This week’s Decorate or Renovate? episode on YouTube features Melissa’s mom, Michelle.
Maria, Melissa and Michelle
If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember Melissa’s living and dining room makeover just before the holidays. Michelle lives next door, and after seeing her daughter’s home transformation, she had a decision to make.
She could spend $7,000 repainting her kitchen (a quote she recently received)—or she could finally give her living room a similar look and feel just like the one we created for Melissa’s home.
In this episode, I’m showing the before of both rooms and the one-day living room makeover that completely changed how the home feels. The furniture stayed the same, the only piece we switched out was the too-small mid century coffee table that was the wrong style for this room.
The video is below if you want to see the difference for yourself.
With the money we spent on this makeover—$2,400 to decorate the living room—she still had budget left for a trip, or for decorating another room!
I’d love your vote in the comments after you watch. Which would you choose: a painted kitchen or a decorated living room?
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See the transformation here:
After seeing this, you may rethink where renovation dollars really belong. This is exactly why knowing when to decorate—and when to renovate—matters.
Whether you’re a homeowner or a professional, my community can give you the ongoing learning and support you need to know which way to go and become a better decorator.
Watch the replay of my free training: 5 Steps to a Beautiful Bathroom Without Renovating here.
The founding members price is only available if you sign up before January 12th, so hurry and join now.
And if you want to get in on the upcoming Create Your Dream Home cohort starting January 16th, there is still time to get in at $1200. On January 12th the price goes up to $1500.
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The Killam Colour System™ in Action
See what happens when the right decorating choices come before unnecessary renovation.
Related posts:
Travertine Kitchen eDesign Project: Before & After
The Easiest Way to Get a Designer Living Room
How I Helped my Childhood Best Friend Finally Love Her Living Room
I am confused, did you paint the living room or did the color stay the same.
It did get painted but it’s true on the sunny day it didn’t seem that much different (but it was much better overall) Maria
Dark kitchen cabinets are prefect now, continuing the vibe. Very nice!
Gosh Maria you are so darn good at this. I loved in your live stream yesterday that you said these decorating makeovers are your passion / obsession right now because I love watching you do them!!
So much better! With brown making a comeback back, I can understand why she chose to decorate her living room rather than paint her kitchen cabinets.
But that kitchen floor is totally wrong and doesn’t seem to relate to the cabinets. That’s where I’d focus on next.
I agree – replacing the kitchen floor would be a much better choice than painting those cabinets. The cabinets, counters, and backsplash all seem to work well together; it’s the floors that don’t mesh.
Then maybe upgrade to stainless appliances in the future.
Hi Michelle, Totally fair perspective. What’s interesting is how quickly we default to “fix the kitchen” even when the living room is the space you’re in every evening. This makeover is about recognizing that not every dated room needs to be first—or expensive—to dramatically improve how your home feels. It’s easy to fix the kitchen later that doesn’t need a decorator like me. When the decorating fairy arrives to suggest that we create a room you don’t want to leave, you say yes 🙂 Thanks for your comment! Maria
It looks great but agree on that kitchen floor throws it off .
I’d definitely put money out for a new floor
Decorating job looks great, a carpet on the kitchen floor would tame down that issue. Top left of living room wall could use a touch of something a bit darker, just my opinion, but the large whitish piece there leaves the area feeling a bit light compared to the rest of the lovely room.
Hi Lynn, To add some context, this was a five-hour styling-only makeover from start to finish (including one hour of driving time in total). The furniture stayed mostly the same, and all of the art and accessories were sourced and installed in just over an hour from HomeSense. No renovations, no custom pieces—just editing, balance, and fast decision-making. In a project like this, the goal is to create a cohesive, finished look quickly, not endlessly fine-tune individual elements. The homeowners were thrilled with the transformation, which is the point of the series. Thanks for your comment, Maria
Stunning work, very inspirational. Kudos!
I’m surprised how much I liked the final result, not being an all-neutral lover in general. You got light, medium, and dark versions of the neutral as well as plenty of texture, which makes all the difference.
Maria, I love your animal print top! You wear – and style – it well! I also appreciate that you build on and improve what everyday folks” already have!