Budget-Conscious Home Decorating Ideas
Ideas to Spruce Up Your Space Without Spending a Fortune
Mar 18, 2009
First things first. Begin at the entry way. The foyer or entry is your first chance to make a good impression. Paint the entry a dramatic but warm and inviting color. Some good possibilities: violet or red, a warm yellow or a toasty brown or cinnamon with moldings in crisp white.
if the foyer is large enough, move an old sideboard or console table there. Rejuvenate it with a few coats of golden rod, red or white paint. Line the drawers with pretty paper and use them to hold car keys, lipstick and a comb, gloves, hats and scarves. Hang a large oval mirror above and you can do a last minute check before leaving.
Paint a picnic bench lemon yellow. Distress the edges by gently sanding with a fine grit paper. Put the bench in the entryway so the kids have a spot to put on their boots. Stash mittens and hats under the bench in an old wicker picnic basket or two.
Stamp or stencil leaves, stars, moons or another favorite motif on a foyer, bedroom or dining room ceiling with gold, silver or copper hobby paints. Or use painter’s tape to mark alternating stripes of cream and red or hunter green on the walls. Or apply a checkerboard pattern to the floor with paint. Hunter green and cream or black and white are two classic, timeless combinations.
Windows
Soak new, store-bought white lace curtains in strong tea to give them an antique look.
Use your imagination to create unique curtain rods. Some ideas: copper tubing bamboo poles, a tree branch or an oar. Or buy a 2 1/2- inch diameter wooden dowel cut to fit the window. Paint the dowel black, white or gold or the same color as the wall. Or if the curtains are fixed and don’t need to move on the rod, upholster it by making a tube out of the same fabric as the curtains. Start with a length 2 1/2 times that of the rod and gather.
Instant New Accessories
Turn a favorite found object into a lamp. You’ll find all the components available at a good hardware store. Possibilities include a pitcher, ceramic coffee or teapot, watering can, wooden spindle or architectural element, urn or a birdhouse.
Remove clutter from your coffee table. Then display just one item. It need not be expensive. For example, fill a clear glass bowl with shells or ruddy pomegranates or pine cones. Or go for contrast and fill a green bowl or compote with fresh lemons or a cobalt blue bowl with fresh limes or green apples. The theme is abundance, so use plenty. (And don’t forget to remove any price stickers or stamps on the fruit.)
Stylish storage
If you live in a house with a big old bathroom but no linen closet create your own bathroom storage. Paint a small old dresser in a pretty color, say robin’s egg blue. Stencil a lacey doily on the top (Gently dab over a paper or plastic doily with a sea sponge barely moistened with white paint.) While the doily dries, cut a few cabbage roses, pansies or peonies from heavy-duty wrapping paper and scatter on the dresser top. When you’re satisfied with the placement, glue them to the top. Protect your work with a coat of non-yellowing polyurethane. Replace hardware with cut glass pulls or interesting, but mismatched brass pulls.
Give your home a new look with a new coat of paint for floors or an old piece of furniture. Clear out the clutter and change what's on display. it doesn't take a lot of money to bring instant style and personality to your space.
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