Ways to Revive Your “Meh” Space When You Can’t Pinpoint Why it Feels Dull

Go with me for a moment while I set the stage. You’re in your home and it just feels… well, for a lack of a better word… “blah”. It isn’t that it’s dirty or dated per se, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. Raise your hand if you’ve been there. I’ve been there too — often — and what I’ve discovered is when I’m not loving a space but it isn’t necessarily in need of an overhaul, is that sometimes, through a series of small, compounding factors, it can start to feel dingy. And worn. And not in a cool, cozy, coffee house way, but in a flat, used, past-its-prime way, therefore, feeling less inspiring, less crisp, and less like the space you’d intended. Today, we’re going to chat about lots of potential contributing culprits, and how to easily remedy them, getting your home/room back in order and feeling it’s best and most current and fresh self. And in partnership with Wayfair, I’m addressing a few of mine head on in today’s post!

*Posts on KelleyNan.com may contain affiliate links. While this post is created in partnership with Wayfair, all opinions, concept, and creative are my own. Click HERE for full disclosure.*

Change Worn Linens — Specifically Worn Hand Towels

My powder room? It’s been the exact same without a single change since I first finished it years ago. Proof to myself that the decisions I made — from the vanity to the blue and white wallpaper — were the correct ones as I continue to love it and its proven to be pretty timeless. Unfortunately, that longevity has also extended to the powder room hand towels. Somehow, I’ve also been using the exact same two tasseled hand towels all these years, too. It’s one of those things that I didn’t even realize was bringing down the vibe and making the powder room feel a little too worn in, until I took serious inventory and realized that while I wasn’t watching, those hand towels had in fact grown pretty dingy and worn with tassels unravelled and loose strings hanging. The good news — what a simple and quick fix! Replacing a hand towel. It’s so easy to correct but if your hand towels have seen better days, it can drag down your bathroom/kitchen in a second. Fortuntately, I was also able to replace my tasseled hand towels with the same towel, since they’re still available. You can find it in several colors HERE.

Tukish Cotton Hand Towel

Other quick fixes to re-crisp this space — some completed and some not yet…

• Clear soap residue from soap bottle
• Re-caulk behind vanity
• Clean any water spots off paneling
• Dust trim
• Clean/dust light fixture well
• Make sure vanity pulls, toilet paper holder, and any other hardware are straight.

Vanity | Faucet | Turkish Hand Towel | Wallpaper

Tukish Cotton Hand Towel

Replace Worn/Stained Rugs

Another long overdue replacement — the breakfast nook rug (another piece that hasn’t been switched since I finished this space). First of all, let me just say that I LOVE having a thin(ish), flat jute rug in here. It’s affordable (literally, just over $80 for the 6′ version on Wayfair HERE, and ships free), it conceals dirt and food stains really well, and it wears really well over time. But, eventually, it does need replacing. And, we are to that point. While it conceals stains well, I know everything that’s been dropped on this rug, and it’s pretty gross. And even though it wears really well and naturally, it does get to a point where it just feels kind of flat and dingy. It’s probably the most trafficked rug in our house so it’s been nothing short of impressive. Again, I loved how this held up and the look and function so much, I basically ordered the same thing all over again.

Here’s the new rug, in place, fresh and ready for the next several years.

Round Jute Rug — 6′ | White Stoneware Vase

Mine is the 6′ version, which is the largest this space can accommodate. Ideally, we would have sized up to a 7′ or 8′ with the size of our table and chairs, but with the narrowness of the nook, it’s totally fine and I’ve always thought it still appears well proportioned. You can see a close-up video of this rug with a more complete review in my LTK HERE.

Jute Rug (mine is the 6′ size ) | Stoneware Vase

Other quick fixes to freshen this space…

• Replace back door weather stripping
• Tighten table bolts
• Clean and condition leather chairs
• Dust light fixture beads

Shockingly, the kitchen runner in front of our stove is still in fantastic shape, despite its exposure to food and high traffic.

