The Ultimate Guide: How to Plan a Room Makeover

Ready for a room makeover? Whether it’s because your tastes have changed, you plan on selling your home soon or you just want to make it truly yours, personality and all, you are eager for a room makeover. 

Before you go doing something drastic with a sledgehammer and diving nose first into a room makeover, it’s important to create a plan. Without a plan, you may end up doing something you regret–like throwing out the baby with the bathwater–and before you know it, you’re in over your head. 

Desperate for a room makeover? Here’s how to plan a room makeover efficiently and pull it off successfully. Follow this guide to create the room of your dreams.  

Identify Your Needs for Each Room

Whatever room or rooms you choose to makeover, start by identifying what they need. To accomplish this, identify how each room is used. For instance, you may have a guest bedroom that doubles as a home office space, which would require a desk and possible shelving unit. If you have a kitchen that has a breakfast nook, you will need to consider a small table and chairs, in addition to just the cabinets and appliances. In this step, think practically and get down to the basics, like seating, flooring and windows. Save the details for later. 

In addition, consider how you want the room to make you feel. Do you want a restful, serene bedroom with a spa-inspired ensuite bathroom? Or do you want it to be inviting and fun for the kids to feel welcome? Identify a few key words that can further help you narrow down your makeover plans as you gather inspiration.

Budget plays an important role, too. Does the room need new cabinets, flooring or appliances? These types of additions can add up.

Ask why you are completing the room makeover. If the makeover is just to appease your personal tastes, you may not want to spend the same type of money as you would if you wanted to increase your home’s resale value. Otherwise, you may be perfectly content with splashing a few trendy paint colors on the walls. 

Essential Room Needs 

To help you get started, here is a breakdown of some general ideas for each room in the home and things to keep in mind. If your room makeover involves new flooring, take a look at our room-by-room flooring guide to discover a perfect match. For instance, many homeowners prefer the look of hardwood floors, but it may not be practical in every space. 

Kitchen Makeovers

A full kitchen renovation can increase the value of your home. However, it’s important to be practical about your own needs until you decide to sell. Update cabinets and countertops to make use of every square inch of space. Even add a new ultra-stylish tile backsplash that complements the look of your hardwood floors. Install new appliances to make a kitchen and home more energy-efficient. Consider adding recessed lighting on a dimmer, too. 

Bathroom Makeovers

Bathrooms see lots of moisture, so it’s important to address the flooring. If you have outdated flooring, replace it with something that’s waterproof and able to withstand puddles. If you love the look of hardwood, there are many bathroom flooring options that include real hardwood, even 100% waterproof options like Raintree.  When it comes to bathrooms, consider a budget and what’s most important to you. Many bathroom flooring options are quite affordable, yet still offer a luxurious look. This way, you can shift your bathroom budget toward creating a gorgeous spa-like vanity or shower reno. For primary bathrooms, stick with a more timeless style that appeals to a broader audience should you decide to sell the home one day. For powder rooms, have some fun with it! Apply a patterned wallpaper or unique hardware to add some charm and personality.

Next to the flooring, another major makeover consideration should be the light fixtures. Since you get dressed and apply makeup in the bathroom mirrors, you want the best lighting for your complexion. If you can put it on a dimmer switch, you can take those relaxing bubble baths, too.  

Bedroom Makeovers

The bed is the focal point of the bedroom, so be sure it fits your style and tastes. You can go big with a canopy size frame in a romantic primary bedroom, or for a shared room for siblings, a bunk bed offers a wise space-saving piece. Bed linens and pillows can make a bedroom feel more inviting and comfortable, too. Consider blackout curtains to offer good sleep and even block a bit of outside noise. Always keep soft rugs on each side of the bed, at the very least, but a spacious area rug can ground a space. 

Make sure your bedroom has enough closet space. If not, add a few more furniture pieces to your list like a dresser and chest of drawers. Ideally, your bed should have a pair of nightstands, one flanking each side to have a place to rest handheld devices, books and a cup of tea as you unwind from the day.  

Family Room Makeover

Family rooms and living rooms are a main common area, so it’s important to address the needs of the entire family. At Twenty & Oak, we believe flooring is the crucial foundation of any room, and therefore, should be selected first. If you want to show off flooring and let it be the focal point of the space, choose something with lots of color variation and texture such as the Palmetto Road Riviera Collection. If you want flooring that agrees with a variety of styles, adapting as you change from traditional to farmhouse modern, stick with something more classic. However, if you love to follow the latest trends in flooring colors, which may feel outdated in 10 years, we recommend selecting a more affordable option that you can easily replace.

Palmetto Road Riviera Collection, Cabernet

A large area rug is a great addition to place beneath a seating arrangement, offering a soft underfooting. It can also help furniture from scratching or sliding against smoother floors.  

Basement Makeover

Basements tend to be unfinished, which can take a lot of effort. From concrete floors to exposed wires between joists, there’s much to work on. But it helps to know how you intend to use the space. Basements work best as a spare guest bedroom, home office, home gym or even a home cinema where the family gathers to watch movies.

However, regardless of what you transform it into, the best way to give basements a makeover is to address the lighting and flooring. Basements tend to be dark and most lack windows that allow for natural sunlight. To illuminate the situation, take time to select proper lighting to accommodate how you plan to utilize the basement. Whether it’s a spare bedroom suite or a home cinema, the lighting still plays an important role. A light colored flooring option can also improve the darkness of a basement. White-washed wood visuals, as well as modern concrete looks are available in durable LVT and waterproof solutions. 

The flooring is just as important for basements, as it tends to be a colder area and more moisture-prone. If you turn it into a home gym, you will want to consider installing fitness flooring to handle the heavy equipment and provide slip resistance.

Gather Inspiration

When planning a room makeover, gather inspiration. This can be anything from paint chips and colors to just an interior photo that gives off a certain vibe you love. It can be lifestyle images that evoke a mood or very specific accessories you adore. Keep in mind that the style you choose should flow throughout the home. Choose hues and tones that work within the same color palette. For open space areas, like a combined living room and dining room, keep a more cohesive design and avoid mixing styles.  

Pinterest is a brilliant place to start. You can even explore Twenty & Oak’s curated boards that our stylists have put together to provide ideas of room makeovers. You can create a “secret” Pinterest board and gather images of beautiful interiors that inspire you and offer creative ideas. You can even search the products of your favorite furniture and lighting brands. Long gone are the days when you had to clip photos from home design magazines or print pages to bulletin boards or paste in a journal. 

Once you have gathered inspiration and loaded up your Pinterest board, try to identify any recurring themes and elements. From furniture styles to colors to patterns, ask yourself what kind of decor styles you lean towards. Do you love rustic elements, but prefer a clean, minimalist style? While these might seem like opposites, it points toward a more modern farmhouse vibe. If you love vintage objects and lots of plants, it might be considered more of a bohemian look. The important thing to remember is that style and taste is completely personal and subjective. Just pull together a room that makes you happy and relaxed!   

Create a Mood Board

As you begin to gather inspiration, create a mood board. A mood board can allow you to see the overall vision, keeping you on track toward a specific style. There are many online photo collage editors, such as Adobe Spark or Canva, to arrange product images and create notes. 

Once you decide on a photo collage editor, return to your Pinterest board and save specific product images. Upload them into a blank sheet where you can then move images around and view your entire collection of furniture, lighting and more alongside each other.  

Make a Floor Plan

Sketch out the room and make a rough floor plan. Even if you lack artistic skills, the point of this step is to ensure furniture and lighting will fit to a T. If you have a good space-planning eye and can judge whether a furniture piece or artwork will fit in one look, this may not be necessary, but it’s still advised. When fitting new furniture, it helps to get specific with measurements. 

Measure everything you might need to know–not just the lengths of walls. Do you have a window that might interrupt where a dresser goes in the bedroom? Make note of the height of the sill and width of the window. Is there an awkward radiator jutting out in the living room? Keep all these items in mind when you begin to create a floor plan and arrange furniture.  

Take a piece of graph paper or use an online virtual room program tool. With your measurements, create a rough sketch. Print it out and store it in a notebook to carry with you as you begin your makeover shopping spree. Aim for the virtual online floor planning tool to accommodate any changes and be able to scale and rearrange.  

When you find a furniture piece you absolutely love, first, make sure it fits. There’s nothing more frustrating than discovering your perfect sectional sofa’s chair lounge extends way farther into the room than you thought. Or that a coffee table is way too small for the space. Keep a sketch of your room on you at all times. 

Create a Checklist

In all honesty, a checklist should begin when you identify the needs of your room. However, you might have to read between the lines, so to speak, and fill in the gaps. For instance, you may need window treatments for the bedroom, but you need to get more specific. Do you need a curtain rod and sheers? Flesh out the shopping checklist as best as you can. Break down items such as:

• Flooring

• Appliances

• Furniture

• Lighting

• Window Treatments

• Artwork

• Rugs

• Accessories

Part of this process involves taking inventory and making note of what you already have. If you are on a budget, focus on the must-haves first and replace that old dresser when you can. Since flooring is considered more of a permanent fixture and your design can begin with flooring, we recommend you start your budgeting with the flooring, and then work from there. It should be one of your most prominent investments.  

Define Your Budget

As mentioned, it’s important to determine why you want a room makeover. Is it to appease your personal tastes or do you want to showcase your home in Architectural Digest and need the skills of an experienced interior designer? Define and create a budget to keep yourself on track. You can break this down in an Excel-like spreadsheet to keep track of expenses. Break down major expenses first, such as flooring, cabinets and countertops. From there, see where your budget lies and how much you have left. When you come across a must-have piece, add the retail price, but also taxes and any shipping costs. 

You can also use this spreadsheet to make extra notes, such as furniture sizes and order confirmation numbers, to keep track of shipments and when items arrive. 

Go Shopping

Once you have your budget and list ready to go, it’s time to shop around! Visit one of Twenty & Oak’s retailers to see an extensive array of finishes and materials to complete your flooring, cabinets, countertops and even shower components. As a one-stop source to plan the foundation for a room makeover, they even have on-site designers, many of which offer consultations, that can help you coordinate finishes, fixtures and more!

Head to furniture stores and be on the lookout for great deals. Consider swinging into your local antique shops and thrift stores for that unique, one-of-a-kind piece. And if you are a DIY enthusiast, you can find promising furniture and turn them around into beautiful pieces. If you have a specific look in mind, use online stores to your advantage and do a filter search by sizes, styles and more. Take advantage of free sample offers wherever available.

One easy way to add character to a room is to incorporate several styles. Long gone are the days when rooms had to be matchy-matchy. Today, homeowners know what makes a house a home, and that’s through collected treasures. 

As you pop into stores and online shops, keep an eye out for everything on your list. From artwork to lighting to small little decor tabletop pieces, select items that are sure to give a room personality. Like browsing Pinterest, just make note of all the things that inspire you, whether it’s colors, patterns, etc. 

Plan a Room Makeover

Ready to plan a room makeover?  From the heart-of-the home kitchen to the unfinished basement, a room makeover is warranted from time to time to keep your home updated and looking fresh. 

Before you head to the first furniture store, you want to allow time to choose new flooring, have it delivered and acclimate it to its new environment and be professionally installed. This could take anywhere from four to five weeks, which would give you plenty of time to plan out the other things. 

Find your perfect floor with Floor Genius and be sure to check out our virtual flooring showroom.