Staying at home during shelter-in-place means you've now spent far more time at home than you could imagine. You've done more at home – working, home schooling, cooking versus eating out and hobbies to stay busy. By now you probably realize you could use your space better if you rearranged things. It could be time for some redecorating, where you change your space without spending a dime.
Take a tour of your closets. You'll likely see things long forgotten that still have memories worth keeping. The idea behind redecorating is to make your home support your lifestyle better, plus a fresh look to enjoy your home more.
So let's get started with the techniques you can use to rearrange what you already own.
1. Redecorating by Moving Furniture
Furniture might be the largest items in a room but they don't need to dominate the space. In the bedroom above, the beds were taking up almost the entire room. By rearranging them, it freed up a large amount of floor space for kids to play or guests to open up their suitcases. There's no one answer, so have fun moving things around until you find what you like.
2. Redecorating by Floating Your Furniture
We tend to think that most furniture should be placed against the walls. But who's the expert? If you pull your furniture away from the walls, what's called floating furniture, it can make the room feel larger. An added benefit is more flexibility in where your sofa faces, in case you'd like a new view. If you're not sure how to do this, visit furniture stores in person (or virtually online) for ideas that work.
3. Repurposing Furniture, Another Form of Redecorating
Our lives are constantly changing so what worked yesterday might not work today. Before you go shopping for new furniture, shop your home. You might be able to paint an old kitchen stool and turn it into a nightstand. If you've got a favorite table, find a new purpose for it. The cherry table above started life in the kitchen and moved to the home office. More recently it was moved into the quilt room to make facemasks for health care workers fighting the coronavirus.
4. Put Your Dining Room to Work
Too often the traditional dining room sits idle except for holidays and parties (read: The Unused Dining Room Dilemma). The dining table with it's huge surface is perfect for most home offices or maybe you need a classroom to keep two or three school age kids focused on their work. If you're not ready to make a permanent change, a rolling file cabinet or a few boxes with handles are all you need.
5. Multifunctional Furniture Can Serve … Multiple Needs!
Oops, I promised you could do all your redecorating with things you already own. You might already have a rolling cart, like a bar cart, ready to be repurposed. Maybe you remodeled your kitchen a few years ago and the old cabinets are in the garage. It's really easy to add rolling wheels (lots of choices on Amazon) to an existing cabinet, table or even plastic storage bins. Or maybe you're ready to splurge and buy something small and inexpensive. So have fun shopping for your new rolling storage cart!
PS Be sure to consider where you'll keep the cart when not being used. Take measurements and use these when picking out your new cart.
6. Redecorating with Artwork
It's relatively easy to move your artwork from room to room. Some pieces will only fit in one or 2 places like the piece on the left. Other pieces of art can go almost anywhere and you might even split groups up. This is also the time when you can dig out lost pieces that have been buried in a closet and maybe it's time to frame and hang some of your kids artwork.
7. Accessories Can Change a Room's Personality
Pillows are great because you can change colors inexpensively. Even better, when not in use they're easy to tuck into a closet until your next redecorating project. Plants are another great decorating tool indoors as well as outside. Go for real plants if you're good at remembering to water them (read: Indoor Plants That Keep You Healthy at Home). Alternatively, Home Goods has some great deals on fake plants like those shown above.
8. Use Lighting to Brighten Rooms
Good lighting in a room can make a huge difference. You can change fixtures or more easily, swap table and floor lamps. Several different types of lighting combined will give you the best ambience (read: How Many Types of Lighting are There?). Have fun with light fixtures that suit your personality. They're easy to swap out and take with you when you move.
Have fun redecorating to give your home a fresh look and share photos so we can enjoy too.
Leave a Reply