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redfox
6-1-12, 3:40am
New paint, carpets cleaned professionally, and massive simplify/re-do/sort, etc. Fun, beautiful results, and hugely time consuming... Plus it took over the house. Now everything else looks dingy & cluttered... <sigh>
Float On
6-1-12, 10:10am
Sounds lovely red!
I was thinking along the same lines how one thing leads to another because just this morning I was just thinking about repainting the hall bath this weekend and then I thought ".....if I paint, it really needs a new shower curtain and other accessories (easy enough to steal from other rooms) but...with that new color I'd really want wider baseboard (in white) and then the mirror trim would need to be painted...and the wall cabinet....and the sink cabinet..... and what I really want is white beadboard 3/4 way up...and new fixtures (towel racks/switchplate covers/toilet roll, etc)...and a new light...and a new door.

So that plan isn't going to work!
AmeliaJane
6-1-12, 10:11am
I did that last weekend! I have a small living room with an odd layout, so it took 20 months of living with it to figure out the perfect configuration. I really enjoy coming home now.

If anyone's trying to make a space look better, I really recommend the book "Use What You Have Decorating" by Lauri Ward. It was written in the late 1990s so the pictures are sort of hilariously dated, but the principles are good. Basically, the idea is that she tells you how to arrange your space and get inventive about recycling things you own rather than doing a lot of shopping or construction. I am a renter and don't have the patience for a lot of DIY projects or thrift shopping, so I always want solutions that are quick and easy. I was skeptical while reading the book originally, but boy, her suggestions really do work!
Float On
6-1-12, 10:20am
I've checked that book out a few times too AmeliaJane - it does have good ideas.
I do like moving things from one room to another I seem to appreciate them more with new surroundings.
fidgiegirl
6-1-12, 6:58pm
Pics, redfox?
redfox
6-1-12, 7:54pm
Pics, redfox?
If I can get some coaching about how to do this, sure
pinkytoe
6-2-12, 1:32pm
I like to look at decorating blogs and noted that many of the things we have now are considered seriously passe - entertainment armoires, loveseats, coffee tables. So I guess our decor got lost in a time warp. I don't know if I am really tired of it or reacting to messages like that. I would like to brighten things up a bit.
redfox
6-2-12, 1:40pm
I like to look at decorating blogs and noted that many of the things we have now are considered seriously passe - entertainment armoires, loveseats, coffee tables. So I guess our decor got lost in a time warp. I don't know if I am really tired of it or reacting to messages like that. I would like to brighten things up a bit.

I know the feeling! I always start with paint, as it's the cheapest way to change a room. If you like your furniture, keep it. I also bring in rugs & pillows from other rooms, put up new curtains, switch art around on the walls, bring in plants, etc.

My entertainment center is now in my sewing room & is an awesome supply cabinet. Our coffee tables are vintage mid-century ones, all from Goodwill. If yours are dated wood, you can paint them. I rarely have the $$ for new furniture, so we make what we have work with new colors around it all.
citrine
6-4-12, 1:03pm
I love spray paint, freecycle, and craigslist! We have done major renovations in the last few months and have been able to supplement our budget by updating what we had and recycling what we found.