Living Room Refresh: Phase 1
The living room of your dreams isn’t going to happen by accident, nor is it out of reach. You do not need a decorating degree to create a cozy space. God has put you in your home for a reason and gives you what you need to create a home that blesses others. You are fully capable of decorating your living room on a budget. Let’s Go, living room refresh: Phase 1!
The best space to learn your style, challenge your ability to live with less, and have a quick reward, is the living room. I have used my living room to practice and identify the style that makes our house feel like a home.
I’m not talking about your formal, “don’t bring a drink” living room. Instead, this is the place people live in and make memories. It is one of the most used rooms in your home. The days are spent gathering here to do homework, fold laundry, and watch football. On special days there may be a puzzle on the table or a picnic set-up for the stuffed animals. The living room should be lived in, feel cozy, and inviting for the ones you love the most to end their days together or on Saturdays, begin the day.
If you missed the first post in the Home reset series, click here for the Home Reset Guide.
Step 1: Decluttering
Physical clutter impacts our minds, hearts & souls, weighing us down whether we realize it, or not. I challenge you to remove more than you are comfortable removing. Use the Maybe box and put decor and other items up to see if you like them on display at all times. Declutter your living room well and you will have made your life much easier.
Start with the surfaces, then address any floor needs. From there you can declutter books, movies, or cabinets, focusing on keeping 50% or less. Anything you are unsure about can go in your maybe bin and this includes decor.
Once you have decluttered the stuff or even removed things for a season, declutter your wall art, decor items, and pillows. I was surprised by how helpful this was in starting over with a fresh start. Even just a week’s break from all the things can help you get the results you want.
Remember: If you can see it, it matters and must be beautiful.
I am always so inspired by my friend the cozy minimalist.
Homework:
- Create a corner of the room for a trash bag, maybe bin, and rehome bin.
- Look around and jot down notes on why this room is and isn’t working.
- What kind of clutter do you see?
- What do you love and what don’t you love?
Step 2: Organize
Now that we have removed all the clutter, we can create systems for what is left. For the living room, this should be very minimal. Identify the problems to be solved and create systems to make your space work better for you.
Creating a home with order does not mean it’s clutter-free. You live here! It’s simply a place with systems that have been created, tested, and reformed to meet your needs. This usually doesn’t involve expensive containers or color coding either.
Top clutter contributors are:
- Laundry: If your laundry room is nearby, this could be an issue. I purchased a rolling laundry hamper from Costco to store all the clean laundry in that needs to be folded. Each night I fold all laundry and place near the door it goes in or have a kid do it for me.
- Entry: Your keys, wallets, socks, etc. A bowl on a entry table or coffee table could do the trick here. I created a place on the island, but sometimes we don’t make it that far, so this system may be needed in the living room since it’s the first room you come to when we get home.
- Toys: Maybe you have another toy place, and this is unwelcome here, or perhaps this is the toy place. Bins, bins, bins, and when it doubt, clear more out. Even using your maybe box could be helpful.
- Media: The cords and games and movies. My enemy! Ha! Organize by what device it needs, label cords with tags, and remember if you can see it, it needs to be pretty-so a decorative basket or two.
- Life: The getting ready in the morning and unwinding at the end of the day. I like a spare basket that I keep just for if company comes and the living room has life in it. However, a system that works well is simply to tidy at the end of the day, never missing two days.
Remember: Use what you have. Shoe boxes, Amazon boxes, containers from other areas, baskets.
Homework:
- What clutter needs a solution?
- How will I keep this space clutter-free?
- Do we have a designated drop zone?
- Organize shelves.
- Organize cords, remotes, and media.
- Consider if you can declutter more.
Step 3: Clean
Do not underestimate the power of cleaning. A solid deep clean will make your room feel new and fresh, for free! I always get the best ideas while I’m cleaning, so keep a notebook handy.
Cleaning can feel like a chore, so make this fun! After all, you are being a blessing! Might as well enjoy it! Light a candle, play music from the 2000’s, and make you a yummy drink. Fruit infused water, coffee, or teas make great rewards for a hardworking lady. The reward is immediate and worth it.
Remember: Don’t forget to include the family! They live there too and a fun smore night will be just the thing to get them cleaning!
Homework:
- Wash slipcovers, blankets, throw pillows.
- Vacuum sofa cushions and flip.
- Wash curtains if able.
- Vacuum around and under all furniture.
- Clean baseboards.
- Wash windows.
Step 4: Decorate
I also call this undecorate, because I don’t want you doing what you’ve always done. In Phase 1 we are undoing more than we are doing. We are returning to a blank canvas, to allow the room to evolve into something better.
Shop your house and do not buy anything over $100. In phase 2 we dig in and buy things on purpose. Trust the process and give your room time to become something great. Beautiful things will form in this step.
I’ve listed the order below, but if you need to skip a step, that is fine! Trust that less is more.
Focal point
The focal point of the room is the first thing you see when you walk in. This is most likely your mantle in the living room (Or that’s the goal at least), but not necessarily. If you consider your focal point you can make a huge impact in the room right away!
