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10 Easy Ways to Redecorate Your Home {for FREE!}

by | Feb 4, 2016 | Decorating Inspiration

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10 Easy Ways to Redecorate Your Home {for FREE!}

If you ever just feel uninspired by a room in your home, this is the post for you. I know just how you feel, sometimes I just have no clue what to do next with my house, but I really want to do SOMETHING! When I get in that funk, my first instinct is to BUY SOMETHING NEW to fix my rut. Shopping is fun, I’ll admit that. But shopping isn’t always the best solution because when we are in a funk, we sometimes end up spending money on things we didn’t really need, simply because we are bored with what we have or we were just IN THE MOOD for something new.

Whether the funds are available to shop or not, sometimes the best answer to being stuck is to just get your own creativity going.

What can you can do for FREE (or cheap)? That’s the tricky part, coming up with the motivation or inspiration for decorating with what you have, when shopping is SO FUN!

Here are some ideas to inspire you to love and even enjoy what you already have!

1. Try something unexpected.

Try something you’ve never tried before, such as using a stool for an end table, or a desk as a nightstand, a cute wood chair in the bathroom as a place to stack towels.

2. Go on a treasure hunt.

Look around your cabinets, closets and yard for cool stuff and put it to work in a new space!

A twisty branch
A colorful platter
A vase
A stack of old books
An old wooden box or basket
A pretty scarf
A favorite frame

3. Clear out the unloved.

Look around your house or in your cabinets for stuff you don’t like or use and give things away. Less is more (and you just might find things tucked away that you could actually use or repurpose!)

4. Get sentimental.

Dig through your postcards and greeting cards. Hang some special notes up with push pins or frames!

5. Clean off a cluttered surface.

Clean surfaces will inspire you and you might find that was actually what your room needed, less clutter!

6. Improve your mood.

If your room feels a little boring to you, perhaps it just needs a new jolt of personality. If it’s been moody for too long, it might need to be energized with lighter colors or more sparkle with metals and mirrors. If it’s a little too bright and peppy, add more warmth and depth with natural materials and richer colors and see what happens! Look around your house for what you need. Worst that could result? You don’t like it any better. But best case scenario? You LOVE the new look!

7. Update your memories.

Fill your frames or bulletin board with current family memories.

8. Look at the overlooked.

We all have missed decorating opportunities in our home. How could you streamline or restyle the top of your dresser or nightstand? What object has been sitting on a surface so long that is covered in dust? What needs to be dealt with (hung up? Put away?) because it has been sitting on the floor for ages?

9. Shake things up.

What pretty items could you move to a new spot?

Perhaps colorful bowls in your kitchen cabinet would be pretty grouped together in your dining room hutch.
A little lamp that has been sitting in your bedroom for ages might be perfect for bringing more light to your kitchen counter top.
The art that on your entry wall might actually look better above your bed.
You never know until you try!

10. Try a new shape or play with symmetry.

Is your living room full of rectangles?
Soften hard edges for a new look!
Perhaps you have a small round table or ottoman to replace a rectangle or square one.
Bring in some plants to soften the hard corners.
Angle your chairs to cozy up the conversation area.
Play with symmetrical or asymmetrical ways to decorate your mantels or table tops.

10 Easy Ways to Redecorate Your Home {for FREE!}

Have fun using what you have and creating a whole new look!

Related posts:

How to Decorate: The Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love

How to Decorate: The Secret Ingredient Every Room Needs

Click here to shop my house and latest decor finds!

25 Comments

  1. Heidi

    I love the idea of going on a treasure hunt in your own home…much easier on the wallet than treasure-hunting at the mall!
    http://www.windlasse.com

  2. Emily

    Great ideas! Especially about cleaning off clutter. I always feel better with clear surfaces and just less stuff!

    Sidenote: Any idea where that cabinet/buffet in the picture above came from?! I’ve been looking for something long like that with doors instead of drawers for ages with no success!

    • Amanda

      Yes, I’d like to know about the cabinet, too!

      • Noelle

        Me too!!! My problem is finding a white cabinet that blends with my white walls without looking gray or yellow. Any ideas that could help??

  3. Kathleen

    I love this post! And agree! Last week I slip covered my dining chairs and was given a new plant, and well, naturally that lead to total rearrangement of my furniture -(just like if you give a mouse a cookie…) I actually entirely flipped it and absolutely love how my room functions now. The back of my home is open concept with kitchen, dining, and sitting area with fireplace…but now…its kitchen, sitting area in middle and dining in front of the fireplace. Love how it sets the dining area away from the French door entry (aka grand central) and now upon entry you’re greeted with a cozy lounge area perfect for morning coffee, and cocktail and appetizer gathering during meal prep time. When entertaining keeps cook connected with the guests! Loving it! Had to share… Smiles, Kathleen

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      That sounds wonderful!! I love that thought process, it must feel so inviting now! Thanks for sharing your success story!

