Housely
You can have the home of your dreams, on any budget. All it takes is some planning, a sense of adventure, and a lot of elbow grease to transform you living space from dull to wow! Don’t let cost cutting decorating ideas scare you. By using these creative ideas, only you and your bank account will know the truth.
1. Don’t Call in a Decorator
Who knows better than you what you like? Unless you want someone to completely take over, hiring an interior designer might not be worth the money and aggravation. The Wall Street Journal reports that sometimes it’s the designer who fires the customer, How I Got Fired By My Interior Designer. In this case, the client just wanted a little say so in how her home would look, therefore she was dismissed by the designer, and left with a hefty bill for her trouble. Avoid all of this by just working with the contractors you really need to execute your vision.
2. Be Thrift Store Savvy
If you’ve ever been to a thrift store or yard sale, the trick is to be able to separate the junk from hidden treasures. Scratch the surface of an old dresser that has been painted antique blue and covered with Smurf stickers, and you may find a lovely wooden piece that you can strip and refinish to its former glory. Drab to Fab Thrift Store Table Refinish, is one of the step by step tips on a blog about woodworking. Sure, refinishing a found item takes time, but you can’t argue with the gorgeous results.
3. DIY Painting Made Fun and Easy
Don’t turn green with envy when looking at home decorating ideas, use their basic ideas with your DIY skills to bring your living room to life. The living room is a family area so get your kid’s input on a personalized color scheme that reflects your family’s pleasures, themes or ancestry. Don’t hire professional painters, get the whole family involved! Easy directions on painting a room can be found on Lowes.com. The adults might have to do the “cutting in” and trim work, but teenagers can certainly handle a roller and the younger ones can lend a hand stirring and moving drop cloths. Paint is one of the most dramatic, yet inexpensive ways to change “blah” to awesome, if you do it yourself. Unless your home is going on showcase for a sale, you don’t need to stick to neutral colors.
4. Use Family Artwork and Photos
That portrait of some unknown snooty Victorian or crazy flapper leaning against a gangster car is not as personal as a picture of one of your ancestors, carefully framed in a homemade shadowbox. If you have an artist or photographer in the family, put them to work. They will be proud to have their vision on display in your home. Don’t leave the kids out either–why stick their creative endeavors in a drawer, when they can be craftily displayed. An article on The Artful Parent website shows 21 Ways to Display Kids Artwork.
5. Go Minimalist and Avoid Clutter
A gorgeous chair that no one ever sits in has no purpose. Choose pieces that will have utility as well as look good for your home, particularly if you don’t live in a mansion. What you think are “collectibles” that cost every cent you make and are displayed all over your home, others may view as a hoard. If you can’t clean around your crowded surfaces, your over decorating is in vain. If you want to get an idea of what minimalist living is like, check out Zen Habits A Guide to Creating a Minimalist Home.
6. Reupholster/Cover Rather Than Replace
Furniture that lies bare during the hot summer months can get a makeover for Fall by incorporating tablecloths and slipcovers that can transform your living space. Many users of Pinterest show off their excellent ideas for reimagining furniture.
7. Refinish Don’t Replace Cabinets
Your old, sturdy cabinets can get an upgrade without a major construction project. WikiHow, http://www.wikihow.com/Refinish-Kitchen-Cabinets, guides you every step of the way to redo those cabinets to they look like new. You can change the color, and add details and hardware to cabinet doors for significantly less than you can replace them.
8. Be Realistic
Don’t try to convert your ranch house living room into a Queen’s palace. Go with the flow of your home, and don’t start knocking out walls unless you know exactly what you are doing. Taking a mallet to a load bearing wall is dangerous, yet it looks so easy on TV. Budget all items ahead of time and go with the ones that don’t require a major overhaul of your home structure. It you set unrealistic expectations, your decorating project will cost a fortune, cost you heartache, and you will no doubt be disappointed with the results. Glass accents and coffee tables look lovely in magazines, but not if you have small children running around.
9. Have a Decorating Party
Yes, you will be using your friends to help you, but you will cut down on labor costs significantly. Call in those favors when it’s your turn to redo your home. For guys, its simple–usually a pizza and some beer will fill up a room. For women, you may actually need to pretend what your friend’s think over a glass of wine, and then just steer them to do what you want. Or better yet, have a swap party, where you and your friend trade items you no longer need for treasures you want, as featured on Apartment Therapy.com.
10. Barter
If you have a skill like catering, consider trading the services you have for those you want. Make your friend’s wedding reception one to remember, and then lasso the groom, who is a contractor, to help remodel your bathroom. Literally anything can be bartered, from goods to services, as evidenced by this article on Real Simple.com. In this tight economy, bartering is back in style so make your best offer in trade for designs, ideas, and labor.
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