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Primpovers Are the New Way to Refresh Your Home Without Spending a Dime

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Want to refresh your space—but don’t have the budget (or the desire) for a shopping spree? A primpover might be overdue.

The new trend is meant to help you refresh your home affordably by using items you already have in your home. It’s simply a matter of reconfiguring your furniture, swapping a few items, and voila! Your space feels brand new.

Curious to know more? Read ahead to learn what exactly primping is, when to start a primpover, and expert tips for how to successfully take one on. 

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What Is a Primpover?

A primpover entails reimagining your space using furniture and decor you already own in new configurations.

“These may be items that are already in use or items that have been stored away,” Lauren Saltman, professional organizer and owner of Living. Simplified., says.

The idea is that you can restyle your space without spending any money, contrary to what many of us believe we need for designing a space—which is to go out and find new pieces. The process involves decluttering, reorganizing, and even changing up the purpose of an existing room to breathe new life into it.  

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When Should You Take On a Primpover?

According to Saltman, there’s no right or wrong time to start a primpover. However, primpovers can be perfect for those without a large budget or not enough free time to spend researching everything they need for refreshing their homes.

Saltman notes that it can also be a fun project if you are moving in with a new person and combining households of furniture.

“Take the opportunity to mix together furnishings from both of your collections,” she advises.

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The Steps of a Primpover

To achieve a successful primpover, there are a few key steps you’ll want to follow. The first is to declutter your space.

“This might mean donating decor or furniture items that no longer fit your design aesthetic,” Saltman says. “It may mean decluttering your collection of books.”

It’s helpful to focus on one room at a time, rather than looking at the home as an entirety.

“If you jump into a whole-home primpover, you'll find that you are surrounded by furniture in every room that has no real home,” Saltman explains.

Once you’ve cleaned and decluttered, it’s time to create a staging area where you can gather items to decorate the room—pieces that already exist in the space and ones from other rooms that you want to move around.

“Basically, you want to create a clean slate in the room you are working on,” Saltman says. “If you plan on keeping the large pieces of furniture in the room, by all means, don't move them out! However, now is the perfect time to try to rearrange the furniture in the space to give it a new feel.”

After the larger furniture is configured, you can start to play around with smaller decor items and furnishings. Think: creating a new shelf display, setting up a coffee table vignette, or even repotting your plants.

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Expert Tips for a Successful Primpover

Still not sure how to restyle your space? Saltman has some expert tips to help. When it comes to rearranging furniture, she notes, many people tend to push their furniture against the walls. However, floating your furniture in the center of your room is always an option.

“Anchor the space with a large area rug that will help you create a conversation area—as I've done in my own home,” she suggests. “You may be able to create a small desk area for your home office, or bring in your musical instruments for a small music studio.”

It’s also helpful to have a focal point in your room. Saltman recommends making the focal point either a TV, a fireplace, a piece of artwork, or your bed. An area rug, credenza, or even some fun lighting can help draw the eye to these areas.

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As you start rearranging, you may find that you have a small budget to bring in new items. In that case, there are ways to create a fresh look without denting your wallet.

“Add in a new area rug, a new floor or table lamp, or paint the room a fresh color,” Saltman notes. “You can also add in new throw pillows, or recover the ones you already have, and a new throw blanket.”

Don’t forget to look up, too—your walls offer ample surface to get creative. Saltman recommends getting your artwork in on the primpover game by moving these treasured pieces from one room to another. If you don't have any artwork on wall decor, printing your own photos and creating a gallery wall is also a great way to primpover a space.

“When it comes to artwork, I like to remind my clients that they own the artwork and not to let the artwork own them," Saltman says. "Moving your artwork around your home will definitely give it new life.”