This was our living room(top image). Our house was owned by an older woman and it looked very "drab" to us. What did we do?
A new coat of paint goes a long way. We spent no more than $50 on new paint, $15 on paint supplies that can be reused later. We decided to do an accent wall for an extra "pop."New furniture. In this case, the before image had the old owner's furniture, and the after had ours. But, you can easily get find new(to you) furniture on craigslist or from family/friends. A little piece can make a huge difference. Our couch was from Jordans Furniture Outlet for about $300 and lights and coffee/end tables from IKEA for less than $30 total.Rug and Curtains. For a clean look, pick something with a very simple design and colors that will coordinate with the rest of the room. We picked out some thermal curtains to be energy efficient, and the rug was less than $30 from target.Dcor/Pictures. Again, try to go with clean and simple. You probably want to showcase artwork, rather than the frame... right?Cut down on clutter. The previous owner just had way too much going on here. By eliminating unnecessary pieces, you'll achieve a clean and modern look.
Oh, those pale green walls and destroyed laminate sheet flooring...so charming right?
Again, new coat of paint! We changed that pale green to a Caribbean Blue and freshened up the white and bead-board. Total cost, less than $40.New flooring. Obviously this laminate sheet floor had to go. It was peeling up and plywood exposed. We ordered some peel-and-stick laminate tiles super cheap online at Amazon - I think the entire floor cost us $40.New Furniture. We got these pieces (including the fake palm tree) from my husband's parents for free, but you can find stuff like this at garage sales, craigslist, or even from your own relatives or friends.Dcor. We added these sheer white curtains to help balance the bright blue paint a little more. they were $5 each at the Christmas Tree Shop. Love that place. We also added two pictures on empty wall space (not visible here), but those were also $5 each at the Christmas Tree Shop.
This is still a work in progress, but I did four significant things here:
Again, new paint to save the day! The kitchen was a yucky pale yellow color and it was repainted with a faint silver/light grey color. This picture only shows half the kitchen, and to paint the entire room cost less than $30.Replace handles on cabinets. The handles aren't too visible but they originally were brass with white handles - so 1980s. We got some polished nickel handles and swapped them out. The replacement handles were from Amazon and cost about $20.Backsplash. If you have to do a backsplash, I recommend this method. It's SO EASY. I used Smart Tiles from Home Depot. They are relatively expensive - $200 for the whole kitchen - but they literally peel and stick, and you don't need to buy grout or cement. You can cut to fit with a utility knife. And did I mention there is no need to put any grout!? Amazing. I think I'm going to extend this to behind the stove. Window treatments. I swapped out those vinyl rolling shades for vinyl blinds - it looks nicer, cleaner, and more modern. The Grab-N-Go brands literally cost $5 each at Home Depot.
http://alhansen.hubpages.com/hub/Quick-and-Cheap-Home-Renovation-Projects
