5 Tips to Update a Room This Weekend

If you’re like me, you have a room (or rooms) in your house that is always in the back of your head. You think, man that just needs something. You may not know where to begin, or you may need that little extra motivation, and today I am here to do both of those things!

Live Plants

Let’s start off easy by bringing some life into the room. By that I mean bring in some potted plants! They could be green plants or flowers, but not only do some plants clean the air as snake plants do, but they liven the space up! You can get big plants that sit on the floor, set them on a shelf, set them on a table or stool, the options are endless.

Curtains

This may seem small, but when we first viewed our home, I thought that the living room was small and a little dark. Maybe a month after we purchased and moved in, I HAD to get new curtains. When I did, I bought them long. This way I can bring them up as close to the ceiling as possible to make the room feel bigger and THIS WORKED! The room now feels 1/3 bigger and triple the brightness, just with curtains! In my dining room, however, I bought a longer curtain rod that basically stretched the entire room. I did this so the curtains would be on the outside of the windows, or in my case sliding doors. This REALLY makes the windows feel larger and room too! I will be doing this to my living room soon!

Fixtures

Changing out old or outdated fixtures can help a ton. Things like ceiling fans, light switches, wall lights, and curtain rods can help an old room feel new again. Make sure to keep a color trend throughout the room so it all looks cohesive. You don’t have to match color to color, but be aware if you’re using colored curtain rods and black ceiling fans. Using neutrals for fixtures works the best so you can make the furniture really pop and not bring too much attention to the smaller items.

Paint

I have said this for so many years, but wall paint color can make the biggest difference in a room! Whether you paint all the walls or an accent wall, this is a game changer. The rule of thumb I like to follow is using different sheens for different parts of a room and room to room. So, I typically use an eggshell in high-traffic rooms like a kitchen, dining room, or living room. For the ceiling, always use flat. Trust me, you will see imperfections of paint coverage with any higher sheen. For trim, gloss all the way. This makes it easier to clean! The paint stick we used is this one from Wagner!

Replace Trim

Now, this is a big hitter. You have the whole weekend off, a nail gun calling your name, and the basic tools for trim to do this. We upgraded our trim and window casings in our dining room and man does it look like we stepped into a different house! The basic tools you’ll need for a job like this are a pry bar, nail gun, miter saw, caulk, and paint. And a tape measure!