Subscribers Sent Me Their Embarrassing Rooms & Here's What I Did!

Somewhere out there, there's a man who cannot leave a flat surface empty. There's a woman trying to make her late mom's home feel cozy. There's a music teacher in Singapore trying to make her home feel like a beach vacation. And they all did the same brave thing. They sent me their embarrassing photos so I could give them a virtual room makeover. If you're new here, welcome to my subscriber makeover series where I virtually redesign subscribers rooms. Every single design decision from the pink color to the layout to the furniture is my own and I'm using AI to show you how it would look if you followed my suggestions. By the end, you're going to see how to solve some of the problems that you may have in your own home and stick around because I will share how you can send your own room. All right, room number one, this is Michelle's bedroom. And she said, quote, I don't know. It just feels like it's missing something or maybe there's too much. I can't figure it out. So here's her room as it is now. Cozy and calm is her goal, but here's the twist in her message that actually made me laugh. She says, the clutter you see actually belongs to my husband and nothing I do helps if I clear a flat surface, he fills it right back up. So raise your hand. If you happen to live with a human like this, I know a lot of us do. We have these dresser chops that seem to collect everything from phones, wallets, receipts, loose change, maybe even a screwdriver. And then the nightstand isn't a nightstand anymore. It just becomes this big jug pile, this kind of big filing cabinet. The bedding here is fine, but I find it to be a little bit forgettable. The photos flanking the bed. I always love that family photos can be included in a room, but I find these add a little bit of a cluttered feel to this space. Here's what I want to do and why we want to give him a one designated landing zone. So a leather valet tray on his nightstand, instead of every surface collecting stuff, everything he touches every day lives in one contained spot contained clutter reads as intentional, not messy. We're going to swap out the mini blinds for Roman shades, add cream, linen bedding, oversized Euro pillows, and a chunky knit throw. Also throw in some warm brass accents and one large area rug that extends past the bed to ground the whole room. We pulled the photos off the wall beside the bed and move that energy into one collected gallery wall around the fireplace instead. And on the dresser, we're going to leave 60 to 70% of it completely empty. I like to try to do three items or three groups of items on each nightstand. So here is the after look at that. It makes such a big difference. These little changes, same basic furniture, but to me, this looks like a completely different room. So as a reminder, here's the before of this space. And here's the after. This is proof that you don't always need a huge renovation to fix your space. Sometimes you just need a rule of where things are contained. Now room makeover number two is kind of the opposite problem. Eileen and her partner just moved into the space. So we are starting with a blank slate, which I love. And her message in basically eight words is I don't know what to do with it. This is a blank page, which is often the scariest room to start with because it's really hard to know where to begin. There's no furniture. There's no rug to build off of. Eileen wants it cozy, functional, and she loves black and white. So we're going to work with that. Here's the thing about smaller rooms, most home decor device, people are going to tell you to float your furniture away from the walls. And I've definitely shared that in the past, but there are exceptions to that rule, really to any rule in home decor and interior design. When you have a really small space, I think it's perfectly fine to put your furniture up against the wall. The most important thing is we want to ensure that there are the right size pathways through this space. So it's actually functional. I like the idea of using a sofa in here. It gives the most seating for the smallest footprint. We're going to go with a light colored sofa here. I also want to hang three pieces of art above the sofa. And I like to hang art about four to six inches above sofas to really ground them. I always love to mount the TV on the wall rather than sitting on a console because that takes advantage of vertical space and is going to make your room feel larger. Then a dark colored console and a dark colored coffee table to tie everything together. We're going to add some black and white throw pillows to bring that black and white feel into Eileen's space. And we're going to hang some light colored drapes that match the sofa, making sure to hang them high up on the wall to give that illusion of height and space into the small room. I love the idea of adding a floor lamp into the corner for some warmth. And here is how this space turned out from an empty box to this cozy space. That is the power to committing to one anchor piece, this chaise sofa, and a really simple color palette. And if you're loving these makeovers so far, and you want to submit your room for a virtual makeover, I will put the link to submit down in that description box below room number three. And this one comes with an actual logistics problem to solve. Sheila's words are is cold. It's bare and it's sad. She wants cozy and calm, but she also needs a second workspace in this small office for a coworker. So this makeover isn't just let's make it pretty. It's also let's make it functional, which is a little bit of a challenge with this small space, but I know we can do it. So here's the, before we have one desk and really a wall of nothing here. And this nice big window. So here's what we're going to do to solve the problem in this space. We're going to put together an L shaped desk against the back two walls. This is going to give enough space for two people to work in this smaller office. And this could be an Ikea hack. You could use something like the Ikea Alex cabinets, and you can put some butcher block or some countertop on top to create this desk for a lower budget. And you can paint those cabinets a nice warm grayish tone. I think that would really make the space feel cozy. Something like Benjamin Moore stone hearth would look really great in here. We're also going to swap the blinds for Roman shades, and that's going to add some softness to this room and just make it feel a little bit more elevated. You could also add some shelves on top of one side of the desk. Again, this could