Congratulations! You just moved to your new house! You’re thrilled to finally be in after months of jumping through hoops and standing on your head for banks and lawyers. Now, the house is finally yours, just in time for the stay at home orders…

You’re spending loads of time on your furniture, looking at it day in and day out. As you look around, you’re beginning to feel bummed because it doesn’t quite look like the Pinterest board of your dreams. Maybe you’ve just been cooped up too long lately and you are just plain sick of your old furniture.

There’s nothing wrong with your furniture and you’re thankful that you have quality stuff: grandma’s sofa, a comfortable and sentimental piece from your childhood. Great aunt Sophie’s wing chairs. They’re the perfect size, comfy, and straight out of 1982. And then there’s mom’s old coffee table from when you were 12. It’s not your style but you can make it work.

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It’s not all inherited stuff. You’ve had a chance to pick up a rug and some curtains to “go with” the flowers in Grandma’s sofa That was kind of an online impulse buy one late night after a couple glasses of wine when you were stressing over your closing date. No judgement here…

Right after you got your keys, you painted the walls a beige/off white because it was neutral, and you freshened up all the trim with a crisp white gloss paint because it’s easy to wipe down. You’ve had nothing but time to live with it now and you realize it feels like Fall all the time. Now, you love Fall but you’re not looking to live there forever. More to the point, your room looks like hand me down city. Nothing really goes together and that’s 100% what you DON’T want.

This scenario might not be your exact situation, but I’m sure you can relate to that feeling that something just isn’t syncing up when you’re trying to pull a look together with old furniture. Whatever the case, before you decide to chuck your dated furniture or hand me down sofa, let me show you 9 ways to flawlessly decorate your new house with old furniture.

1. Use an Area Rug to Unite your Mismatched Furniture

This is all about finding a bridge between items. My favorite place to find design inspiration for a makeover is from an area rug. Ideally, I will begin with the rug and pull my upholstery colors from that. But it can absolutely work in reverse too. Although it’s a bit trickier.

Remember that pair of matching chairs you inherited from great aunt Sophie and grandma’s Davenport sofa? The furniture looks bonkers together on their own but if you find a rug that unites the two, suddenly you have a jumping off point where you’re able to unite the look and it totally makes sense.

Because your sofa has a distinct color and pattern and the chairs also have a completely unrelated pattern and color, it’s best to pick a rug that has the main colors in it but also one that won’t introduce another distinct pattern. Considering that both chairs and the sofa are more “traditional” looking, I suggest pulling in an abstract pattern for the rug.

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Also, the rug that you stress bought is too small. My rule of thumb is most rooms, even small ones, can handle a rug that’s at least 8’ x 10’ in size. You absolutely want to make sure it will fit by measuring the space but it’s a pretty safe to bet it will fit. So, out with the traditional 5’ x 8’ matchy matchy rug and in with your 8’ x 10’ bridge rug.

What else can you pull from the rug? Well, pretty much everything else: accent pillows, art, window treatments and wall color.

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A common mistake when making over a room is to reinforce the colors of the most dominate piece of furniture in the room. In this case, the sofa. It’s bold and practically demands to be the anchor piece.

Instead, it’s better to neutralize the boldness of dominate patterns. Now for the controversial statement: the color blue is a neutral. It does the same thing white, beige and some grays do for a room. Blue always plays nice with other blues and that’s the purpose of a neutral. It is a foundation that you can build upon.

So, even though the walls have been recently painted, it’s time to swap out the beige for a deep, rich turquoise. The color comes directly from the rug so that it makes total sense when introducing it into the space.

Don’t forget to paint the trim the same color. I usually go a couple of shade lighter than the wall color for the ceiling. I rarely will do a stark white ceiling unless the walls are already white. A stark contrast with trim color actually makes the room feel smaller. Similar hues will blur the line with the wall and ceiling and actually make the room feel taller.

Changing out the pillows and curtains based on the colors of the rug will also go a long way to making a room feel fresh and cohesive. For this room, I decided to use the same hue of turquoise on the curtains. I picked up a navy blue color from the rug and mirrored it with the accent pillows.

Mom’s coffee table had to go and I brought in a contemporary replacement. This is a great way to start introducing the style you’re more aligned with. When you build in a few pieces at a time, It’s more affordable than buying everything at once. In this case I added in lamps, a ceiling light, drapery hardware, and a small drink table all in a brass tone, which is the primary metal I want to focus on.

When you feel like your furniture isn’t cohesive, look at your mismatched upholstery and unite them with a bridge piece like an area rug.

Here’s how it can look when you neutralize dominant upholstery fabric

2. In a Pinch? Slipcovers Are the Answer

If you’re happy with the everything else in your room but the upholstered pieces, then slipcovers could be the answer you’re looking for.

Covering up an old sofa with a new slipcover is one of the best ways to update your old furniture in your new house. A slipcover can breathe new life into a well-worn sofa, couch, chairs. and it can also hide a mismatched pattern or wear marks that are otherwise tough to conceal.

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You can usually find a slipcover maker for the brand of sofa you have by doing a Google search for the manufacturer name + slipcover. I would also do a search for ready-made slip covers on places like Ballard Designs, Amazon and Ikea. If you wanted to wait until after social distancing is over, you could also find local help by searching for seamstress, slip covers on apps like Thumbtack.

