It’s been a rough morning over here, we woke up and headed straight to the vet for our poor little Cola. Sydney is really sad her best friend isn’t feeling well, so we stocked up on some craft supplies and will be spending our afternoon at her art desk to keep her mind off things. While we do that I wanted to share with you the living room makeover I did at my mom’s house. I went to visit for a week, and couldn’t resist doing a little renovation project. For just about $900, she has a brand new room!

To update the room I started with a fresh coat of gray paint. Going with a warm gray allowed me to work with some of the elements already in the room; including the beautiful koa wood furniture, existing beige carpet, and brown sofa cushions. The room was lacking a strong focal point, so I created one at the back wall and made the fireplace feel more grand. With a design decision like this one, concentrating on one major element, you can get a lot of bang for your buck. To accomplish this, I hired a carpenter to build floor to ceiling bookcases flanking the fireplace. I also had him put up crown moulding to finish off the built-ins and make the room feel more complete. To keep costs down, I primed and painted both the bookcases and the crown moulding myself. This saved us over a few hundred bucks in the end, so it was totally worth the time and effort! The brick fireplace was also given an update with a coat of the same white glossy paint. I added a large brown, graphic patterned, area rug to ground the furniture set, and again tie in the sofa cushions. A wing back from the local antique market, and other vintage accessories finish off the room and give it an eclectic feel.

Going with mix and match lamps adds some character and interest in the room. The two lamps I used here both have a sophisticated and subtle nautical feel, which is also represented in the sofa set and other small touches throughout the room.

Below is a picture of what the room looked like before. It was quite the transformation! As you can see, it is possible to completely change the look of your room on a budget. Do you have a room makeover you’re proud of and would like to share? I would love to see it! Or if you have some questions or need some tips on a project you’ve been thinking about, just click on Dear Jellybean at the top of the page and tell me about it. I’d be glad to help you out!

And since I love seeing a side by side, here’s one of this room: