Hand-Me-Down Living Room Makeover

Make over your hodgepodge of hand-me-downs into a room filled with fashionable furnishings.

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Secondhand Style

Cover Up

You've Been Framed

Mind Your Whites

Tone It Down

Trinkets to Your Taste

Wicker Update

Easy Accents

Cut and Paste

Fresh and Simple

Dorm Do-Over

Make It Work

Cheap Little Things

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Secondhand Style

With a simple slipcover, a few bargain-priced fabrics, and several shades of white paint, we transformed a stash of mismatched furniture and created a bright living space brimming with casual cottage style.

Cover Up

With slipcovers that look this good toting reasonable price tags, there's no need to settle for the worn plaid sofa you inherited. Cover the eyesore with a basic neutral hue, then splash on some perky pillows and a plush pompon throw for a flirty fix.

You've Been Framed

It was this frame's generous size that moved us to rescue it from a recent garage sale. With a floral wallpaper remnant to conceal the dated scene beneath and antique white paint on the frame, a new masterpiece is born. Pair the piece with an empty carved frame (another garage sale find!) for easy and inexpensive layered style.

Mind Your Whites

From creamy to bright, find delight in a range of whites. By painting this lamp base, table, and wainscoting, we gain more depth and visual interest for just a few bucks. And don't forget that little bit of whimsy -- our pelican does the trick here.

Tone It Down

White paint comes to the rescue once again, this time coating a lime-green bench. When topped with a new blue feather-filled cushion, the perch is too pretty to pass by.

Trinkets to Your Taste

Let your personality take flight with small decorative details such as this reproduction ceramic bird.

Wicker Update

Easy-sew linen cushions hide damaged weaves in the wicker chair; the spa-blue hue refreshes a traditional Baroque pattern.

Easy Accents

Seashells become attractive accents that fill a vintage dish and sit on ledges, providing touches of tactile texture.

Cut and Paste

Aunt Fran's new dining table upgrade left us with a coffee table -- we simply cut her old please-take-this-off-my-hands walnut veneer table down to size and painted it fresh white. With a vintage fabric remnant on top and a clearance shag rug underneath, the grouping only looks like we shelled out a pretty penny for it.

Fresh and Simple

For a no-fuss bouquet, arrange basic, accessible blooms, such as roses and tulips, in a low-slung vessel or tureen.

Dorm Do-Over

Though the style of boxy plywood entertainment cabinets from college days leaves much to be desired, their storage factor and sturdiness are qualities worth redeeming. Paint, a few wood moldings, and a linen curtain to hide the TV create a presentable piece, especially when accessorized with scavenged mirrors, pretty bins, and boxes.

Make It Work

Though meant for a dining room, this armchair met our seating needs in the living room. Since its shape and size differed drastically from its wide wicker counterpart, we simply used common paint and fabric to meld the mismatched pair.

Cheap Little Things

Bargain baubles with contrasting shape and color boost bland surfaces. Mix natural materials with metal, wood, and ceramics for a delightful display.

Hand-Me-Down Living Room Makeover

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