Sometimes it just takes a little touch here and there to refresh an old decorating scheme. With these ten cheap items, you can make your home look new and energized.
If you’re on a limited budget and want to make some changes to your home decor but without stretching your already thin finances further, use the following ten decorating tricks.
Look for Lamps
Brighten your rooms with great lamps. Don’t buy the first one you find but take the time to look for unusual and perfect lamps that seem to speak to you. Let your lamps do more than add light. Let them have a personality of their own.
Unusual Art
Add artistic touches that are a bit out of the norm, consider items not generally thought of as artwork. Antiques are a wonderful place to start, as the small collection of antique bottles made in Wisconsin (shown in the photo) proves. In addition, the photo features a simple, inexpensive full-length mirror resting lengthwise on the mantle to create more visual interest.
Crazy Chair
Look for a unique chair that’s just a little bit off, and you’ve got an excellent conversation starter and additional seating. This chair doesn’t have to be expensive, just something that appeals to you because of its looks and form. You also don’t have to match the chair to the rest of the home; go for something that doesn’t match.
Frame Crazy
Frames are not only useful for windows and pictures. Consider framing notes and momentos from days gone by. Use shadowbox frames to draw attention to treasured items such as a generational piece of jewellery, a shell collected on the beach on your honeymoon, any little trinket you’ve got tucked away because of its sentimental value.
Use Books
Books can be enjoyable conversation starters. Rather than going with traditional coffee table books, put out a few that say something about you. If you’re interested in a scholarly area of study, put a few of those books out. Put some knitting pattern books on your coffee table if you like knitting. And don’t haphazardly display your treasured books but use them as supports for other knickknacks or raise candles and give them height interest.
Pillows
Throw pillows with vivid patterns or bright colours can really enliven a room, and they typically don’t cost much, especially if you know how to work a sewing machine. And if you are going to do it yourself, how about using a colour photocopier and iron-on paper to create your unique fabric.
Bring In the Garden
Whether you add plants to your decorating scheme or garden accessories, a little touch of the outside refreshes the inside. Think creatively and invest in some garden accessories, a birdbath with a glass top makes a great coffee table. And plants give every room new energy.
Use Words
Consider decorating with words throughout the home to give it more visual interest. Large quotes painted on one wall are now common and popular, especially in children’s rooms and kitchens, but you can use words in better ways by being creative. Rather than adding stripes to a wall, use stencils and write within the lines. Much more interesting and fuller of excitement and meaning, words are the way to go.
Look Down
Add some visual interest to your floor. A hand latched rug in personalized colours is a terrific way to bring excitement to a room. Or paint a large piece of canvas and create a floor cloth that shows your artistic skill. Neither of these ideas requires skill, as abstract art is something everyone can do.
Find the Time
Clocks are a great inexpensive decorating item. Create a unique collection of clocks in an artistic arrangement, make your own clocks out of unusual things, run ribbon through old watch faces, or produce your vision.
These inexpensive decorating tricks help you spruce up your décor without spending a lot of time and money. They’re also great ways to infuse a little personality into your home. Remember, the best decorating schemes say something special about the people who live there.
