Magnolia Star Joanna Gaines Has A Smart Tip For Cheaply Transforming A Room

It's no secret that Joanna Gaines is a fan of hardwood floors. In just about every renovation she completes, her husband, Chip Gaines, is on his hands and knees, either upgrading the existing wood or replacing the planks with new ones. Chip and Joanna's own house also has wooden flooring in most of the rooms, including the living room, dining area, kitchen, and primary bedroom, per Magnolia. Natural planks are such a key element for Joanna because they add the perfect amount of warmth to her farmhouse designs. If the floors are a bit aged, they also add an antique feel that could be modernized with the right furniture pieces or paint colors.

However, this material is quite pricey, so it isn't always the right choice. Unless your home already has hardwood, it may not be in your budget to completely change the floors. This was the case for Joanna when renovating three rooms for only $5,000. The living room was covered in outdated tile, and she didn't have the money to replace it. Instead, she utilized a genius hack that saved her thousands.

Instead of replacing the outdated tile with hardwood, Joanna Gaines decided to add a much cheaper option to the floor. She told Elle Decor, "We knew we wanted to hide the living room's dated tile, and investing in a large area rug was a lot cheaper than installing new hardwood floors."

Because there's no demolition required, this hack is extremely easy and simple to execute. When explaining this project, which she called her first "Mini Reni," Joanna says, "The whole thing was fast and furious — we did some cosmetic updates and brought in some beautiful furniture and accessories ... Sometimes all you need is a few days or a few key pieces to turn a room into a space you love," per Magnolia. Additionally, don't be concerned with covering the entire floor when utilizing this tip, even if what's underneath isn't great. Joanna leaves a few feet of tile exposed around the room's border, which still looks great.

To give you an idea of how much money this tip could save you, let's compare the average price of various types of flooring per square foot. New hardwood floors could cost you anywhere from $6 to $10, while vinyl will definitely be cheaper, at about $3 to $7. Maybe you're into the carpet, in which case you can expect to pay around $3.50 to $11. Tile will depend upon the type you choose and could be priced anywhere from $6 to $20. 

Now, let's compare these prices to the cost of the typical large area rug. A 12 by 18-foot rug from Wayfair costs $469.99, or about $2.17 per square foot, which would be less expensive than any of the above options. Or, maybe you don't need a big rug, but you want something a bit more luxurious. If so, you could purchase a 9.6 by 14-foot rug from Joss & Main for $849 or about $6.31 per square foot, which could be cheaper than hardwood or tile.