Budget Home Decorating Tips
Cheap and Easy Interior Design
You've finally bought your dream home, and you've moved in and gotten yourself settled. Now comes the fun part, decorating your new home. But there's one problem. You're on a budget and don't have a lot of money to splash about on decorating. So what's a person to do when it's time shop for decorative items?
Get a gameplan
Start by making a plan. Write down your decorating ideas room by room. Look through decorating magazines and clip out pictures of things that catch your eye and put them in folders for each room. Decide what type of wall decorations you want, drapes and curtains, lighting, etc.
Be creative
Once you have a general idea of how you want to decorate each room of the home, you can start looking for those canny sales items. You can find wonderful used items at flea markets and yard sales at huge savings. Estate sales often offer fantastic vintage items that make wonderful decorations. You can often find seasonal items at a huge discount immediately following the end of a holiday. This is a great time to stock up for the next year for decorative seasonal items.
If you sew, you can make your own curtains and drapes and save a lot of money, plus have better quality material. If you enjoy making crafts, the ideas are endless on how to spruce up used items you find at yard sales or second hand.
Everything old is new again
An old wooden chest found at a thrift store can be repainted into a beautiful piece for the guest bedroom. Plates found at yard sales can make a beautiful collection for the buffet. You can save money on paint by buying paint that was not mixed to the specific color someone wanted and therefore was marked down and shelved.
Old picture frames can be repainted and decorated into pretty new designs, adding new life to treasured photos. Decorative foils wrapped around the frames add a nice touch.
Make space
If you have a large room that will serve dual purposes, a room divider offers an inexpensive and easy way to give the appearance of an enclosed section of the room. Placing a sofa or love seat in the middle of the room also gives the appearance of dividing a larger room into a smaller area.
Smaller rooms can be made to appear larger by placing decorative etched mirrors on one of the walls. This gives the illusion of added space, while adding the decorative touch to the wall.
Outdated but stylish calendars make absolutely wonderful framed posters for almost any wall in the home. Instead of tossing out last year's old calendar, save it and clip out the photos you like. Measure the size of the photos and find frames, and arrange them in your rooms. These are great for smaller areas that need a little something to spruce up the walls.
Finishing touches
Adding artificial flowers and greenery over doorways and walk-through areas can add color to a room and given it a fresh and inviting appearance. Be careful not to overdo it or what's intended to be decorative could come across as looking tacky.
Wall tapestries offer an elegant decorative look. If you are in luck and happen upon these at an estate sale, they add a nice touch to your home. Small throw size quilts are often also used as wall hangings and add a nice homey feel.
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