The Spring One Room Challenge for 2026 has begun! I have been wanting to give this living room a refresh for sometime now. Most of the room has remained the same since we updated the space when we moved in almost 10 years ago. If you want to see what it looked like originally check out the first blog posts I ever published. The makeover for this space is really going to be adding some decorative elements and having the room function better for where our family is now. I will be posting each week with updates so be sure to follow along as this small living room gets a much needed makeover.
If you want to see all the rest of the One Room Challenge makeover project just head on over to their site for all the projects.
For this first week I am going to take you on a little tour of the space and discuss what will be changing and what will be staying the same due to budget constraints at the moment and design challenges with the small room feel. One of the amazing benefits of this space is that a lot of natural light floods into this space from the large picture window and the sliding glass door on the other side of the room.
The fireplace and mantel will be staying as is because I still love the look and it is the focal point of the room. In addition we like the current wall colors so paint in the space will also not be changing except for some wallpaper. I will be adding an accent wall to the two sides of the fireplace just to add a little bit of change to the walls.
The area by the tv needs a lot of attention, currently the tv is mounted the wall and the cabinet below is over 15 years old and needs to be replaced with something that is able to contain the mess of gaming equipment. In addition the gaming equipment there is a pile of blankets in a basket that needs to be organized better for usage. Changing this area to be more organized will make a huge difference.
Both of the couches in the space are hand me downs from family members are desperately needing to be replaced. However it is not in our budget currently to replace the couches and when we do replace them I would like to add a sectional but because the floor space is very narrow and small it has to have very specific dimensions.
The coffee table is one that we have had since we were married and I also refinished it several years ago to match this home, however it has served its purpose and this space needs something new. I will be selling it and any other furniture on Facebook Marketplace.
The design plan is to change the tv to be mounted on the wall next to the sliding door so that when we eventually get a sectional it will face the wall with the tv and a new television console table will fit along the wall underneath the tv.
As of right now we are also not able to refinish the floors as they extend from the living room into the dining room and we want to hire someone to refinish the floors instead of doing it ourselves this time.
This bookshelf and plant area that is next to the fireplace will be moved over to the tv corner to make room for a sectional as well. I may end up with a new bookshelf but at the moment this one still works fine. In addition we will be adding a small side table or end table but this may depend on our couch situation.
Lastly there is this area that has black shelving that is very outdated and I will be installing a new set of shelves that I stain myself so that I can still display decor in this area.
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