Great Before And After Two Story Living Room Makeover

I am LOVING this low budget DIY Home Living Room Makeover. Check out the must see before & after renovation pics of our traditional home with pops of color & light walls.

I LOVE this Two Story Living Room Makeover

Welcome, welcome. I’m back with another big reveal on a room makeover in our house. And, I’m so excited about how great this Living Room renovation turned out!

This Living Room Makeover has been a 7 week long Marathon of some pretty big DIY projects. BUT, I was able to do this renovation on a pretty low budget because almost all of it was DIY.

This renovation started with renting scaffolding that I practically lived on for a full week. Painting 20′ high walls is about as fun as it sounds. But the light paint color on the walls turned out amazing!

And, I even painted all of the crown molding and ceiling while I was out there. I went with an Eggshell paint sheen on the ceilings.

Check out my post on the Best Paint Sheen on Ceilings to see more examples of why I absolutely LOVE eggshell sheen on ceilings.

Then I got busy building side tables, ottomans, and more while some contractors remodeled our fireplace. That new shiplap is such an upgrade, right?!

Before we get to the rest of the before and after photos, here’s some budget-friendly tips to help you do your own DIY Home Living Room Makeover.

How Do You Transform a Boring Living Room?

Here’s some of my favorite tips to fix a boring Living Room. You don’t need to do all of these. Just pick a few you like to liven up a boring Living Room.

Clear out the beige and tan colors. I used to buy everything beige because beige matches everything, right? But, then I had a room full of beige furniture, carpet, and walls.

Give the walls and trim a fresh coat of paint. Using an off-white or white paint color on walls is the cheapest and easiest way to get rid of an outdated paint color.

Rethink your furniture layout. A furniture layout change can make a room feel fresh and new. Changing all of the furniture in our Living Room to face the windows was a huge improvement over the old layout.

Add new furniture pieces. Replace 1 or 2 large furniture pieces, if you can afford it. Or, save money by swapping pieces of furniture with another room. You can even reupholster chairs and couches. Or, paint furniture with amazing colors!

Rethink the plants and home décor. I like to clear all of these out of a room before slowly adding in a few pieces. I almost always think larger home décor pieces look better than smaller.

Change your wall art. Changing the wall art can also change the look and feel of a boring Living Room. I recommend larger pieces of wall art too. Usually, 1 big piece of wall art looks better than 3 small pieces.

Add stylish rugs. I switch out rugs in my rooms every 3 years or so, to keep the room feeling fresh. Check out my picks for the 17 Best Area Rugs on a Budget to see some great options.

Add colorful curtains. Just like rugs, curtains can be replaced every 3 to 5 years to keep your Living Room feeling up-to-date. Don’t forget, curtains look best when they’re floor to ceiling length and hung wide.

You can see more ideas and details about the 14 Best Ways to Renovate A Living Room on a Budget in another post.

Before and After DIY Home Living Room Makeover

OK, guys! Now that you’ve seen some of my favorite ways to update an Old Fashioned Living Room, let’s get to those before and after pics.

Fireplace and Paint Updates

Here’s a look at where this room started, last month. It was boring and blah, but worked well as a safe play space for babies. Now that my boys are getting older, it was time to add style to this room!

I removed the coffee table after one too many close calls when my boys were toddlers. AND, I had all of the furniture pushed as far back as possible to give the boys plenty of room to play with toys.

It was time to rearrange that furniture to give it more of an updated, grown-up feel. I also wanted to lighten up the colors in this room.

With all of that beige and smoky blue paint, it felt sort of dark in this room, despite that 6 HUGE windows.

Look at how much lighter and brighter the room feels after switching to an off white paint color on the walls. That boring beige look to the room is completely gone now.

The one update in this room that I hired out was that Shiplap Fireplace Makeover. The old trim only went half way up that 20′ high wall. It always felt out of scale. Taking the shiplap 5′ higher looks so much better!

Look at the way color pops against those off white walls too! You can see the same amazing difference that white walls make in my 2 Story Foyer Makeover and in my Family Room Makeover On A Budget!

Blocking Off the Room with a Couch

This next before and after blows my mind, guys! I thought that keeping this area between the hallway and the Living Room open helped the room feel bigger.

BUT, I was wrong. Moving the couch into this space somehow made the Living Room seem bigger. Now the space is better defined.

And, I have a great view of our backyard, and the DIY Swing Set I just built, from the couch now.

Look at how light and bright this room looks now. I just LOVE it. And, it was mostly paint that turned this boring, old fashioned living room into an updated traditional Living Room with pops of color!