be an Ikea shelving, maybe some Billy bookcases that you cut down and paint. And then I think this space needs some texture. So baskets, plants, some artwork, and that's going to make this space feel homey and cozy. We're also going to layer a rug on top of the wall to wall carpeting, which I think always looks great and just adds a little bit more pattern cold and bear is now warm and functional. And I think this could really work well for two people here is the before and after. And if you have to create a office from a small space, I hope this gives you some inspiration. Room number four is the one I actually want you to learn the most from. I think this is a technique that you can steal. If you have any sort of long narrow space in your home, Alexandra says this of her living room. She says it's cluttered, narrow layout, unused space. It's not relaxing family of three. She says she's always thinking about what she could do differently in this room. And I get why look at the shape. It's long and skinny. It's really hard to arrange furniture in here and make it feel all cohesive. The windows and the doors are in kind of inconvenient spots in here. So there's only so many places that you can put furniture in this space. I find that the sectional in here is kind of fighting the shape of the living room instead of working with it. So the whole back corner is kind of a bit of dead space. So here's a technique that I want to use in this space. We're going to divide this long skinny room into zones in the center is going to be the media zone where we have the TV and a sectional or a chaise sofa in the back is going to be a library zone where we have a bookshelf books, two comfy chairs and a table. And in the foreground, we're going to keep her piano and make this a little music space. I also did something that a lot of designers suggest against in this space. I'm going to move the TV over the fireplace. I think if you have a frame TV or if you have a beautiful fireplace hearth area like this family does, I think it can work. And I just want to create this media area right in the middle of the living room. We can also either rotate the sectional 90 degrees to open up the space a little bit more or swap that with a chaise sofa. Again, that can go up close against the wall. Another design rule we're breaking to help with the traffic flow for the reading zone in the back, we're going to swap out the window coverings with some more elevated Roman blinds to add some softness to the space. And also so we don't have any drapes hanging on the floor. So we can add a bookshelf in the back and two comfy chairs and a table. So this could be a little reading or homework zone. And I think the piano and the shelves on the other side can stay exactly where it is. And this can be the music zone. So this is the same footprint, the same kind of awkward shape, but now we have three distinct zones that we're working with. If your living room is long and narrow like this, think about dividing it into different smaller rooms with different purposes. And I think you'll find that really helps your layout. All right, we're moving on to room number five. This is Melanie's living room and I feel like I need to tell you Melanie's story before we get into this makeover. She moved into this home to become her mom's caregiver. Her mom passed away shortly after she arrived. And instead of leaving, she and her family decided to stay in her family home and turn it into a cozy and inviting space. They had just moved in their belongings a week before she sent me this photo. She told me it's not put together yet. It's early morning. It's dark. You didn't tidy up before the pictures, but she wants it to feel cozy, calming, functional and personalized with what she called my many treasures. And I really appreciate when people have collections that they want to keep. And there's definitely a way of displaying these to look beautiful and cohesive. This is a woman who doesn't want a minimalistic magazine worthy room. She wants something cozy, something meaningful. She wants something that can hold her memories and feel like a warm hug for her and her family. So here's the thinking. We're going to paint the existing built-ins a beautiful warm white to open up the space. But the warmth in this paint color still feels cozy. Something like Benjamin Moore white dove would work really well here. We'll keep the countertop a warm wood tone to tie into the rest of the space. And now her collections can go on the white bookshelves. I really like collections against a nice white wall. I feel like that makes the collection shine. We're going to add coordinating throw pillows to make everything feel tied together, large textured area rug, and a coffee table. We'll swap out the ceiling light for something a little bit more modern and also swap the grommet top curtains on the left hand side to pinch pleat drapes that look a little bit more elevated. Now we have a cozy, calm, collected cottage style living room that I think does feel like a warm hug. And all it requires is some painting, some DIYing and swapping a few of the accessories. Melanie, if you're watching, thank you so much for trusting me with this one. Room number six, Lori's problem is almost the opposite of overwhelm. It's indecision. She told me she wants this room to feel cohesive. Everything in the space was given to her from the bedspread to the curtains. So she hasn't spent any money on it. And she's ready to invest in some pieces that are going to make this room feel finished. And she also doesn't know what to do with these tiny windows on either side of the bed. We're going to add some drapes to either side of this bay window to give it some presence and add some softness into this room and inside the bay windows and those tiny windows on either side of the bed, we're going to add some Roman shades. And I've used these a lot in this video because I think they are a great alternative to curtains when having a floor to ceiling drapes does not work. We're also going to layer a patterned area rug over the existing wall to wall carpet to add some pattern to the space, keeping the wall color as is because I actually think it looks really nice in this room. We'll add some new bedding to make this feel cozy and a large piece of art over the bed to ground the space. So there's nothing too expensive in this space, but I think all of these updates, especially with textiles make this room feel like a brand new room. Here's the before and after. So you can see exactly what I mean. Room seven made me a little emotional for a different reason. Sarah said that she loves how I decorate, which thank you so much, Sarah. I appreciate that. And I hope I can use all of my home decor experience that I've gained over the years to help all of you with this series. Sarah's space does double duty, which a lot of us have in our homes. Her dining room is also a home office. So we have to be a little bit creative with this redesign. This room needs some more storage for all of the office supplies, and it could also use storage for the things that she needs for her dining room. It's also an East facing room. So that means it's going to be cooler throughout the day. So we can use some warmer tones in the paint and the accessories on the right wall. We're going to build a wall to wall Florida ceiling built-in again. This could be another Ikea hack. If budget is an issue, you could do something like I did in my dining room with my coffee station, where I used Ikea halves to cabinets on the bottom and the top, or do Ikea halves down the bottom Ikea Billy bookcases on the top and paint them all the same. Add some trim to make it look cohesive. This is going to be a great place to store things like the printer, the modem and all the dining room accessories. I actually really love the creamy yellow wall color in here. And I recommend keeping it because I think that's going to make the room feel warm with this East facing window. The light fixture is getting a swap because I think you could go for a long light fixture that's parallel to the table to match the table shape a little bit more. We have a different table and chair set here, but I think Sarah's that she has will also work in this space. Instead of having the plants hanging above the window, we're going to make sure we have some nice big drapes there and add the plants on a table below. We're also adding a textured area rug to ground this whole dining set. And this room feels so much more cozy and functional. So this built-in, I think did all the heavy lifting here. I often find I recommend these for spaces just because they are so good for storage and they look really great when they're finished with trim and paint. So if you're combining two rooms into one and need some storage, consider doing a DIY built-in project. Number eight is genuinely a problem that I don't see a lot. So it stumped me for a little bit. This is Lynn's kitchen dining living room combo, and it has a vaulted ceiling. Plus it's attached to the stairway with this huge wall. So she doesn't want to paint this whole thing because this wall would be such a project to paint. She says it's very white because of the vaulted ceiling. It echoes. I don't know where to stop with a pink color because the ceiling is so tall. I'd need scaffolding to do anything up there. An echoing living room is actually pretty straightforward to fix. Whenever you have an echo in the space, that generally means that you just have to add some more textiles into the room to absorb sound. So adding the long drapes, adding area rugs, adding maybe even a fabric wall hanging into the space is going to absorb that sound and help it feel less echoey. And she doesn't want to paint the whole thing. We're going to paint the three walls around that stairwell, and we're going to paint them a nice moody greenish gray tone. I think something like Benjamin Moore, Gloucester Sage would work really well in this space. I'm also suggesting painting the Island in a contrasting tone, maybe even a warm black, and that's going to add a little bit more interest to this very white room. Then adding some nice full curtains, really wide panels, maybe even doubling up panels on either side of all the windows with some bamboo shades underneath. So we're adding layers of textiles to help absorb the space and make this room feel like a warm hug. Also suggesting adding large scale art over the sofa and mounting the TV on the wall. I think considering a one large art piece on the stairwell wall, maybe even a fabric wall hanging would be a great way to not only soften up that echo, but add some more warmth and texture into this room. We have that same vaulted ceiling, but a whole different feeling with all of these textures and this deeper paint color. Textiles aren't just decor. They play a function in a space, especially in something like this where we want it to absorb sound and feel more cozy. This makeover today is our biggest one because Katya sent me two separate spaces, but they're essentially combined. So she has this living room and this dining room space with a little bit of a half wall in between. And I wanted to tackle them both to make the space feel so cohesive. She is a music teacher living in Singapore and she said about her space, every inch counts. I want it to feel beachy, cozy, but functional for a family in a small space, urban environment. Living room and dining room areas don't feel connected to me yet. And she says that nobody in our family really wants to use that dining area at all. What I love about this space is all of the architectural detail. I love the half wall with the shelves. I love the stepped up ceiling. I think keeping all of that white is going to really emphasize those beautiful architectural features. She already has blue tones in this space. So I suggest keeping blue tones, but we're going to lighten them up. Maybe a light warm blue in some of the textiles like the throw pillows and then softening the space with a lot of creamy whites and some light beachy wood tones to bring in that coastal calm feeling. Floor to ceiling drapes in a nice light, natural tones. I think work in both rooms and applying the same window treatment to both spaces is going to make them feel so much more tied together. The TV gets mounted on the wall to take advantage of vertical space and make the room feel a little bit bigger. And I recommend for her to paint her front door in that warm, soft blue tone so that it can be throughout the space. Having a large sizable rug in the living room grounds that seating area and add some texture. So this is two rooms, but now it is one cohesive beachy feeling space. All of these textures and soft tones in here make it feel so much more welcoming and inviting. I hope you enjoyed these room makeovers. Let me know down in the comments below what you think and which one is your favorite. And if you want to send in your room for me to virtually redesign, I'll link the application form down in that description box below. I would love to check out your space and help you. If you like this virtual makeover, click to watch this one next, where I share 10 more virtual room transformation for my subscribers. I'll see you in that one.