How To Update Your Family Room Without Buying Furniture: 3 Ways
Are you tired of the dated look in your family room but don't have the budget to update your furniture - no worries - because we outline 3 very easy (and budget friendly!) ways how to update your family room without buying furniture.
How To Update Your Family Room: Invest In Pillows And Throws
If you have couches that are looking a little "blah" or dated - there is a secret trick to upgrading them without a new couch purchase. That secret is throws and pillows! Adding strategic and stylish accents to your couches can either add color, neutralize a color or modernize an older style.
By adding stylish and affordable throws, pillows and/or shams to your couches you can sort of mask the look you're not going for and create the one you are! The key here is to select throws and pillows that:
- Are representative of the style you're wanting to achieve. Southwest pillows are cool and trendy, but is that the look you're going for in your room? If not - steer clear. Perhaps you love colorful accent pillows but your furniture problem is a couch that is a gaudy color. In that situation, you would want to go neutral with your pillows and throws to deflect from the couches original color
- Are stylish. If an outdated couch is your problem, then don't get stingy with the pillows and throws. Here is your chance to modernize your furniture - make it look great with really stylish and great pieces.
- Are able to be conducive with the current furniture. Yes - you want to use pillows and throws to help achieve the style you actually want but no you don't want to add something that will clash with your current furniture. You don't want "matchy-matchy" but you do want to select pillows and throws that will look natural enough on your current furniture. Otherwise, instead of distracting, they will only add to the problem.
How To Update Your Family Room: Hang Art
One of the best ways to update a drab room is to add appropriate and beautiful art to the walls. This doesn't have to be expensive! Even printing off a favorite personal photograph at a professional printer and hanging that on the wall could really style up an area. And printing at sources such as Staples or Costco is extremely cost-effective.
You want to add art that is appropriately eclectic, cohesive and complements the style of the room you are trying to achieve. This could mean combining an original watercolor you found at a flea market with a family photo and a nature scene.
Use a variety of materials, shapes, and colors for your frames. Again - this does not have to break the budget! Many great quality frames can be found at garage sales and second-hand stores. You may just need to have a little imagination and perhaps take out an existing piece of art. But if you keep an eye out - over time, you can amass a great collection of beautiful looking frames.
How To Update Your Family Room: Change The Layout
One of the easiest and (free!) ways how to update your family room without buying furniture is to simply move things around! By changing your layout, you can modernize the look of things, freshen things up and maybe trick yourself into thinking you have a whole new room. Perhaps you've had the furniture a certain way for years. You might be surprised how different things can look with the same furniture if you simply move it around.
HGTV did a guide on how to arrange furniture in an open layout for the family room. This is what they said,
"Open living rooms allow for easy entertaining and good traffic flow. But a living room that shares space with an adjoining dining room, family room or kitchen can present challenges for those who want some type of definition for each area.
To create an efficient layout for an open living room, keep the flow around furniture and accessories open so your family and friends can be doing numerous things at once while still being together.
A dark brown gray living room with fireplace, tv, couches, large ottoman, and fluffy rug and a kitchen to match the style in the background.
"Go for vignettes instead of two sofas flanking a fireplace," says Rybock. "Creating different seating areas makes the space feel a bit more intimate, since open floor plans can be overwhelming."
Thinking about the function of the room will help you make smart layout decisions. An open living room often serves as a hub in the house, so make sure any floor plan includes comfortable spots for everyday activities like watching TV, eating or socializing.
"Pulling furniture pieces off the wall and tying them all together with an area rug, balancing with ottomans and adding extra seating will visually balance out the room," says Fenimore. "Stick with one main paint color so the open spaces do not fight each other, which can cause the room to look cluttered."
