Pretty much the second I realized this quarantine meant I would be living at home for the next six months at minimum, I decided I was going to redo my room. I had long since outgrown the color scheme and decor, and since I had lived in a dorm and apartment for about a year and a half, my childhood room didn’t really feel like mine anymore. I already felt like my life had been uprooted, so if I was going to be at home, I wanted it to feel like home. I also needed my room to be a space that was conducive to productivity, and a place that made me feel relaxed. With all the clutter that had accumulated over the years, I felt overwhelmed and claustrophobic at the thought of having to work and learn in my room. So, with all the money I had gotten back after canceling my apartment contract, I decided to give my room a facelift. Here are the things I’ve learned as I’ve been redoing my room.
1. Color really matters
The color you chose to paint your walls, and the color story that you chose for your room, can really affect the feel of your space. I used to have really bright blue and seafoam green walls, and the intense colors made my room feel small. On top of that, all of my decorations were blue and green and purple, and all that color was a little overwhelming. When I was picking out paints, I decided to do a really light gray and one forest green wall. The light colors made my room feel much more open, and the green makes my room feel earthy, and reminds me of all the outside world that I haven’t seen in a while. For all my decor, I’ve pretty much stuck to white, gold, and green. All my sheets are white and I’ve picked out a lot of plants (both really and fake) to decorate my room with. My color palette is nice and clean, and it makes my room look much cleaner and less cluttered than before, because I don’t have as many colors clashing against each other.
2. Ditch one big piece of furniture
My childhood room is not the biggest, which means that I really have to pick and choose furniture that is both necessary and functional for my room. Before redoing my room, I had a twin sized bed, a bookcase, a desk, and a dresser. I decided that I really wanted a full sized bed, which took up considerably more space than my twin did, meaning I definitely needed to get rid of a piece of furniture if I wanted my room to feel more open and less cluttered. I obviously needed to keep the desk, since I would be doing all my school work at home, and I had way too much clothing to get rid of the dresser. So, I got rid of the bookcase and decided that I was going to put in a bunch of shelving instead. Shelving takes up no floor space and still gives you all the storage you had with a bookcase.
3. Your room does not have to look like a pinterest post
In the beginning stages of planning out my room, I spent many hours on Pinterest looking at rooms with my same color scheme. All of these rooms had pretty much no personal decorations, just a lot of stuff that looked like it was from Anthropologie. But the thing is, I love a lot of the knick knacks that I have accumulated throughout life. I have a ton of Pop Vinyls, display Legos, souvenirs, and art that I’ve done that isn’t necessarily “aesthetic,” and I am not going to hide them away in some box under my bed just so that my room can look like an Ikea stage room. While it is helpful to stick to a color scheme when redoing your room, don’t sacrifice your personality or any decorations that you love just because they don’t match.
I know that not everybody has the means or the time to redo their room during quarantine, but if it’s something that would make you feel better working and living in a space that you’re not used to, go for it. DIY some new art and decorations to put up on your walls, or upcycle some furniture by re-staining it or changing the fixtures. Little things like this can make you fall in love with your childhood room all over again, and make you feel a little bit better about being stuck inside all the time.