Quick and Easy Room Makeovers (guest post)

Revamping a room can be as simple as changing a key piece of furniture or making a small adjustment to a colour scheme. Making over a room doesn’t have to be days of DIY and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Any room can be given a new lease of life with these quick and easy tips.

image

Furniture Makeover – Worn and outdated furniture can really drag a room down. Fortunately this is often easily fixed with a lick of paint and a few key accessories. Tired wooden wardrobes and dressers can be brightened up with white or cream paint in the space of an afternoon. Make sure you sand the wood before you paint it, otherwise you will get a patchy uneven finish. Take drawers out of wardrobes and dressers before you paint them and make sure you are starting on a smooth and easily accessible canvas. A coat of white paint and some pewter handles that you can pick up cheaply online at places like The Handle Store can turn a boring piece of furniture into something stylish and modern.

image

Soft Furnishings – Of course, adding different coloured cushions or changing your drapes can give a room a whole new look, but if you are looking for more of a dramatic change, covering your sofa is a quick and inexpensive way of giving your living room a total revamp. Reupholstering is costly and, more important, permanent. A little practise with a sewing machine, on the other hand, can give you the skills to knock up a slip cover that can be whipped off if you tire of it or want a change of colour. It takes some careful measuring and cutting, but it is easily achievable within a day. The best option for buying material is to do it online; it is much cheaper this way but do make sure you order swatches before you buy to be sure of colour and texture.

image

Wall Decals – Painting and wallpapering rooms is expensive and time consuming, not to mention the disruption it makes to your life while you do it. If you rent, it is also often not an option. Wall decals are made of vinyl and stick to any smooth flat surface without damaging adhesives. Choose a decal in a contrasting colour to your wall for a dramatic feature, or one that is only a shade different for a gorgeous subtle effect. Wall decals are especially good for children’s rooms as they can be changed and applied far easier as children grow and their interests and tastes change. 

image