, there comes a time when your living space’s look and feel simply has to change — and fast. While a full remodel would bring a welcome transformation, the time, money, and energy required may not be feasible. And since there are quick fixes aplenty, putting off a major overhaul won’t hamstring your results too much.
Here are six décor fixes that will transform your living room without taking much longer than an afternoon or weekend to accomplish.
1. Buy an Oriental Rug
An Oriental rug is an instant classic in almost any space. With a rich history and craftsmanship more like a work of art than a cushion for your feet, placing a beautiful Oriental rug in your living room will give it instant depth and character.
Regardless of your living room’s color scheme or whether you have hardwood floors or carpet, the colors and patterns in a well-chosen rug will either blend in with what you have or complement it perfectly.
2. Paint a Mural
Most living rooms have a full wall or two that isn’t broken up too much by windows or doors, which means they’re an ideal “canvas” for a mural. If you aren’t particularly creative, you may want to employ the help of a friend, but in lieu of that, you can easily go the stencil route.
Decorative wall stencils of all kinds can be found online or in most home improvement stores. Simply make a choice; follow the instructions, and you’ll have a fully transformed wall in an afternoon.
3. Reupholster Your Couch
Reupholstering a couch or chair is a great way to breathe new life into an old piece of furniture, and it will make your living room feel brand-new, too. Start by taking photos of the couch you’re going to reupholster, so you can reference it if you find yourself in trouble at any time. Then, remove the old fabric.
Start with the couch upside down, and remove the fabric along the bottom that’s tacked up underneath. Turn the couch back upright, and remove the fabric on the outside back, followed by the outside arms, inside back, inside arms, and lastly, the deck. Use the old fabric as a template or pattern for cutting your new fabric being sure to leave an extra two to three inches so you have enough fabric to fold over and pull tight as you staple.
Utilizing a heavy-duty staple gun, reupholster the couch in the reverse order in which you took it apart. So, start with the deck, move on to the inside arms, etc. This project could take the better part of a weekend, but at the end, you’ll have a couch and living space that seem completely new.
4. Transform the Lighting
Light fixtures are relatively easy to change out and doing so can make a space feel completely different. If you’re tired of the overhead light or fan in your living room, select a large, bold new piece and either install it yourself or hire a professional to do it for you.
From a vintage chandelier to a modern hanging fixture on a dimmer, changing up the lights can truly change up your space.
5. Pillows
People tend to make one of two mistakes when decorating their homes: Either they make choices that are too conservative regarding color so that everything is white, off-white, and beige, or they go too bold, and the result is a sea of loud, brash hues that relate very little to one another.
If you find yourself in the first camp, load up on pillows with plenty of color and place them on your couch and chairs to create more energy and verve in your living room. If your living room is already awash in too much color, get rid of any bright and brash pillows, and replace them with pillows in soft, light grays, creams and milky coffee tones.
6. New Curtains
Whether or not you currently have curtains in your living space, adding them or changing them out will give the space a welcome facelift. Whether you sew them yourself with fabric from a local craft or thrift store or you splurge and buy some from a chic boutique downtown, choose colors, prints, and fabrics that are different from what you currently have, so the space will feel transformed.
Remaking your living space doesn’t necessarily need a massive investment of money and energy. With these six décor fixes, you can feel as though you moved into a more beautiful space that cost you hardly anything at all.
Article Submitted By Community Writer