I wanted to share this before and after as a example of how much difference a coat of paint and wall décor can make in a room.

My client has an older, bungalow style home with smaller rooms.  This room is the library, and is also used as the downstairs TV room for the family of two.  You can’t see the TV in this picture, but you can see the cable box on the left under the photo frame.

Before:

This older home already had nice built-in bookshelves and a coffered ceiling.  It helps to have some architectural detail to start with!  But, with the soft, yellow paint color, you really didn’t notice the millwork.  Additionally, my client has an amazing collection of “coffee table” art books which were not being well showcased.

After:

What a drastic difference a coat of paint can make!  Since this wasn’t a main living area, the client felt comfortable going with a bolder color choice.  We had a rug custom made to fit the room (notice the small rug in the original photo) and ordered two, white, slipcovered chairs with matching ottoman for the adults to lounge in.

The wall décor was an investment; the natural seafans are hand tinted in the US, framed between two pieces of glass and sealed with a silver acid-washed frame.  These really make a statement.

Last I heard, the TV was going to go back into the room at some point, but they were enjoying sitting in the library so much, they didn’t even feel like they needed it.

Don’t think you can’t do much with a small space in your home.  Push yourself to really get creative and go outside your comfort zone, especially in an area that may not get heavy use everyday.  Decorating a room for impact can help give your home the ‘wow’ factor you may be looking for.