04 November

3 Inexpensive Ways to Transform a Room

We all get sick of looking at the same old thing. Maybe your living room looks like a bad 1970s holdover. Maybe your teen’s bedroom looks more like a 5-year-old’s. Or maybe your wife says that, if she has to look at those plain white walls in your home office one more time, she just might scream.

Many of us just don’t have a lot of extra money to throw around these days, though. And even if you do, wouldn’t you rather spend it on something more fun, such as a trip to the beach this summer? Here are 3 things you can do to change that boring or outdated room into something that fits your family’s style as well as their needs, while still leaving some green in your pocket.

Paint

Painting a room is one relatively inexpensive way to dramatically change the look of any room in the house. You can paint the whole room, simply paint the ceiling to brighten it up. Painting one wall an accent color will also draw the eye.

A gallon of good paint costs about $30 and will usually cover about 300 to 400 square feet. An online paint calculator can help you figure out how much paint to buy. Wear latex gloves or put lotion on your hands and forearms before painting to make washing up afterwards easier, and be sure to use drop cloths and painter’s tape to keep any paint from getting where it doesn’t belong.

Check out our tips on prepping walls for painting here.

Change Furniture

Using good furniture is can be costly, but you can change your furniture without having to buy new pieces. The quickest, easiest way to change a chair, sofa or loveseat is with slipcovers. Slipcovers have come a long way and most are now made of stretchable, form-fitting fabrics that can fit a wide variety of shapes. You can use slipcovers to make stained or torn furniture look like new again, or to change the color of a piece to match a new color scheme for the room.

If you have a good wooden piece, painting or refinishing can change the look or repair damage.

If you’re willing to put in a little time and elbow grease, you can get beautiful wood furniture for your home at incredibly low prices. Bruce M. bought a solid wood coffee table at a flea market for $10. It looked a little worse-for-wear, but Bruce saw its potential, took it home, and refinished it. Now all of his friends ask him where he got such a gorgeous table.

Artwork/Décor

You can easily spend a small fortune on artwork and decorations for a room. Save money by making your home’s decorations unique and personal for your family. You can do this by using local materials or items that from vacations. Diana S. filled votive candle holders with colorful rocks she collected on the beach during a trip to Spain. She also decorated the wall of her dining room with a framed photo she took of a snow-covered barn and silo. Jennifer H. of Seattle, Washington fashioned a piece of driftwood from a local beach into a one-of-a-kind vase (see photo). Christie C. of New England took photos of a majestic 100-year-old oak from her property. She took one photo for each of the 4 seasons, which she hangs above her mantel and rotates according to which season it is. Teresa jazzed up her living room with easy-to-make curtains.

Transform Your Outdoor Space With Wet & Forget Outdoor

Now that you’ve spruced up the inside of your home, it’s time to tackle the outside. If you’re tired of looking at ugly algae, moss, mold, mildew or lichen on your outdoor surfaces, let Wet & Forget take care of the problem for you. Use Wet & Forget’s environmentally-friendly formula to clean your deck, patio, driveway, roof, and other outdoor surfaces where you see moss, algae, mold, mildew or lichen.

Enjoy a beautiful summer!

(Photo by TMHetland)