This is what you see when you walk into my living room in my open floorplan. If the fireplace were on another wall, the windows would still be my first focal point. You can also identify a second focal point by sitting in the room. In this space, that would be the bookshelf wall, which is why I placed it there. Keep your focal point at the front of your mind while you refresh the room.
Floor plan
In a living room, your floor plan should center on the mantle or the TV. Either way, both should be considered, as this is the purpose of the room. You can do a “L” shape, a “u” shape, or a square shape with furniture. Add in surfaces once your seating is set. Don’t forget to shop your house for furniture from other rooms.
This would be considered a “L” shape, but it also could be a “U” if you consider the grey chair. I had this all pushed forward to allow traffic to go behind the sofa, from our garage to the kitchen, however we wanted to use all the space in this room. Considering traffic is important to your furniture layout, but it also can be challenged. Graph paper can come in handy for this step.
*Peep the dog who snuck in the picture! (Insert Hand palm emoji.) He’s always around!
Rug
Bigger is better here. Most of the legs of all furniture should be on the rugs. If you think it’s too small, remove your rug for this phase to see what you think. A rug can make or break a room. Also, if you don’t love it, your rug could be what is bothering you. Go ahead and pull it until you can replace it. However, this is a big step, so I do not recommend getting one in this phase.
In my picture above, should be the smallest your rug is in relation to furniture. I know the bigger the rug, the bigger the cost, but this is worth saving the pennies. A small rug is not worth the cut.
Windows
Do you have curtains? Do they go up and out? Your curtain rods should go as high to the ceiling as possible and still touch the floor. If you can raise them up, do so. Also, dont end the rod at the end of the windows. Go half a length further on both sides to create the illusion of bigger windows.
This isn’t my favorite example, since I was limited with space beside the windows. I also hung these years ago and would have hung them higher, but in phase 1, I’m not buying window treatments and they aren’t changing the room, so I am content to leave them. Simply moving your curtains up and out, will make your room look grander.
Lighting
All rooms need lighting, but the living room may need task lighting to read or add mood in the evenings. I like a table lamp or two. If you don’t like the lamp in the room, shop your home for lighting from another room. Just remember that we are not making purchases right now.
Wall art
BIGGER IS BETTER. This is one of the easiest decor fails to fix. Just remove what you have from the wall. Everything. Then in a few days, look at each wall and decide if you LOVED the wall art or photos, or if you can hold them for a better space. Wall sabbaths(Empty walls) are okay!
Wall art should be 2/3 the length of a sofa or table. Look at the wall and decide it’s shape. The wall in the left photo is a horizontal shape and the wall with the wooden arch is a square or vertical shape. This tells me what space needs to be filled with wall art. Obviously, this room as changed a good bit. The arch wasn’t a bad shape for that wall, but it was limiting what I could do in the room and not creating balance, so it had to go.
I chose the black & White canvases to represent the family and promote ownership of the space. This is who lives here. It’s black & white to balance the black fireplace across from them.
Remember: Do not hang artwork up high! This is not an art show. Hang just above the center of eye level. Unless you are short like me, then add a few inches.
Accessories
This is all the random decor. How you style the coffee table and the mantle. Less is better here. I can almost guarantee you are over doing this step to make up for the previous steps. I did this anyway and find that many others do too. It’s the easiest way to decorate so we think.
Remove as much as you can, clearing surfaces, mantles, and bookshelves for a season. You can add 1,3,5 things back on purpose and then enjoy your space without the clutter. Use your blankets, throw pillows and layout be the accessories. Sprinkle in a plant, a picture, and a bowl for collecting all the things, to call it a day.
Homework:
- Sketch out your floor plan on a sheet of paper. I go one step further and use graph paper, giving each square a foot measurement.
- Identify your focal point and create a floor plan that will suit the purpose of the room.
- Follow the 7 steps to decorating, in order, as you are able. Less is more.
This was a drawing I did for a friend. I start by measuring the perimeter of the room, adding in the doors, windows, fireplace, etc. Then, I make “paper doll” furniture, based off their measurements, and place them around the room in different layouts. This saves my back the trouble of physically moving everything and allows me to think outside the box.
Step 5: Finish
Great Job! You should feel refreshed, empowered, and motivated to create a home on purpose. Wrap up by taking your donations, running errands, and rehoming any items that no longer belong here.
Now, you can settle in with a yummy drink, light a candle, and journal your reflections on the room so far. I like to think through each step and feelings I had and any new revelations. Also, dream about this room in the future. What do you want to add? Any ideas on furniture, layout, lighting, or rug colors.
Homework:
- Throw away trash and drop off errands.
- Put away any rehoming items.
- Reflect and journal on phase 1 and dream for phase 2.
Your living room builds community. That’s its job. Your job is to help this space do what it was made to do.
I hope this has blessed you as much as it will bless your home. You should feel lighter and content. If you are up for it, do one more sweep to declutter. Remember, you can use your maybe bin! Just gather items and put them up in a closet to see if you miss them.
You did it. This is hard work and I’m proud of you. One room, one step at a time, you are going to create your dream home on a budget. Don’t forget to grab your homework packet! I’m adding work pages for every room! Sign up below!
Check out my favorite home decor books for all the tips and tricks!
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