The weather is officially dreary in Chi-town and the post-holiday slump is coming. The decorations have come down and the new budget is in full-effect, which means one thing: It’s time to re-decorate!

Now, when I use the term I’m not talking about going out, buying lots of new accessories and paint, and cluttering my home with more ‘stuff.’ To me, re-decorate (see the clever use of the hyphen?!) means to take what you already have in your home and re-arrange it for a new look.

So that’s exactly what we did this weekend! With below zero temps we knew we’d be hunkering down – and what better time to reshuffle our place. We chose to focus on our bedroom as we wanted to purge the messiness and give it a lighter, more spacious airy feel.

Our first step was going through the clutter to detox the room of unnecessary items. We grabbed a grocery bag and started filling it with odds and ends that could be donated. Perfect timing too as my mom was hosting a rummage sale to raise funds for some Staten Island Sandy victims. Clothing, accessories, purses and even a headband or two were tossed in – instantly clearing out a tad more breathing space on our dresser and door hooks.

Next, we had to make vertical space. As an avid crafter, who’s married to a fine artist, you can imagine how precious wall space is to each of us. Our bedroom had three shadow box shelves filled with knick-knacks, a re-purposed coat hanger for my baubles and  two 9×6 foot paintings. Yes – I did say two massive paintings! Everything had to come down.

With the clutter gone and the walls cleared – it was time to make things move. We had already strategized where each furniture piece would be shifted, so the planning was done in advance. With a push hear and shove there we shifted our refurbished vintage bed frame onto the the southern most wall – creating a ton of walking space along the open end. We then moved our salvaged dresser and matching end table across and next to the bed. Then we dragged in a big plant from our sun room to bring a hint of life to the space.

And now came the best part: adding the details.  We really liked the white, black and grey color palette and wanted to stick with these basics while adding pops of color here and there. A dusty blue burlap lampshade was swapped in from another room, while the grey woven one that had been on the taller light fixture was moved towards the bed. We left our bedding intact, complete with ombre microfiber mega pillows. A couple of missing knobs on the dresser were subbed in by some cute ceramic woodland animal pieces that were otherwise being used in our entryway. A rug that had been rolled up and tucked in a closet was resurrected and draped next to the outer edge of the bed. Talk about cozy and whimsical details!

Now for the art. We were really torn in choosing which wall to grace with an original David Downs piece. Would it be the largest wall, the one over the bed or maybe even behind the dresser? In an effort to maintain the openness of the space we opted for one of his smaller abstracts that he created with a monochromatic theme with pops of yellow thanks to a fit of curry splashing. The piece was the perfect size and would anchor the bed against the wall.

Now, in true matrimonial fashion, David let me dress up one of the others walls with my own creations. And what did I choose? A series of family portraits that I concocted out of wood, photos and paint. Doctoring each pic on my computer, I blew out the contrast, printed each subject, cut and glued them to the wood. I then meticulously painted over each piece so it could technically be called a painting (though my husband and you now know the truth!). I then stapled some raw wool yarn to the backs and hung them on either side of the dresser. A fitting finishing touch if I do say so myself.

So that’s it! We did all of the above in just one afternoon and didn’t have to spend a dime on new furnishings or fixtures. We just used what we already had lying around the house and stuck to our ‘airy’ them to make the room exactly what we’d need during this blistery time of year.

Have you had an itch to re-decorate your home? What could you do to freshen up your place without having to purchase any additional gear? Share your musings and ideas in the comments below!