Redecorating a Room in Four Fast Steps

It’s hard to believe I’m celebrating five years in my house this month.  I’ve accomplished no more than 2% of the things I thought I would have on my home to do list by now.  Luckily my house was move-in ready and I didn’t have to worry about things like painting or investing a lot of money up front.  Still, it’s amazing how much can happen in five years.  The water softener has been repaired twice, the gutters are constantly needing to be cleaned because of nearby trees, the new built-in microwave has already quit working, the shady side of my house was in serious need of power washing, and so on.  I focused a lot of my efforts on the exterior of my house, planting flowers and decorating my porch and patio, because it’s an effective way to trick anyone who passes by into believing you have your life together.

A lot of the projects on my to do list will require some serious time and money to complete, so I was looking for a room I could refresh for the least amount of effort and yet still create impact.  I chose my guest bathroom because I wanted to brighten it up.  When I bought my house, the bath came with a new custom-made shower curtain with a lot of neutral colors in it and a brown mirror and brown hardwood floors, so I left it as-is and decorated it with more brown.  I had an owl and nature theme, switching it up occasionally for different holidays like Christmas and Easter.  But one day I got the urge to hurl that drab fancy shower curtain out the window. It was time for a change!

Four Steps to Refresh your Space

1. Pick your space  Which area can you redecorate to create the most impact for the least amount of effort?  Think of a space that’s:

• Small and not so overwhelming!
• Already clean and clutter-free.
• Visible.

The bathroom was ideal because it was a small area that’s easy to keep clean; I don’t use it a ton.  My master bath is a nightmare to clean because I practically live in there and it has so many surfaces (separate shower and tub, tile upon tile upon tile, my cat Flurry’s food and water, two sinks). This bathroom is easy to clean in under 20 minutes so I could quickly start with a clean slate.  Also make sure the room is visible.  You may have the cleanest closet in the world (I definitely don’t), but it won’t be as fun to redecorate and show off unless you have one of those bedroom size beautiful walk in closets with built-ins and fancy lighting fixtures you can show off and live in (I dream about those).

2. Plan

• Search online for inspiration and color palettes – or to see if a theme you want would be easy to execute.
• Stand in the space and make a list of things you need.
• What goes?  What stays?

I am obsessed with flamingos, and love the color pink but rarely decorate with it.  I settled on flamingos for the bath because it’s easy to decorate around a theme and pink would brighten up the room and give it a completely different look.  I live for a theme!  But I wasn’t sure if things like flamingo shower curtains or soap dishes actually existed so I did some online searching first.  I found while they weren’t terribly common, they did exist and I had fun searching sites like Amazon, Kohl’s and Bed Bath and Beyond to see what was out there.  I pinned a few options and then decided to think about it before committing to any purchases.

Once I decided on flamingos, I stood in my bathroom and made a list of the accents I wanted to decorate with.  How many hand towels did I need?  Did I want any wall art?  What the heck could I use for decorations?  I made a list of possibilities then added to the list as I thought of things.  When I took down that custom-made shower curtain, I discovered it was being held up by a bizarre system of rings and hooks made for drapes and not a shower curtain, so I added shower curtain hooks that would match my bronze curtain rod to my shopping list – otherwise it would look like a standard shower curtain was suspended from paperclips and ruin the aesthetic.  As for what stayed, I kept the brown wastebasket, mirror, etc. – I wasn’t looking to replace any functional items I liked or spend a lot of money.  Plus it will be easy to undo my changes when I tire of pink flamingos.

3. Gather

• Shop sales.
• Acquire gradually.
• Update with what you have.
• Make your own decor.

The cheapest way to redo a room is to decorate with what you already have.  Shop from what you have:  see what you have in storage or things you bought and have never used, or pull together like items from different rooms that fit your vision.  Then maybe invest in one or two new pieces.  Another frugal tip is to make accents.  You might consider printing a photo rather than buying wall art, for example.  If you’re crafty, make a wreath.  I didn’t make anything in order to save time, but I have a plan for something I might make in the future.  I did include two pieces of wall décor handmade by other artists. The Stand Tall art from At Home With Us in Fortville, Indiana is my favorite.  If you’re buying new items, shop sales, or buy one item at a time in order to use the best coupons, and acquire things gradually.  Purchases spread over time will seem easier to absorb then dropping $100 all at once to get everything just so.  I bought what I needed over a period of 4 months.  Most items were purchased in August though when summer décor (hello flamingos) were on clearance.  Fall might seem like an odd time of year to debut a flamingo bath, but it was perfect for me as a way to hang on to my favorite season longer and create an endless summer vibe in one room of my house.

4. Put it all together

This is the fun part and should take less than 30 minutes if you’ve planned your space and gathered everything you need.  Decorate away and then take photos.  I often don’t realize something is out of place or off center until I study the photos.

What do you think?  Is this flamingoals or a flamingo fail? What room are you redoing and what color scheme and theme did you choose?  Tell me about it in the comments!