In last week's post, I mentioned that I'd be back to share why the girls' room evolved. A year and a half ago, it looked like this. It was cute but with too many competing colors, and more importantly, too much clutter. It drove me bananas and stayed dirty. We all love a killer room makeover, but I'd argue that sometimes makeunders are needed to 'tidy up' a space. In this case, there was too much in the room that was for form rather than function. Other reasons you might need a makeunder are:


1- Your style has changed and the room no longer reflects your desired aesthetic. 
This is why I  made under the living room here.

2- The room has become too cluttered. 
It happens--especially when we've lived in our homes for forever.

3- The room's purpose has changed.
This happened to us here and here. Maybe it was a nursery and now needs to be a big kid room or maybe it's a bedroom that now needs to incorporate an office space.

4- You don't have the budget to decorate but you need a change.
[raises hand].

How to Makeunder a Room

Take it all out! Seriously! If you can't remove heavy furniture or know for certain it needs to stay, fine. But all accent furniture, decorative items, stuff (on the floor or on surfaces), and even art should come out.

Next, revisit your goal for the make-under- see examples above. If it's simply cluttered, get rid of the excess! I'm no expert here but the world is buzzing about "tidying up" on Netflix. I haven't seen it but have read the book and highly recommend it! The short answer for de-cluttering is simply to separate items into "donate," "toss," and/or "sell" and follow through!

For a change in style, only put back what you LOVE. If that means nothing goes back, that's ok! Sell the old stuff and buy things you love with the proceeds. ;) Much of what I've purchased for the girls' room was paid for by items I sold. In the photo below, I took everything off of the shelf, shopped my home, and simplified it with items I liked.


If the room's purpose has changed, take the same steps as above. Declutter and only put back what you love. Next, make a list of what you need for the room to suit its new purpose. If you can't buy it all at once, that's ok! I often have running lists of things we need for the home that I work from. If you're a 'big picture' person, feel free to write a detailed list. I tend to get impatient, so I start with the big items, adding my next priority items as I mark the former off.


That's it! Slowly, but surely your room will start to come back together in an intentional and simplified way! One thing I've learned is that it's ok to rectify a room gone awry. And every time I embark on this process, I learn a bit more about my style- what I love and what I don't- and what works best in our home and for our family.