Today’s reality home shows feature dramatic makeovers of rooms. From boring or dated to fabulous, these shows are fun to watch. But how much reality is there really? Who these days has the money to renovate an entire room, or two or three? Plus, with so much hardship in the economy, do you really want to be showing off a huge makeover even if you can afford it?
While big redos may be dramatic (which is why they are on television), the real trend is toward the slow transform. More and more homeowners are deciding to take it slow when they make changes. Taking weeks or even months to redesign or redecorate is becoming the popular thing.
If you decide to follow the current culture, you’ll reap many benefits. Not only will doing a slow transform be a lot easier on your budget, you’ll have less interruption and more time on your hands than you would by tackling everything in one shot. You’ll still improve your space, but with less immediate results.
I’ve also found that a slow transform helps me to get used to the idea of change and also helps me to appreciate the small improvements that might otherwise get lost in a grander all-at-once renovation.
Slow transforms work really well when you aren’t planning any structural changes. for example, instead of completely gutting your kitchen and starting over, you might chose to paint your cabinets one month, replace a vinyl floor the next month, etc.
A bedroom makeover might be as simple as rearranging the furniture or adding a bed skirt, or a little more intensive, such as painting the walls or replacing one piece of furniture at a time, such as an end table.
Another benefit to slowly transforming a room is that it is easier to make adjustments as you go along. If an idea doesn’t work, you can often undo it without having made a huge investment in the change.