We’re in the middle of two room updates and I couldn’t be more excited. One is our master bathroom renovation we shared recently, and the other is a lighter, less dusty project with no demo or wall moving—just a lot more function, plus a wall treatment and wallpaper that I’m thrilled about. We’re reconfiguring the middle bedroom at our beach house, which started as a very small room dominated by a queen bed that rarely got used.
It’s been fun to work on a lighter redo while we wait for larger orders—like the bathroom tub and vanity—to arrive and finalize tile choices. Thankfully the bathroom is still functional while we wait, so we can keep using the house while making progress on this smaller, faster project.
While planning the middle bedroom update I realized we used some very simple, low-tech methods that might help anyone planning a room makeover. You don’t need fancy 3D software or complex mood boards to make confident design decisions. Here are four practical, effective things we did to visualize the room as we made changes, plus a progress update on the space.
For the past two years this room served as a guest bedroom with a queen bed. In practice it hardly got used; guests usually chose the larger front bedroom, and only once in a while did a single child sleep in the middle room. After two years of wasted floor space, we decided the room should work harder for us. We sold the old bed and nightstands and began planning a layout that would balance sleeping space with play and art space for the kids.
Our goal was a multi-functional room: a twin or daybed for occasional guests, more open floor space so a second child could sleep on an air mattress if needed, and a dedicated art and play area so the dining table downstairs could stay meal-ready. We drew on a previous project where a single bed doubled as a guest room and playroom and decided a woven daybed would be a perfect anchor piece for this space.
Below are the four low-tech planning strategies that helped us make strong choices while keeping the process simple and hands-on. The room is still a work in progress, but these techniques moved the design forward quickly and with confidence.
1. Bring In Your Anchor Pieces
Start by placing the items you already own or absolutely want in the space. Known pieces make every later decision easier because you can visualize everything around them. For us, the rug we already owned and a woven daybed became the launching point for the new layout. A large anchor piece like a daybed helps define circulation paths and determines which walls remain available for other furniture.
Placing the daybed in front of the windows instead of the back wall opened up the most usable wall space across the room. Once its final placement was set, it became much easier to decide what would fit opposite it and how the rest of the room would work.
2. Tape Things Out
Painter’s tape is an inexpensive, powerful planning tool. We used it to mock up a board-and-batten wall treatment and to test different spacing and heights. Taping the design on the wall gave a quick gut check on scale and proportion and helped us choose a wider spacing that should make the room feel bigger—and keeps costs down.
We also taped the floor to map out a desk area. That made it simple to see how different desk sizes and chair positions would affect flow and sightlines, saving us from ordering items that would later feel too bulky in the space.
3. Bring In Placeholder Furniture
Temporary pieces are invaluable. We carried chairs up from the dining room to test how a double desk might function. Immediately it was obvious that chairs with backs made the room feel fenced-off and crowded. Seeing that in person prevented a costly mistake.
If you don’t have ideal pieces handy, get creative—use boxes, upside-down baskets, or anything that approximates the size and height of the furniture you’re considering. We flipped baskets to act as stools and used a cube shelf as a stand-in desk. That quick test convinced us that backless seating—like plush ottomans—would give us the feeling of openness we wanted and could tuck away under the desk when not in use.
We ordered two small plush stools that are light enough for the kids to move, and chose a single desk with drawers instead of two metal desks. The desk feels like a small console when the room is used by guests, but it still provides a functional art surface. The stools also double as footrests or mini coffee tables for the daybed, adding flexibility.
Seeing these pieces in the room made it clear we were on the right track. The kids tested the desk and gave it enthusiastic approval, and the ottomans performed exactly as we hoped—versatile, comfortable, and visually light.
4. Hold the Phone (Use Your Phone to Test Finishes)
Finally, we used a simple phone test to choose wallpaper. We wanted higher board-and-batten with colorful wallpaper above, and after narrowing options we opened each pattern on a phone and held both devices up in the doorway. It sounds basic, but comparing the scale of the patterns against the rug and the room in real life made the choice obvious. The larger-scale pattern read best with the existing rug’s scale, so we chose that option.
We did consider printing samples or using digital mockups, but this quick in-room phone comparison gave us the confidence we needed. The chosen wallpaper is on backorder, so we’ll install the board-and-batten first and add paper later—timing that actually works with our weekend visits to the beach house.
In short: bring in anchor pieces early, tape out potential treatments and furniture positions, use placeholders to test sightlines and scale, and use simple phone mockups to vet finishes. These low-tech steps kept decisions quick, affordable, and confident. The room is already far more functional, and I can’t wait to finish the board-and-batten and add the wallpaper to complete the look.
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