Runner Rug

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this affordable rug over and over and over again. And, at this point, I think I could say that about almost every rug in my home, and most came from Wayfair — my first place to hunt for new rugs.

Runner Rug | Backsplash Tile | Champagne Bronze Drawer Pulls (5 1/16″ and 6 5/16″) | Champagne Bronze Cabinet Knobs ( 1 5/16″) | Le Creuset Dutch Oven

Y’all know my frustrating journey with my living room rugs and my dogs — one that is a super senior now. Despite the accidents on our living room rugs, nothing has hidden them as well as this one has and regardless of how many times it’s been cleaned and scrubbed to death, it’s still the softest rug I own. And when I replace this one eventually, I will likely replace it with the same one. By the way, in addition to upholstery, THIS little machine has become my rug cleaning MVP. So effective, portable, and I’m still thrilled that I asked for and received it as a gift this past Christmas.

Area Rug | Round End Table | Stoneware Urn

Another rug I bought twice from Wayfair — first in the living room and then for the office — was THIS rug that I still adore. The dogs leave this one alone (knock on wood) so I anticipate that I’ll have it here for many years to come. When I decided my office needed some updates because of that un-fresh and uninspired feeling, changing from my previous thin rug to this one is what made the biggest difference. You can see my full office evolution HERE.

Area Rug | Office Chair | Golden Champagne Cabinet Pulls ( 5 1/16″ and 6 5/16″)

Revamp the Lamp (Shade)

How many lamps do you have where the shades are cracked, dusty, stained, unglued, or just feel like they aren’t giving style contribution to the room? TBH, I have several. Now, my conversation room lamp is still in good shape but the stark white drum shade is doing me no favors in the warm, transitional space. It was making everything just feel a little less intentional. I still really love the base but wanted a different color tone and shade shape, so instead of ordering an all new lamp, I ordered a lamp shade (THIS one) to sub in. It feels like a brand new piece, now.

Before: Mirror (similar) | After: Lamp Shade

The color is more muted (the perfect linen), I love the subtle texture, and the shape is so much fresher.

Lamp Shade

Lamp Shade | Area Rug

And I love how it goes with the rest of the space. A pleated shade would have also been pretty.

Cane Back Chair | Stoneware Vase | Area Rug

If you have lamps with flaws, you may not even realize that they could be dragging down the integrity of your space. If they can’t be dusted/wiped clean, consider replacing the shade instead of shopping for an all new lamp. Also, don’t miss dusting the lightbulbs! And, if you’re changing the style of your room — either by modernizing your space, or making it a little more traditional — a lamp shade switch is a great touch point.

Update the Bathroom Textiles

That goes for towels and hand towels, obviously, but also your bath mats. We have had to start washing ours more frequently (because of one of our dogs 😉 ) and in addition to its age, it began to wear even more quickly. Similar to the hand towel comparison, it can be shocking when you compare a new vs. old bath mat — especially when you didn’t realize how bad your former mat had become, with dingy whites, small stains, pulls and loose strings…

This is my first time trying the much-hyped-about waffle bath mats and now, I GET IT. They’re absorbent, cushy to the feet, have small amounts of rubber on the back to help keep them from sliding, they look great, and they price point is PHENOMENAL! You can find them in several colors and sizes HERE.

Waffle Bath Mat | Shower Tile

They work great for bath rugs or occasional bath mats.

Waffle Bath Mat | Shower Tile | Freestanding Soaking Tub | Tub Filler

Waffle Bath Mat

Here’s a close up of the cushy and waffle detail.

