I (almost) bought a house and I had big plans for it. I was going to completely customize it to my needs while maximizing the total space. It was a small house.

 I saw the house as what it could be, not what it was.

And that’s something that is really important to do or else I would have never found anything I liked. This house had all the necessities, was under budget, I knew nothing serious was wrong with it, and it was less than TWO MILES from the LAKE!

It was going to be my fixer up and I had all these plans for it and I was going to share the process with you all here and on my YouTube channel. 

 Bu then I realized that just because I didn’t get the house doesn’t mean I can’t still share my ideas with you…So I’m going to start off my showing you all the living room and what I would have done with it.

The door on the left is the front door in the living room. As you can see, the living is pretty little. The dark patterned wallpaper is making the room feel even smaller.

Here is the other side of the living room. The living room is approximately the size of half my master bedroom, literally. But I saw this as a challenge and an opportunity.

The first thing I would have done is removed the wallpaper and paint. Paint makes such a big difference and would have really opened this space up.

I was also going to lay down engineered hardwood floors

I am using my 3D software program to show you my plans…

As you can see that just by adding some affordable engineered hardwood flooring and painting the walls it makes such a big difference already.

I always suggest painting last, unless you already have your accessories and color palette picked out.

The next step in the process was trying to figure out how to utilize every square inch of the space. Because this room is only 161 square feet, I couldn’t afford not to use every inch of available space.

This is how I would have utilized the space. Here is the 3D layout of the room using the exact measurements.

First, I had to ask myself, “what do I want to use this room for and what do I need?”

I knew I needed extra seating (multi-functional furniture is a MUST for small spaces) so not only did I want a couch, but I wanted them to fold out into beds. And then I found these couches at IKEA that would fit perfectly in this space.

The large media cabinet was a must because I needed it for storage. I could put all my extra blankets, pillows, movies, photo albums, books, etc… in there. Storage! Storage! Storage!

The coffee table is open and airy with clean lines because it’s not bulky or visually “heavy” so it appears that it doesn’t take up much space. I would have added a custom cut piece of wood from Lowe’s instead of the standard (cheap) wood piece that came with it. Also, I can easily slide out the ottomans underneath it perfectly so that they are out of the way, but easily accessed for extra seating or as footrests.

I used lighter colors on the other walls so that it wouldn’t feel too dark or smaller. I added white floor to ceiling curtains to bring the eyes up creating the illusion the room is bigger than it is. I also knew I would need somewhere to place my purse and keys by the door so I found a shelf that doubled as a key holder.

The mirrors behind the couch reflect the natural light from the window and also gives the illusion that the room is bigger than it is.

I couldn’t forget to show my ceiling some love! I added a modern fan and I brought in some textures and patterns through the colorful patterned area rug and complimentary accent pillows.

By adding a media cabinet on the accent wall, it really makes it look like its custom made!  This wall is such a statement to the room.  It really makes the space look expensive. Now let’s look at the other side of the room…

My initial plan was going to be to add another mirror, but the room had no personal belongings or artwork in it. For those of you who know me, you’ll know this room isn’t complete without artwork and personal photos. So I would have DIY’d this project using canvases. I may have even hung up black and white photos of Jayli and family and some of her artwork she’s made over the years. I feel like this is the perfect unexpected twist to finish this room and would help bring in some color and personality.

I placed an electric fireplace underneath the artwork because I love them and it creates the perfect ambience! This room looks so much more expensive than it would have been.

SHOP THIS ROOM: