Updating Old Home Decor

Do you shop your house?

Play musical chairs with your chairs?

Move pillows or furniture from one room to another...and then back again the following season?

All in an effort to give your home an entirely new look, without spending a dime?


It's something I do often and was sure others did, as well.

Turns out, not so much.

I was shocked when I heard the first no from a local friend.

So I began taking an informal poll and found out that this was not something most people did on a regular basis.

When asked, why not, there was no one solid reason. The answers were varied.

• the decor pieces wouldn't go  
• the colors are wrong 
• living room decor isn't right for a bedroom 

And the most astonishing one, you don't put throw pillows in the kitchen.

Oh boy. I actually had to sit down after I heard that one.

Pillows absolutely belong in the kitchen, they add color and pattern, they soften all the hard edges and just make sitting more comfortable.

I have them in that room all year long...and during the holidays, I add some fun Christmas themed ones.


As a matter of fact, I just ordered new covers for my old pillows.

Ironic, I know. Here I am talking about shopping your house, but then sharing what I've recently purchased.

But, hear me out, as I digress a teeny bit. A few new seasonal accessories can add new life to older furniture....and at about $5-$10 each, pillow covers are a great investment...and ones I keep for decades. 

And since I'm reusing most of my old decor, I have a little dough to buy something fresh.

See how that works? 😉 

These are my latest finds.


Anyway, back to shopping your house.

For all those who do swap decor, kudos to you.

And for those who don't, here's a tip.

Do it.

It'll breathe new life into your rooms and into older your accessories, in mere minutes.

And it won't cost you a dime.

Yes, on occasion, there might be a tiny bit of DIY necessary to make things fit, but that's very rare. And if you do need to make a change, most likely, it's a small one.

Maybe a little painting or a quick modification.

Like today's DIY.

For months I've been agonizing over what pillows to add to my new green checked sofa. I wanted a little more red in the room for fall, to tie the couch together with the floral wallpaper.


So I searched high and low for the right pillow cover or fabric only to come up empty handed.

Then one afternoon, I walked past the living room where I saw my old Pier One beaded pillows and I thought hmm, maybe...

And moved them into the family room, where they looked perfect. 

Well, almost.

You see, the color of the flowers was exactly the same red tone as the wallpaper, but they had these wooden beads in the center of each bloom and that was distracting.


Too summery, too boho and frankly some of the beads had fallen away making the pillows look worn. That part wasn't just right.

So for weeks, I resisted the notion that they might be "the ones" and kept looking, until my husband said, I like these best. Why can't you just remove the beads?

And I thought, when did this guy get so smart in the design department? And what's wrong with me, why didn't I think about that?

So I got to it.

Removing the beads was a quick and easy task, as you would expect. Even though they were set upon some very delicate embroidery, I was still able to do it without upsetting any of the other threads.


At first, I thought I would unzip the pillow and remove the threads holding the beads on from the back.

Until I discovered that these pillows were made quite well and they were lined, so I was unable to get to the bead thread.


That meant I had to remove them from the front. It was a little more involved than I originally thought it would be, but again, it was still just a 10 minute project.

I used a very small seam ripper and carefully severed the strings that held the beads on.


Then I simply pulled the threads out.

There were some white threads that were too tightly anchored to slip the seam ripper underneath, so for those I used a needle.


When I was done, I had a pillow that looked brand new and went nicely in the family room. 

It doesn't look so boho or summery any longer.

Now, it's a pillow for all seasons.


Until I move one of those red velvet ones in here.

And move this one back into the living room next week.

Or, if I'm feeling really daring, it might make its way into the kitchen.

😉

Do you shuffle your decor around?

Happy Decorating, Folks!