Rumpus room renovation Space Invaders
Cluttered rumpus room piled high with toys, clothes and shoes

Hiding away a mountain of clutter

Single mum Jill is barely keeping her head above water. Working non-stop to provide a great life for her daughters, Jill has struggled through IVF and a marriage breakdown.

The downstairs rumpus room, once a man-cave for her ex, has now become so swamped with clutter that the floor is no longer visible. Jill has to navigate the gauntlet of toys, shoes, dance costumes, and more just to get to the laundry each day.

This room has become so unbearable for Jill that she’s even put up a curtain to hide the clutter from view, not only for visitors but also for herself. Plus, the mountain of clutter also has a ton of Jill’s ex-husband’s stuff that’s just too much for her to face.

Instead of a place where the family can gather, the room is a hidey-hole of things Jill doesn’t want to deal with.

Enter Space Invader’s Peter, Cherie and Angie to help Jill and her girls reclaim the downstairs living space.

An arts and crafts zone for kids in a rumpus room

Rumpus room designs made simple

With 227 boxes of clutter cleared and moved to a warehouse for sorting, Cherie Barber and her team of hipages tradies jumped straight into the reno.

Working with carpenters, electricians and floor installers, Cherie focused on turning the dark and dated space that felt more like a storage shed into a calm and functional room for Jill and her daughters.

To turn this once tired room into one that looks brand new, Cherie and her tradies:

  • Split the large room into two zones
  • Zone one was designed will Jill in mind as a place she can relax and unwind
  • For the girls they carved out a space for them to use as an arts and crafts zone with a worktable that also has ample storage front and centre
  • Added large sheets of wall panelling to create texture throughout the space
  • Created a feature wall with self-adhesive wallpaper for a splash of colour, along with an electric fireplace and a new wall-mounted TV
  • Replaced the old dated curtains that were blocking the daylight and making the room feel closed in with sheers and blinds with a defined colour palette
  • Finished the room with minimalist and modern light fixtures

Not only were Jill and her daughters blown away with the result, but the renovation added a remarkable $130,000 value to the home.

Timber panelling, wallpaper and storage on a feature wall in a rumpus room renovation

Room design ideas: Restyled walls

If you have a room or two that are looking a little tired or outdated, you don’t need to break the bank when it comes to renovating.

Restyling the walls won’t cost a fortune, and as we’ve seen from Jill’s rumpus room reno, it can make a room look brand new.

5 ways to restyle your walls

1

Timber panelling

Timber panelling can give your walls a natural warmth and texture. A good carpenter can create a classic panelled wall for you. It's a more expensive solution, but you don't have to panel every wall in the room.

Choose one wall you want to draw attention to and have it panelled. The other walls can be painted or covered with another material.

You can also choose less uniform panelling to achieve a more rustic look, if you prefer.

2

Wallpaper

Whatever look you're after, you can find a wallpaper to bring your room update to life. From light and bright to bold print feature walls, smooth or textured, using wallpaper not only ups your room aesthetic, it also adds longevity and durability to your walls.

If you want to make a small room appear larger, a photorealistic image of nature or a cityscape creates depth and makes the smallest room appear much larger.

3

Paint

Paint is an old standby, but we often overlook the many creative possibilities of painted surfaces.

Interior painters can create a rustic or elegant look, and the paint doesn't necessarily have to be a single colour.

You may want to create a feature wall to give your living room or bedroom a fresh, modern appearance.

4

Concrete render

A coat or two of concrete on walls can transform the look of your interior walls. If you like the industrial look, concrete may be the perfect solution. Work with a skilled concreter to get the look you want.

5

Solid plaster

Solid plaster is a good choice if you have plasterboard walls. A mixture of lime (or gypsum), sand and water, solid plaster can give the walls an industrial appearance or you can paint the walls and create a textured painted look.

A plastering service that also does solid plastering can create a feature wall and give your living room a more modern look.

Whether you’re undertaking a single-room reno or a larger project that requires expert help, we’ve got the right, trusted tradies for every job you need done. Simply post a job and up to three tradies will contact you. The best thing? It’s free.

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