Budget Decorating
When economic times are tough but you long to redecorate a room or two, you can still refresh your space while on a budget. Using your imagination and a few of our suggestions, you can bring a dull room back to life even while budget decorating. If you have a room that looks like it is a floor model for the local used furniture drop-off, with just a few changes, you can have a room that will bring you comfort and joy.
Check out your options
Luckily, you have options. If your furniture is made of wood, but the mix of colors and textures leave you cold, you can use stain and varnish to bring the wood tones to a close match. You could also consider painting the wood a matching color, depending on what theme you are going for. White furniture works especially well with a beach, country, or cottage theme.
If the furniture is upholstered, you can buy slipcovers for the sofa and chairs, either matching or in complementary colors or prints. If you are handy with a sewing machine, you save even more by making them yourself.
Changing the color brings an instant transformation to the room. You could change the slipcovers twice a year with dark colors in the winter, and white or neutral in the summer. Slipcovers for a sofa should be of a plain color with prints or flowers on the smaller pieces of furniture.
You can easily change the look of a room with a can or two of paint. Try painting just one wall with an accent color if you do not want to paint the whole room. If the main color of the room is neutral, consider using a splashy, vibrant accent color. If the room is dark or brightly painted, the accent color should be a more neutral hue.
Quick and easy fix
Pillows and throws are a quick and inexpensive way to change up a room. Pick up the accent wall color in the pillows. Also, consider candles, lamps, or vases in accent colors, especially if the main theme is a neutral color. Treat area rugs the same way when choosing colors.
Rearrange the furniture, moving away from the wall and into conversational groupings. Change out furniture, lamps, and/or pictures from other rooms for a quick update, especially check out what you have in the bedrooms that might transition to the family room for a season. Rotate framed pictures around the house, and the season if you have pictures that are holiday themed.
Frequent local flea markets and estate sales for inexpensive pieces to use in your updated space. That said, clear as much clutter as possible to give your room a fresh look. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, just changing items from room to room is the most inexpensive way to utilize budget decorating.
