Home and Family: Simple Ways to Update any Room (Part 1)

I was going through some files the other day and came across an old list (old, as in before the days of blogs...) that I had cut out from House Beautiful that showed 101 ways to update a room. I couldn't find the list online anywhere (I checked - it's not the same list that's currently on their website) so I thought it would be nice to start a series for the next few months of my favorite 50 ideas and show five each week. It's amazing to see how many of those concepts are still popular and current today.

So here's the first installment of:

Please be sure to pin from the original source.

Paint a white paper lampshade your favorite color — the color you'll never find in the lampshade department

Here's a great example of a painted lampshade that gives the lamp a little more punch.

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But I'd venture to say that this would also apply to covering a shade with fabric or even adding decals.

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Wallpaper the inside of your bedroom closet.

Wallpaper is a big investment and commitment to make and you can totally achieve the same gorgeous results using a stencil.

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Use leftover wallpaper to line the drawers of your bedside table.

Again, you don't have to use wallpaper - fabric, wrapping paper or even scrapbook paper would work just fine. And it doesn't only have to be your bedside table - opening any drawer with a bright lining is always a fun surprise!

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Find a tired old bargain brass chandelier at a thrift shop or antiques shop. Spray paint it white.

You don't need to spray paint it white if that's not the look you're going for. There are so many beautiful ORB fixtures, as well as bright colors such as red, teal or pink.

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Buy a photography or botanical book, take a razor blade, and cut it up. Put a dozen pages (the more, the better) in matching inexpensive frames, and hang them in a row or a block.