I’ve also had great experiences with two companies that specialize in making custom slipcovers for anything. You follow easy instructions for measuring the piece of furniture you want covered and you send pictures and measurements to them and, within a month or so, you will have a whole new look for your upholstered furniture. Check out: Slipcover Shop or Needle and Shears. (Not sponsored).

3. Reupholstering Can Be Magic for Old Furniture

If you’re looking for a more permanent fix for your old furniture, then reupholstering might just be the answer you’re looking for.

Change the fabric on a bench or ottoman to give it a new life. If you’re decorating with inherited furniture like this old upholstered bench and it doesn’t match with anything in the house, one of the simplest ways to give it a quick makeover is by recovering the top. Sometimes just updated the cover on a old bench is exactly what makes all the difference.

You could end up with a true treasure that you love and all it took was a new pattern, color or texture from a couple of yards of fabric, a can of paint or a small jar of wood stain.

The cost to do-it-yourself will be a fraction of what it would cost to have it professionally done. Although, depending on the scale of your makeover, having a professionally upholstery job can also be money well spent.

4. Add or Subtract Fabric to Furniture or Drapes

If your sofa has a skirt and you hate skirts, take it off. If you want to add fringe a chair, go for it. One of my all-time favorite hacks is to add fabric to curtains that are just too short.

You absolutely do not have to hang curtains on your windows because they are too short to hang the hardware any higher.

It’s simple to add in additional fabric in the same color or a contrasting color to get longer panels. They can be sewn on if you’re handy with sewing skills or have a machine. Or you can glue two panels together with fabric glue or iron on heat tape.

Tip: try ironing on a ribbon at the transition points between the two fabrics to give the panel a more finished look.

5. Update Furniture with Paint

Unless there is familial or cultural significance to a piece of dated furniture, I say paint it! Be brave, be bold. You will likely find that a lick of paint on an old dresser or credenza is just the thing to bring it up to date and to make it come to life.

6. Change the Hardware on Case goods

These days you can find hardware online in many places.

I recently wrote a post linking to all my favorite places to get hardware online in my post called, 15 Ways to Decorate Without Leaving Your House. And, quite of these sources have one of a kind or hard to find options as well. This is great if you have an antique dresser or desk and you only want vintage handles.

Just by simply changing out a drawer pull or knob, you can update the look of a piece of furniture an change the whole feel of it. If you have old closet hardware, change it out for and watch how that changes the look. The same can be said for doorknobs and door hardware plates too.

7. Add Wallpaper to Furniture

Think about adding in a modern wallpaper to contrast your old hand me down furniture. Paint and wallpaper an old bookcase to give it new life.

Take that dresser you painted and line the drawers with a beautiful wallpaper pattern to give it some character and pizzazz.

A little touch like this is unexpected and can really make difference with how you feel about it.

If you want even more ideas for how to use wallpaper in unexpected ways, check out my wallpaper curious post. You’ll be surprised at how many places wallpaper can go.

8. Re-imagine Your Furniture

When you’re staring out with a blank slate for a new house, it’s great fun to re-imagine the functionality of old furniture.

Don’t be afraid to take a piece out of context and give it a new functionality.

• For example, use an old desk as a nightstand.

• Take a one-off dining chair and turn it into a plant stand.

• Take a small plant stand and use it as a drink table next to a chair in a tight corner. You will not only get the functionality that you need, you’ll also get an interesting conversation piece that enhances your space.

9. Accessorize in an Opposite Style

Sometimes the secret to mixing old and new furniture is not trying to force them to fit, but; it’s how you accessorize that makes the difference.

Try incorporating a modern lamp on a vintage hall chest or nightstand.

Incorporate modern art over a vintage sofa.

Playing with opposite styles and taking a chance with venturing into an eclectic middle ground can be interesting and dynamic.

Well, that’s it

9 ways to flawlessly decorate your new house with old furniture:

1. Use an Area Rug to Unite your Mismatched Furniture

2. In a Pinch? Slipcovers Are the Answer

3. Reupholstering Can Be Magic for Old Furniture

4. Add or Subtract Fabric to Furniture or Drapes.

5. Update Furniture with Paint

6. Change the Hardware on Case goods

7. Add Wallpaper to Furniture

8. Re-imagine Your Furniture

9. Accessorize in an Opposite Style

I hope you’ve found some inspiration from this post and that maybe you can look at your dated or mismatched furniture a little differently.

And, if you’re still sheltering in place and you need a small project to tackle, I’d love to hear your plans in the comments below.

Do you have an old piece of furniture that could use a makeover? Tell me all about it!

Until next week, keep your dreams big for your small house.

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I write about small space design and decorating, sustainable furniture options, positive self care and a variety of do-it-yourself home décor. I’d love to connect with you!

“This man is a plant shaman. He not only designs beautiful rooms, he’s got a green thumb that works like magic! My peace palm never looked better”

— David K.

“Michael Helped me to get my home office in magazine ready form. Thank you a million times for helping me figure this room out. It’s now my favorite room!”

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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.