Budget Friendly
Makeover

I have never had a customer say, “I have an endless budget.” Often, refurbishments of spaces are done on a budget but the customers are not sure what to get rid of and what to keep. Since my roots are in “Use what you have decorating”, I like to incorporate the old things that will still work for the new look and get rid of the things that will not work. The next decision is what to buy new? This can really stop progress for some homeowners because they just don’t know where to start and where to stop. Consequently, things don’t move forward due to indecision or spaces don’t get completed due to competing decisions among the homeowners. Let’s take a peek at a Gardenia living room makeover that updated and lightened the space while remaining friendly to the budget, somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Can’t get rid of everything
The homeowners agreed together that painting was in the budget. Also, since the old loveseat and chairs were so dark, they agreed to buy a new loveseat and two new chairs. The goal of the homeowners was to lighten and brighten the room without breaking the bank.

• Paint
This is the living room of the kitchen that was featured last week so it was also painted in a deep gold. We decided to continue the kitchen paint Patience 7555 into the main body of the home. The living room, dining room, and all surrounding hallways were repainted into the lighter color instantly brightening up the space.

• Furniture placement
The homeowners did not agree on moving the TV off of the wall between the windows and wanted to know how to lighten the room without moving the TV. This can be done and can brighten the space but it does not open the space.

• Window treatments
The homeowners wanted to keep their current window treatments also, and wanted to know how they could still keep them and achieve a new look. Luckily, these cornices were not printed. The plain pumpkin color would work because we were going to infuse the space with teal. Teal or blue complement pumpkin very well, as they oppose each other on the color wheel that makes them complementary.

• Tip to determine value
One way to find out if you have received the value life of your cornices is by doing simple math. Take the amount of money paid for the cornices and divide it by how many days you have owned them, 3000.00 divided by the product of the 365×5=1825.00 (3000.00 divided by 1825.00=1.64 a day). When customers know how much things have cost them a day and they know they have received the value, often they will be open to changing them.

• New love seat
The old love seat was dated and had a large dark pattern on it. Also, it was not that comfortable. The woman of the house sits on the loveseat the most and I thought it would be great for her to be super comfortable. For this we looked at the Body Builder Sofa, since she is tall this sofa would allow her to pick the depth of the cushion. She chose 24” depth which is the deepest platform and great for those who are tall. Most women choose 20” or 22” normally and they don’t have to keep a pillow behind their back. She chose a blue/teal fabric and pillows that incorporated the pumpkin and the blue/teal colors to help visually tie the space together.

• Art above the sofa
The homeowners did agree that they wanted to lighten up the artwork and pull in a more natural/coastal vibe. The art over the sofa is a Pelican titled, “Time Out” by a local watercolorist. The colors work with the blues and pumpkin because they are both found in the picture.

• Two new chairs
We replaced the two dark rust colored chairs with two creamy chairs. These chairs are light colored and lightweight! They can be moved around if needed with ease.

• Art above chairs
The art above the chairs is a beach lined with palm trees titled, “Freedom”, also by the same local watercolorist. The blues work in this picture and the sea grapes have a hint of pumpkin that ties everything together.

• Rug
A rug that shared all the colors in the space would tie it all together and we chose a rug titled Passages to do just that! The rug has every color in the space represented in the pattern and it really pulls everything together.

• Lamps
Finally, we placed two large golden pineapples in the space. They work to elevate the look and add the universal symbol of hospitality to the living room.

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! I give free decorating programs! It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.