Waffle Bath Mat

Vanity | Waffle Bath Mat | Freestanding Soaking Tub | Tub Filler | Shower Tile

Waffle Bath Mat | Freestanding Soaking Tub | Tub Filler

Remove Wall Scuffs/Touch Up Paint

Before I hung my office gallery wall of curated happiness and favorite memories (see the full post with all the details HERE), I was debating on painting my walls. They felt kind of dingy and old but I couldn’t think of another color I wanted for my office more. This wall specifically was covered with scuffs and and rub marks and I couldn’t believe how refreshed the entire space felt after tackling scuffs on the walls with wall erasers, filling a few holes with putty, and making a few minor paint touch-ups. Now, my leftover paint in the can was almost 10 years old — separated with a rusty lid. I mixed as best as I could, took a chance, and surprisingly, it came out fantastic. Bottom line, eliminating scuffs and marks don’t just improve that specific area of wall… it has a huge impact on the liveliness and vitality of the entire room.

Gold Frame — 5″ x 7″ | Thin Gold Metal Frame — 12″ x 16″

Switch from Fabric to Leather

Also speaking of renewing the vibrance in the office, I switched from my stained fabric chair to THIS leather chair years ago to get rid of the dinge and not only did it accomplish the goal in the moment, but having a wipeable surface has continued to keep my chair looking bright and new for years. If you’re past the point of stain remedial (which mine was), consider switching to a different upholstery. I also made a fabric to leather change in the breakfast nook and living room chairs.

Office Chair

Add More White

I love color and patterns and vibrancy but in my office, my no-natural-light-bathroom just continued to feel dark and dim with the dark floral shower curtain. I was able to brighten it up in a single easy move — by switching to this simple waffled white shower curtain. Speaking of shower curtains, make sure yours are free of water stains and that the liners are replaced as needed to keep your bathrooms from feeling worn.

White Waffle Shower Curtain | Faucet

Polish Your Metals

Not all metals need polishing. And if you have something like copper, you may actually like the natural oxidation/patina. But some metals — like silver and polished nickel (similar to but warmer than chrome which does not need polishing) — need formal polishing as they patina. I adore the look of my polished nickel fixtures in our primary bathroom, but if I don’t polish them after a while, they start making the bathroom feel less fresh.

Tub Filler | Faucet

Clean Your Upholstery

I have zero regrets for having an ivory bench at the foot of our bed, but as the “stairs” for our dogs and wrestling/gymnastics launch pad for our daughter — on a nightly basis — dirt and marks had more than started to show.

Upholstered Storage Bench | Nightstand | Boucle Storage Ottoman | Martini Table

It’s hard to capture the true before and after of our bench, but here’s my best effort. The first photo has variations of dirt and marks; the second is clean with fresh vacuum lines from working my upholstery cleaner.

Upholstered Storage Bench

Again, this little guy has become a celebrated MVP in our home.

Upholstered Storage Bench | Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Upholstery And Carpet Cleaner

Upholstered Storage Bench | Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Upholstery And Carpet Cleaner

Evaluation Check Points and Tasks to Brighten Your Dingy Space (Especially if You Can’t Put Your Finger On Exactly What Needs “Doing”)…

• Polish metals that patina (silver, nickel, etc.)
• Replace hand towels — both in the bathrooms and kitchen
• Clean and condition leather
• Inspect/brighten the tile grout
• Replace plants that aren’t thriving
• Clean light switch plates
• Trim loose threds on upholstery and rugs
• Shave uphostered items that are fuzzy/pilling
• Bring in fresh guest towels
• Clean/replace rugs, kitchen runner, front doormat
• Dust/replace lampshades that are discolored, cracked, or misshapen
• Touch up door hinges
• Clean reflective surfaces (windows, mirrors, glass)
• Clean/touch up wall scuffs
• Touch up flooring/wood dings with stain pen
• Wipe down/remove any buildup from cabinet fronts and crevices
• Remove gunk from doorknobs and cabinet pulls
• Wipe down baseboards
• Clean lighting — dust lightbulbs, clean beads and crystsals, dust shades/ceiling attachment
• Replace shower curtain and/or liner
• Replace cracked caulk
• Plump upholstery cushions that are flattened by unzipping them and working the filling by hand.

If there’s something simple you’ve done that has given your home new life/a trick you swear by that brightens your spaces right up, be sure to share in the comment section!