Category Archives: Home and Family

Cheap Home Decorating Ideas

If you are looking for inexpensive ways to give your rooms a makeover, there are some useful tips you can use. Creating a new look for any room in your house does not need to cost a lot of money, it just needs a little imagination.

Making Use of What You Have

One way to create a new look for a room is to use left over paint to add new colors to the trim around windows and door frames. The paint can also be used on older pieces of furniture to cover up wooden frames which have scratches on them. Paint can also be used to turn the base of an old lamp into a new decorative style. To enhance the design and texture of the lamp’s base you can also glue on colored cord, sequins or beads.

If you have old sheets, you can use them to create new areas in your home by dying the fabric a new color. This works best on sheets made of cotton. If you want to get really creative, you can tie off sections of the sheet with rubber bands to make a tie-dyed design. The sheets can be used to create curtains or covers for worn dining chairs.

Adding Colorful Accessories

One of the easiest ways to bring new life to your old room is to add colorful accessory items. You can purchase low priced throw pillows and area rugs at local thrift stores. These items will come in assorted colors which often have patterns on them. You can even add throw pillows to the floor by propping them up in corners in a casual manner. Area rugs can be used to cover both hard floor surfaces and floors covered with carpet. Choosing a rug with an unusual shape will add to the interest of the room.

Accessories can also include plants and vases. You can create a decorative display for any table or floor using a discarded wicker basket or large vase. You can use plants and flowers from your own garden to create a colorful display or you can purchase inexpensive artificial items from discount and dollar stores. Adding large fronds to a floor vase will not only create interest for the room it will also add texture. You can also create an interesting display using a crystal bowl or decanter, when you fill it with colored stones or marbles.

Making Use of Wall Space

You can add interest to your room by placing interesting items on your walls. If you have a particular hobby or collect certain items, you can use your walls to showcase them. If you are interested in music, you can create a music poster using pieces of sheet music combined with the guides handed out at live performances.

Wall art can also be made from items other people have tossed out. Discarded hubcaps can be used to decorate the walls in a teenage boys room, while a montage of discarded nuts and bolts can be an interesting piece of art for any part-time mechanic.

Inexpensive home decorating can be accomplished by hunting for bargains at area flea markets and thrift stores. You should keep an open mind about the items you see and try to imagine them being used in interesting and unusual ways within your home décor.

Andrew Handley writes about DIY design and housework on a budget for An Excelsior Elevator. Well into the summer season appropriate indoor decorating is expected.