  4. Deanna Rabe

    I love to change things up and use items in new ways! I also ‘shop’ my house, moving things from room to room! It freshens things up and allows me to have something ‘new’ without spending any money!

  5. Beth

    Great post!

  6. Debbie

    A great reminder that can change the mood of the room and refresh your home with no investment beyond your time.

    I’m with you…sometimes something just needs a tweak. I continually move things to help that out in my home. Recently I moved a dresser into my dining room for more storage and landing space. It is a unique look that makes me smile.

    I definitely like to shop but after cleaning out a big portion of our attic last Spring I realized I should shop in my own home!

  7. Jean

    I was here yesterday! My living room felt uninspired. I tore apart the seating, vacuumed every nook and cranny, took out the unused wii drum set and guitars ( ?), pulled the couch away from the window and put an end table back there with a pretty plant. Cleaned off the ottoman, moved in some pretty lanterns I had and voila! Inspiring! I now walk thru the room and just giggle inside from excitement…who can I invite over to share this wonderful space with? And I didn’t even have to hit up my local Tuesday Morning or TJMaxx store! Great post…on to the family room!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Hooray!! So fun to see a room transformed with a little TLC! Laughing about the drum set. Been there :-/…

  8. Teddi Pettigrew

    You can also get cheap art from the beautiful pictures on last year’s calendar!

  9. Pam delgadillo

    What a great post! My sister and I would change around all the furniture in our room in the middle of the night when we were young, the look on moms face when she came in to wake us in the morning made it all worth while! Just a small room,but all the different arrangements was so much fun, it was like a brand new room each time! I still do that, but now I do it during the day! We’ve never had a big budget so getting creative was a nessecity, but I really enjoy it! I love adding history to a room, a tarnished silver platter filled with family photos, a old jar with little treasures gathered from trips to the beach or walks in the woods, pine cones, feathers,sea shells. All these evoke memories of the stories that are our lives. Thanks again for a great post!

  10. sharon / theprincipledtype.blogspot.com

    So true! Great post. Homewood whispers to me like a magic genie! … but having a top to bottom clean house makes me as happy as any (almost:)) purchase. To say nothing of all your great suggestions. Also, when I open my can of room paint and touch up left and right? Roomalicious!!

  11. Carolyn

    Great ideas all! Your wooden bowl or trough in the picture above is inspiring me to do something with my camel milk bowl — perhaps on the treadle sewing machine (closed) just inside the front door. (My in-laws lived in Saudi Arabia for 15 years, hence the rustic wooden bowl once used for camel milk.)

  12. Kari

    Love that white gallery wall! So simple and relaxing.

  13. Karen @ a house full of sunshine

    Oooh, great ideas. Little changes can make such a big difference. And you’re so right – my first instinct is to spend as well, because it’s fun! But thinking outside the box and working with what you have is a lot more creatively rewarding. :) Thanks for the reminder.

  14. Kinda

    Great ideas! Thanks

  15. Sarah

    Please tell me where those lamps are from. I have been looking for something just like it!

  16. Paul

    Ha, #2 was my mom’s personal favorite when I was a kid. You should’ve seen all the driftwood we had all around the house!

  17. Shantanu Sinha

    Hi Melissa

    Thanks for sharing such a wonderful tips.
    Loved that white gallery wall you set up so well. The lamp which you used is very innovative.
    Hope you could provide a tutorial for setting up those :)

    Have a good day :)

    Shantanu sinha

  18. Wendi

    These are great! I feel like there are a couple of rooms in my house that are unfinished and then there are some that need to be completely redone! I’m always moving things around and seeing what I like best, and these are some great tips to keep that going. We’re getting ready to remodel the downstairs bathroom and maybe I can find some stuff at home to help with that vs buying new stuff

  19. Cheri' White

    Where’s the “like” button for this post! I’m inspired to work on some rooms that really need a new look! Thanks for this great post!

  20. Nathalie

    Thanks for these great ideas! I particularly love the #7 “Update your memories”. It feels so good to have pictures to look at in our home and not always on the computer. Combine them with greeting cards would be lovely too!

  21. Seana Turner

    @TheGreat post — gotta give a “thumbs up” for #3. Sometimes our spaces are underwater with stuff. Simply clearing this away makes it look like a brand new room!

 

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