Make a difference in your design with money-saving tips and budget decorating ideas from Design on a Dime’s Kelly Edwards.
1. Lighting can make or break a room.
Invest in lower-wattage bulbs to change a room’s mood from restful to romantic.
2. Check out remnant tables at your local fabric stores.
Remnants are perfect for recovering pillows, banding drapes and other sewing projects around the house. They’re usually 1/3 of the price and look just as good.
3. Don’t forget about greenery.
Having plants in any room makes you feel more alive. Simple green foliage often lasts longer than flowers, and the overall design of a single leaf can make more of a striking effect. Try a single palm leaf or a slender flax in a giant vase. It has simple yet modern appeal. In your kitchen, add a small herb garden to your windowsill to add life to the room. Plus, they taste great!
4. Focus on your floors.
Just like walls, floors need your attention, too. If you’re able to completely change the surface, consider sanding or staining wood floors, or replacing old linoleum or carpet with tile. For a quick fix, add an area rug. There are so many options, making it easy to find the perfect style, shape and color for your space. By making your floors stand out, your walls can only look better.
5. Storage, storage and more storage.
Living in small spaces presents two options: building up or building under. Consider using tall bookshelves for a more dramatic effect, or take advantage of the space underneath your bed to store things you’d love to keep out of sight.
6. Fabric is an easy and inexpensive way to combine all the elements of your room.
Have fun by combining patterns, styles and different textures of fabric in everything from window treatments to accessories and furniture.
7. Fake architectural detail.
This can be done in a variety of ways. Using painter’s tape, you can paint horizontal or vertical lines, which can make the room look bigger. You can also make shapes like rectangles and squares, creating a box on the wall for framing out furniture, sconces or your favorite picture. With molding, you can give the illusion of added depth and dimension to the walls. Like painter’s tape, making a small box with molding can create a look that’s certainly classic.
8. Anchor your room by investing in substantial furniture pieces.
Buying a timeless sofa or kitchen table will save you money as your style changes. It’s better to switch out the little things than buy a couch every two years!
9. Consider simple fixes before you get rid of something.
Inexpensive solutions: Bring life back to leather furniture with a little olive oil; make your kitchen chairs new again with a little spray paint and some fabric; get the scratches out of your wood floor and furniture by rubbing them with an almond.
10. Don’t overlook the Internet.
There are so many great deals for every room in your home on places like Craigslist and eBay. After all, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.