TV Room & Office Refresh

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I’ve been working on the TV room and my office lately, giving both rooms a bit of a refresh.

First, curtains were hung in the TV room, which has two walls of windows facing south and east. They are blackout curtains, making the room dark when it’s sunny and hot outside.

I chose gray curtains so the fabric color would blend into the gray paint color on the walls.

Besides the gray drapes and walls, most everything else is blue, or blue and white, with touches of red in the painting and throw pillows.

You can see Simon on the upholstered trunk (where I keep board games), busy cleaning himself.

Using One Color In A Small Room:

Using a single color throughout a small room can be a good design choice. It creates a sense of flow and spaciousness, making the room feel larger than it actually is.

Keeping the color scheme consistent makes the eye less likely to be drawn to the room’s boundaries, while creating a sense of calmness and unity.

Using the same color for walls, trim, and sometimes even ceilings can create a seamless, uninterrupted visual flow, making the room feel more expansive.

Maximizing natural light is another key way to make a room feel bigger. Light neutral shades of gray, taupe, beige, or greige can stand in for white while adding a hint of color or warmth.

A monochromatic or light color scheme can help the eye take in the entire space, rather than focusing on individual objects.

While it’s true that a light and bright paint color can make a small space feel larger, the opposite can also be true. Painting a smaller space a darker color can create the illusion that the space is larger by tricking the eye into not knowing where the walls begin or end.

It’s good to keep all this in mind when decorating small rooms.

Strategic Use Of Paint Colors For Small Rooms:

Selecting a paint color can set the tone for an entire space. To create a sense of coziness, consider choosing warm paint colors from the red, yellow, and orange families on the color wheel.

• Light Colors: Soft whites, light grays, or pale pastels (like soft blues, greens, or pinks) can make a small room feel more spacious and airy.
• Neutral Tones: Beiges, taupes, and light browns create a warm and inviting atmosphere without overwhelming the space.

Dark colors work exceptionally well on walls at the far end of rectangular living spaces. Using dark paint behind headboards in smaller bedrooms can also make the room look bigger.

Airy blues and crisp white hues are ideal for small spaces. Blues recede, giving the illusion of opening up a space. To brighten up a room that doesn’t get a lot of natural light, consider clean white paint.

In a galley kitchen, an off-white wall color and cabinets make the narrow space look wider and brighter.

Yellow is highly reflective, so it is great for spaces that lack natural light.

To create the illusion that a low ceiling is higher, use a light color to draw the eye up, creating a sense of openness.

Making Small Rooms Appear Larger:

Designers often use the following rules to make a small space appear larger than it really is.

1. Clear the clutter
2. Keep the pathways clear
3. Add mirrors
4. Let in the natural light
5. Add reflective surfaces

I’ve come to embrace the gray walls in this house I call Mamie. Lighter shades of gray, especially cool grays, can make a room feel more spacious.

My Office Adjoining The TV Room:

I decluttered this small room that opens to two other rooms.

The only thing new is my desk chair, which I found on Amazon for $53.99. I assembled it myself, except for the wheels, which were too hard for me to push in. Greg did that for me. This chair is quite comfortable.

The chair upholstery is also available in blue, gray, pink, and green.

I had these two glass jars in a kitchen cabinet and decided they’d be great for storing ribbon, where I can easily see the ribbon colors.

I find myself decluttering and putting things away or giving them away more and more. One reason is that I need clear spaces to move around with a cane, which I sometimes need to use to walk.

Less Decor & Vertical Eye Candy:

And I’m just not into all the “things” I see many decorate with and post on Instagram. They look too busy to me these days.

These days, I want things to look simpler, with stuff stored away and organized, and surfaces with less decor.

For instance, I have a lot of colorful things on the bulletin board. It’s out of the way and organized, so I don’t have to move anything to work at my desk. In a way, the bulletin board serves as vertical eye candy.

For the bulletin board, I used vintage photos, clip art, seed packets, button cards, scissors, and feathers in my stash.

I don’t have any other wall decor in here at this time. Maybe that will change, but I kind of like the simpler look. (You probably remember that I have plaster walls that are hard to get nails into, so I think twice before attempting to hang anything!)

The red chair I had in here had arms that didn’t go under the desk, so that I couldn’t sit with my back against it. This new office chair rolls right underneath the desk and is perfect when working on something.

I have rolling storage at one end of the two tables that serve as desks, and another that slides underneath.

The dining room leads into my office, and to the left is the blue TV room. The guest bedroom, my bedroom, and the TV room are on the east side of the house, and the laundry room, kitchen, and living room are on the west side.

The photo below shows how the house flows. The dining room is in the middle of the house, at the end of a long hallway leading from the front door.

Giving Your Rooms A Budget-Friendly Refresh:

When you yearn to refresh your rooms, remember that small changes can easily update them. You don’t have to change furniture or buy big-ticket items.

Living Room Updates:

In a living room, you can rearrange furniture, add new throw pillows or curtains, switch out artwork, or incorporate natural elements and storage solutions. Add a few live plants for an earthy feel. Try layering area rugs.

Bedroom Refresh:

You might add color in other areas while keeping your bedroom’s walls and furniture neutral. Pick one or two colors you love, then repeat them in artwork, bedding, and accents.

Add patterns to simple painted walls. You don’t have to wallpaper all the walls. Try it on one accent wall.

Dining Room Refresh:

In your dining room, you might add an unexpected color. Switch the dining chairs from traditional to indoor/outdoor seating in a different texture, such as wicker. Switch the lighting.

Kitchen Refresh:

You could change the hardware and replace dish towels and rugs in your kitchen. Step out of your comfort zone and choose something bolder, or remove a few cabinet doors for a more open feel.

Pour your dish soap into a pretty bottle. Purge and reorganize your kitchen cabinet drawers.

Bathroom Refresh:

For your bathroom, you might switch accessories or splurge on new towels. Update the hardware. Add a new shower curtain or rug. Bring in a new color if you’re bored with the current ones.

All these little things will give new life to what you already have.