Refresh a Tired Room Over the Weekend

It’s easy to see that a room in your house isn’t up to modern-day Pinterest standards, but it can seem tough (and expensive) to fix. These easy updates will freshen any room in your home, and all you need is a free weekend to get them done.

Add rugs. Rugs aren’t just for hardwood floors. If you have neutral wall-to-wall carpet, consider throwing a colorful or patterned rug over the floor. The modern rug will be a design focus, drawing attention away from the carpet.

Pick a palette. Sometimes, color can do more harm than good. If a room has too many colors, it can feel busy, folksy and dated. Instead of decorating with every hue in the rainbow, pick a three-color palette and stick to it.

Grab some spray paint. If your overhead lights are gold, the hardware in the room is pewter and the picture frames are 10 different shades of the rainbow, your room can look disheveled and dated. Spray paint to the rescue! Taking the time to spray paint small fixtures and frames a uniform color will

Go minimalist. There is a fine line between decorations and clutter, so we say lean towards minimalism as much as possible! Too many knickknacks and piles of stuff make a room feel kitschy and dated, not to mention smaller and disorganized.

Change the lighting. A quick way to make a room feel old-fashioned is to rely on a single overhead light. Add some lighting variety – like lamps, track lights and sconces – to update the feel of a room.

Not only will the room be on the fast-track into the 21st Century with the new lights, other problems (like an ugly ceiling or old-fashioned carpet) will be less evident without the overhead spotlight.

Match the carpet.Hardwood flooring is all the rage these days, but it can be pricey to install. Instead of thinking you’re “stuck” with wall-to-wall carpet, make it a design tool! If your carpet is a neutral color, the easiest way to update a room is to match your wall color to the carpet.

That way, the carpet isn’t such a focal point and your room feels like a clean, blank canvas just waiting to be styled.

Update the ceiling. If your room feels old-fashioned but you can’t put your finger on why, the problem may be above you. Dingy-looking ceilings are like a sign saying, “This room is old school!” If you do nothing else to update your room, update the ceiling.

Give it a fresh coat of white paint, match the walls or play around with color. Tip: If your walls are dark, choose a ceiling color two shades lighter in the same hue.