I’m So Inspired by How Far Small Changes Go in This Living Room Makeover
If you’re anything like me, you might find yourself itching to make some changes to your home in the new year (and if that’s the case, might I recommend the January Cure as a place to start?). But also like me, you might be feeling like you don’t have the budget to do anything major right away, thanks to holiday spending.
Thankfully, after covering before and afters for Apartment Therapy for over five years, I’m well aware that you don’t have to make drastic changes to a space to make a big impact. So when it comes to giving my living room a cozy refresh for 2025, I’m thinking about all bite-size changes I can make that will be easy to complete (and easy on my wallet).
One living room redo I think about again and again in the context of small changes is this one, which I wrote about back in 2022. The before started out pretty gloomy, thanks to dark walls and dark curtains. When the new homeowners moved in, they wanted to make it feel bigger and brighter without actually changing the size of the space.
The first thing they did was, admittedly, not a small change: They had a pro replace the old carpet with laminate wood-look flooring. That was obviously a huge upgrade, but the other changes that followed were more minor.
The biggest impact came from fresh white paint on the walls, followed by breezy white curtains on the windows (they’re paired with rattan shades for privacy). And overhead, in place of the low, clunky chandelier, the homeowners installed a flush-mount light fixture with a Sputnik-style look.
All of these changes were complemented by the new decor, which they kept light and bright. The living room now feels so much more open and inviting — exactly how you want a living room to feel. But the takeaway here is that this project was done over the course of years, with little bits and pieces here and there. It’s a good reminder that one or two swaps can go a long way, and that you don’t need to feel pressured to complete an entire room transformation all at once.
What’s the tiny project I plan on completing in my living room? Maybe some fresh art, maybe some more lighting … I’m not sure yet, but I will be signing up for the January Cure 2025 to help kickstart it.
To read more about this living room redo, you can check out the full transformation here. And for more inspiration, check out our very best living room decorating ideas.
Further Reading
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