free weekend may-keover!

if this 'stay at home' order has done one thing, 

it has made many of us start looking more closely at the rooms we live our lives in. right?.

and that can reveal things that we tend to overlook...

like rooms that are looking a bit sad, and need some help.

now, you know me - i'm not gonna' spend money if i don't have to.

and i don't consider home decorating an 'essential' reason to head to the store right now.

so.... i shopped the house and pulled together stuff we have here already

and gave one of our rooms a simple makeover. FREE. in a weekend.
one day to paint two items, another day to swap out accessories and linens. easy-peasy. 

continue reading to see the details!

four years ago when we moved into this house, 

i shared the wall decor that i made for Mom's room in my paper posies post .

her room looked like this:

and it has looked like that for four years. 

nothing has changed - except the paper flowers look droopy.

  Mom's room was long past due for a fresh look... and i was certain that a pretty new room

would impact her mood and her energy level in a positive way.

so i hatched a plan for a free "use what you have already" makeover!

first, i did a quick sketch of my idea - which is how ALL of my projects, large and small, begin:

her colors remain the same - tan, ivory, blue - but i wanted to remove that darker brown tone.

tip: use lighter shades of the colors in your rooms in spring & summer to cool the room,

darker tones in fall & winter to cozy it up!

i showed my sketch to her and asked if i could freshen up her room...

and as always, she was game to let me do my thing. God bless Moms!
(i couldn't even begin to tell you how many times all through my life that my Mom

has believed in me, trusted me, and encouraged me to do my thing with decorating...)

the bed was easy - pull off that big heavy damask duvet, then flip the matching pillows around

(the back of them is plain tan fabric).

when i put a light blue woven spread on the bed along with pretty white linens, 

the mood was decidedly lighter and happier:

 above the headboard, down came the sad paper flowers.

to replace those, i painted a seascape on a piece of canvas dropcloth with simple acrylic paints -

including the blue color used on Mom's bedside tables AND the repainted chair.

that piece of fabric was stapled around an existing piece of wall art (from the guest room)

 and hung over the bed. it's smaller than i would prefer, but it didn't cost anything and it works!

on the bedside tables, i added some big seashells and some aqua glass accent pieces.

the boxes neatly store small things (chargers, sound machine, foot lotion) that Mom uses in bed.

tip: corralling small items on a tray or in a box is an easy way to de-clutter!

in one corner, there was a big bulky gray upholstered chair that did not match the room.

Mom doesn't actually USE that chair, it just 'fills in the corner'...

so, i put that gray chair into the guest room (and YES i have a plan for it!!!)

then took the small green wicker chair from the guest room and painted it.

i heard you cringe! i know, painting wicker / cane stuff is a PAIN. so i kinda' cheated. 

i took white KILZ primer and basically dry-brushed it onto the green chair.

two coats later, the green was gone! 

the primer covered it enough even though i hadn't slathered the whole chair with it.
(because i seriously did NOT want to deal with all the drippy mess and the long drying time.)

once the primer was dry, i took a can of blue paint and dry-brushed two coats onto the chair.

(btw, that paint was left over from when i painted Mom's bedside tables - 4 years ago!)

the dry brush technique resulted in a look that is very 'weather-worn' beach style.

it's not a perfect paint job - it's streaky and you can see some of the white primer.

looks just like it came off the sunny porch of a beach house!

lastly, i added a few more decorative touches - 

Mom's canvas tote and a pretty blue pareo hang from floral hooks in the entry hall part of her room;

 jars of seashells and an aqua glass vase add more detail to shelves. 

(and all of those elements came from my room,

because i'm also trying to make my spaces more simple and less cluttered! win-win!)

the room has a much lighter, more open, summery feel to it now.

Mom loves it, and she has seemed much more happy in her room, too.

the truth is, i would have done this for her even if it hadn't been Mother's Day weekend.

i want my Mom to have a home that lightens her spirit, brings her joy, and exceeds her needs,

and during this quarantine, i want her to feel peace and calm as much as possible...

if i can do that by simply rearranging some decorative items, you bet i will.

giving a room a fresh look is such an easy thing to do! 

i hope this post will inspire YOU to do some rearranging around your home... 

see my tips for doing your own no-cost / low-cost weekend makeover here

find more of my weekend room MAYkeover before and afters here