Decorate on a Budget – Reupholster, Repaint, Replace Light Shades

The previous post on this blog talked about decorating on a budget by painting floors, hiding clutter, wallpapering, and using greenery inside.

Reupholstering furniture is a wonderful and extremely effective way to save money while refreshing your design look and furniture. Reupholstered furniture can last nearly as long as brand new furniture would have and all you have to invest is the money for new fabric and your time. The great thing about reupholstering is that once you get past the initial learning curve you can reupholster your next piece of furniture must more easily.

Dining room chairs are one of the easiest projects you can start with. If the wooden part of the chairs looks dinged up too consider sanding and restaining the wood before you start reupholstering. You could make slipcovers for your couches and easy chairs. If you are ambitious, consider making a few slipcovers for each furniture item, then you can switch them around seasonally or when you just need a change and wash them inbetween using them.

Replacing dingy light shades can make a big difference in the way a room looks. Buy a funky bright light shade for a different look without a big investment.

Repainting should almost be its own blog series, because it can have such a huge impact on how a home looks. Repainting is not overly expensive and it can really change your design.

Check back soon for the next blog post about decorating on a budget.

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Decorate on a Budget – Wallpaper, Paint Floors, Organize, Use Plants

The previous post on this blog covered decorating on a budget using wallpaper, mirrors, or by covering up imperfections strategically.

Wallpaper a wall to jazz it up, or frame pieces of cool wallpaper to hang on the wall. Framing series of the same or similar pieces of wallpaper can look really cool too.

Painting your floors is a cheap way to improve they way they look for a lot cheaper than it would be to replace the flooring. Painting flooring will probably not last as long as replacing the flooring would, but it is a trick you can use to improve the look of your floors inexpensively.

Organizing rooms really well can go a long way towards making the rooms look better. Decorating and organizing can be done at the same time with stylish wicker baskets that pull out of colorful shelves.

There are even modern looking shelves with different sized cubbies where pull out fabric or wicker baskets could be stored and where some vases and other decorative art pieces could be displayed.

Make sure you bring some of your garden plants inside when winter hits. This way you can reuse the plants as interior design elements without having to spend any extra money. Plants really brighten up a home. Fake flowers and plants look nice too, if you don’t have a green thumb but you still like the idea of having greenery displayed.

Check back soon for the next blog post which will be about decorating on a budget by recovering furniture, replacing lampshades, and repainting.

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Decorate on a Budget – Use Mirrors, Cover Imperfections

The previous post on this blog covered how to decorate on a budget using curtains, removing curtains, or by repainting cabinet doors.

Use mirrors to make a room seem brighter and larger.

If you had plenty of money, perhaps you would want to actually open up the room or put a window in, but mirrors can help if you can’t afford an expensive remodeling project. Framed mirrors can even look like windows. Place artistic items in front of mirrors to show them off. Mirrors can also be hung in patterns on the wall. If you love the idea of mirrors, you could even buy all sorts and sizes of mirrors at a used store or off of craigslist or ebay and then display them all on one wall pieced together about an inch apart mosaic style.

Cover up imperfections that you would otherwise have to pay to fix. This probably isn’t something you want to do permanently, but if you are struggling financially it is a way you could keep your home looking nice temporarily. If your floor has a stain you can put a rug over it or even rearrange your furniture to get by until you can afford to replace the flooring. If your wall has a dent or hole cover that spot with a tapestry or picture until you can fix the wall properly.

Check back soon for the next blog post which will be about decorating on a budget by painting floors, hiding clutter, wallpapering, and using greenery inside.

This blog is brought to you by occupational therapy jobs.