DIY Den Renovations
Your family gets together in the den, so making it attractive and up to date is important. Renovation can be expensive, but there are ways to update on a budget as well. In fact, a good cleaning makes a big difference in the way the room looks. Add a few changes that make a big impact, and your room takes on a new life. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Cleaning supplies
- New flooring or steam cleaner for carpets
- Wall paint
- Lightweight polystyrene foam molding
- Hand saw
- Miter box
- Joint compound
- Old suitcases
- Labels
- Bookcases
Instructions
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Clean the room thoroughly. Remove clutter from the room by giving away items you no longer want or need -- or by holding a garage sale to make money to add toward your renovation. Clean out every drawer and closet and make a place for everything you keep. Clean and polish all wood furniture, wash the windows and get rid of cobwebs in the corners.
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Replace the carpet. If new carpet is outside your budget, buy a large carpet remnant and ask the shop to bind the edges. This is a relatively inexpensive way to update the den floor without completely replacing the carpet. The least expensive choice is to clean the existing carpets. If you don't own a steam cleaner, rent one from a home store. Alternatively, call a carpet-cleaning service to professionally clean your carpets.
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Apply a fresh coat of paint to liven up the walls in your den. A bold color, or a favorite shade you might not use in more public areas of your home, is appropriate in the den.
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Purchase lightweight polystyrene foam molding. Measure your walls and cut the molding to fit with a handsaw. Place the end in a miter box and cut the ends so they fit together neatly. Apply joint compound to the back of the molding and press to the wall, butting against the ceiling.
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Stack old suitcases in a corner of the den to use as a storage system. Keep family activities such as board games, puzzles, movies and music in the suitcases. Print labels in an attractive font on sticker paper and adhere them to the fronts of the suitcases.
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Wash light curtains made of washable material in your washing machine. Hang them to dry, then press before rehanging. Send heavier drapes out to a dry cleaner. Rehang them after cleaning.
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Purchase bookcases to fit along one wall of the den, or to line a corner of the room. Gather all your family's books onto these shelves, turning the den into a library. Organize the books by subject and title. Consider labeling the shelves according to subject.
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References
- Photo Credit Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images