The whole Living Room just feels more grown up but still livable and fun. I don’t even mind that beige couch as much, now. After removing it’s matching chair, beige doesn’t dominate the room anymore.

Light Walls Help Colors POP!

I just can’t get over the change here. I have been slowly painting a lot of the rooms in this house Behr’s Sandstone Cove. It is really making everything feel light and fresh.

And how about that amazing barn art above the wing chair. The colors are perfect. So glad I found it. Target has some beautiful wall art, lately. The cow head art and brass lamp are from Target too.

Those light walls (Behr’s Sandstone Cove) act as the perfect backdrop for colorful furniture. And, yes, I did eat every bit of that cheese as soon as I wrapped up this photo shoot.

More Furniture Layout Changes and Updates

I mentioned above that the original furniture layout was mostly designed around making a nice, safe play space for babies and toddlers.

And, of course, the location of the cable jack determined where our TV went.

BUT, thanks to how great streaming TV is now, we were able to get rid of cable and move that TV above the fireplace, without any wiring changes. And, we’re saving over $100 a month after that switch!

DIY Upholstery Projects Add New Color

I reupholstered that blue velvet wingback chair as part of this room makeover too! You can find some of my favorite tips to reupholster a chair in another post.

I have a full build tutorial for that DIY Upholstered Ottoman on this blog too. It’s great having a foot stool for that wing chair now. And, it’s big enough it can be used as extra seating and for games too.

You can see more of the before photos in this post. Now, I have more photos of my favorite details in this Living Room.

Favorite Furniture Builds from this Living Room

Since I went for off white walls and the carpet was already a light beige, I went for colorful furniture and home décor choices. Mostly, I went for jewel tones, like teal green, royal blue, and candy apple red!

I shared the full build tutorial for this DIY Console Table Build in a recent post. How amazing is that paint color?! You can see the steps I used to paint it in the post Easy DIY Teal Furniture Paint Makeover.

It’s from the Magnolia Homes by Kilz paint line. The color is called Weekend, I used an Eggshell sheen. I love this paint line, it’s acrylic based but dries fast, like a chalk paint.

That teal paint color works great with those sleek brass handles too.

You can see the back of the DIY Kids Desk with Storage Drawers I built for my son, in the next picture. I used a DecoArt paint on this desk that doesn’t seem to be sold anymore.

But, Country Chic’s Poppy color looks pretty similar. You can see the steps I used to paint this desk in the post Easy DIY Red Painted Furniture Makeover.

Seriously, guys. I never thought I was a cow art kind of girl. Sure, they’re generally cute, but they never grabbed me. But this cow stopped me mid-stride in Target. I had to buy it.

If you like cow art too, check out these cow art options on Amazon too. That galvanized steel and brass house is another current fav. I like to put a fun string of LED lights in the bottom of it.

Cheap Side Tables and Paint Updates

Here’s a better look at the DIY Side Table I designed and built for this room. I needed something small with a round top for this spot. And, I built 2 of these pedestal tables for just $50 each. 🙂

I added extra texture to the pedestal base of that table by dry brushing one color over another. Check out How to Paint Furniture for Beginners for tips on getting started.

Or, 25 Step by Step Beginner Furniture Painting Tutorials to see some great furniture painting tutorials beginners can do.

What do you think?? I hope you’re getting some useful ideas to do your own DIY Home Living Room Makeover on a budget!

RECOMMENDED: 15 Free or Cheap Ways To Update A Living Room: Great Free and Low Budget Ideas!

A Few More Photos

DIY Projects and Posts from this DIY Living Room Renovation

• Our Beautiful Shiplap Fireplace Makeover …near fail!
• A Light Paint Color on Walls Brightens Any Room!
• Farmhouse meets Traditional Living Room Makeover
• Best Tips & Tutorials to Reupholster a Wingback Chair
• DIY Upholstered Ottoman Plans from Scratch
• DIY Side Table Woodworking Plan – $50 Build
• Beautiful DIY Console Table Plan with Drawers
• How I Add Pops of Color in a Home with Light Walls
• 16 Ways to Repurpose an Open Formal Living Room

More Home DIY Projects For You!

I LOVE this tutorial for How to Install this Simple DIY Coffered Ceiling Design.

These before and after Master Bathroom Makeover pictures. I couldn’t be happier about this makeover!

Check out How to Paint Built In Bookshelves and Cabinets for steps to give yours a makeover.

You should see the great before and after pictures on my Beautiful DIY Vaulted Ceiling Makeover too.

And, check out how to stain a front door without removing it.

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Feeling inspired? Now you know my tips for a DIY Home Living Room Makeover. Let me know if you have questions.

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