Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 14 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play & Stay This Summer

      14 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play & Stay This Summer

      Hot off the minds of Midwest travel writers: a fresh look at where to eat, drink, play and stay around the region. Read More
    • Out Now: Best of the Midwest 2022

      Out Now: Best of the Midwest 2022

      Find your summer adventure with our new bookazine, available now in the magazine store! Read More
    • This Family's Garden Farm is a Nature-Filled Paradise

      This Family's Garden Farm is a Nature-Filled Paradise

      On land passed down through generations, a Wisconsin family experiences—and shares—the glory of gardening. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Urban-Pop Art, a New Boutique Hotel and More—Here's What to See and Do in Fort Wayne Right Now

    Urban-Pop Art, a New Boutique Hotel and More—Here's What to See and Do in Fort Wayne Right Now

    On a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana, catch a colorful wave of fresh development, plus a new hotel from the cofounder of Vera Bradley.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Mango Toast with Prosciutto

    Mango Toast with Prosciutto

    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    5 Clever Tips for Repurposing a Potting Bench as a Bar Cart 

    5 Clever Tips for Repurposing a Potting Bench as a Bar Cart 

    With smart accessorizing, a potting bench becomes a celebration station for summer soirees.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    Expert Tips for Growing a Window Box Garden

    Expert Tips for Growing a Window Box Garden

    Casey Lawrence’s lush window boxes were a revelation to her online followers. Use her tips to grow your own.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Festive 4th of July Dessert Recipes

    Festive 4th of July Dessert Recipes

    Get out your red, white and blue for these patriotic dessert recipes.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing

    These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing

    Don't toss those orange peels! Instead, use them as vessels for our super-simple and fragrant candles.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    Midwest Living's Best of the Midwest Winners 2022

    Midwest Living's Best of the Midwest Winners 2022

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Homes
  3. Decorating Ideas
  4. How to Revive a Room in a Weekend

How to Revive a Room in a Weekend

Skip gallery slides
Pin
For about $500
We gave this family room a pretty facelift with do-it-yourself ideas tailored to any budget.
Start Slideshow

1 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

For about $500

For about $500

Replace accent furniture Locked into the matching three-piece end-and-coffee-tables scenario? Rethink size, style, placement and purpose of these pieces. One alternative: We wrapped low shelves around the back of a sofa. Also try exchanging a small accent table for a skirted tall piece offering concealed storage underneath. Or let two ottomans, with tops that flip to cushions or trays, stand in for the standard coffee table, providing easy mobility and double function.Add a rug An area rug anchors our newly arranged seating group. It also injects lively pattern into the room, enhancing the plain furniture.Continue to slide 2 to see what our room looked like before the makeover; slides 3 to 8 show more ideas for weekend facelifts ranging from about $300 to free. Slide 9 has product resources.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Before the makeover

Before the makeover

Here's what our room looked like before. You can re-create a room with a new color scheme. But don't start from scratch. Choose a dominant shade from what you want to keep (here it was our sectional), then add fresh secondary hues for a totally different look.

2 of 8

3 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

For about $300

For about $300

Paint wood trim Oak bookcases, baseboards and window trim rejuvenated with crisp white paint visually enlarge this room and give it a fresh, clean look.

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

For about $200

For about $200

Bring in art The fireplace focal piece led to our new color scheme.Revitalize lighting Update a ceiling fixture. Replace floor and table lamps (or revamp lamps with updated shades).

4 of 8

5 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

For about $100

For about $100

Change the wall color We chose a soft taupe-gray to highlight the tones in the slate fireplace surround.Refurbish seating Choose a fashionable fabric and re-cover loose cushions on a chair or sofa for a new look.

5 of 8

6 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

For about $50

For about $50

Layer on color Repeat a secondary hue (here it's aqua) throughout the room by adding small boxes, vases, art and pillows in that color.Reframe photos Grouping family photos in the same style and/or finish of frames and mats brings cohesiveness to a mismatched mix. Our dark brown wood frames also echo the tones of the wood furniture.

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Free

Free

Rearrange the furniture No need to replace large pieces. Reconsider their placement and usage. We broke up a sectional, positioning the long section for easier TV viewing. The end piece--grouped with ottoman, floor lamp and laptop table--is a great place to go online or cozy up with a book.Declutter bookshelves Keep a light look by limiting books to half a shelf or putting them in baskets. Group just a few select accents, which will give the shelves room to breathe.

7 of 8

8 of 8

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Free

Free

Reinvent accessories A mirror relocated from the bedroom adds style and reflects light here. Art pieces from the wall look brand new when layered in tabletop vignettes instead.

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 For about $500
    2 of 8 Before the makeover
    3 of 8 For about $300
    4 of 8 For about $200
    5 of 8 For about $100
    6 of 8 For about $50
    7 of 8 Free
    8 of 8 Free

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    How to Revive a Room in a Weekend
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.