Design on a Budget - Tips and Tricks

Spring is coming and many people may be tired of looking at the same BLAH rooms that they've spent all winter in. There are many tricks to making a room look new and different. Often, the problem is that these things cost a lot of money. Well, I have some ideas for you that will NOT cost you a lot of money, especially if you are handy with a sewing machine and even if you are not!

The very first thing to do when trying to spruce up any room is to declutter and to find articles that you may be able to do without in the room. First off, take away any bric-a-brac that you may be tired of or just don't have room for. Put books and magazines in cute baskets or on bookshelves if you have them. Clear out toys that are no longer played with if you keep toys in the room. Look around and see if all of the furniture is either functional or especially decorative. If there is any piece that you feel you can do without, remove it from the room to give the room a bigger feel and more space.

The rest of the tips here are generally for a family room or living room but some ideas may be adapted for other rooms as well. The biggest piece of furniture in a living room or family room is often the sofa. It sits there day after day and probably gets jumped on by the kids and the dog. Plus, after time, the fabric gets faded and worn. Or else you just get tired of it. But, a new sofa will run you at least $800 and probably more. So, what's a person to do? There are several ideas for remedying this problem.

The first idea is to purchase slipcovers for your sofa. These can run around $100 or more and sometimes they fit and sometimes they don't. A cheaper idea, if you are handy, is to make your own. There is a great deal of beautiful fabric to choose from so you are not limited to the patterns and designs that slipcover companies have chosen. In addition, if you make your own, you will save at least half of the price and if you measure well, your slipcovers will fit much better than store bought ones. A slip-covered sofa will make a room look totally different and, depending on the materials chosen, it can really brighten things up for you!

If you are not handy enough to sew your own slipcovers or if you do not wish to spend that much money to buy them, you can still brighten up the look of your sofa. A throw blanket tossed over the back of the sofa can really change the look of the whole sofa. If you choose a light, Spring-y design, it can make the whole room look brighter. In addition, throw pillows make a nice addition. If you have even the most basic sewing knowledge, you can sew some simple square pillows and they won't cost you more than $5 a piece. Choose bright, cheery fabrics for spring time and toss 4 or 6 on the sofa with or without a throw blanket and you'll see a marked difference in your whole room! .Of course, even if you don't sew at all, throw pillows can be found at many stores and these will not cost very much though you will be limited in color and pattern selection to the stock of the store.

Whether or not your room is carpeted, throw rugs or accent rugs make a nice addition to a room. You can purchase throw rugs in a variety of shapes and designs to fit any room You may be surprised at how much of a difference just a small addition can make to the entire feel of the room. Throw rugs are also good if you have an area of carpet that may have a stain (you know that kool aid your kid spilled that just won't come all the way out!) and can't afford to replace your whole room's carpeting.

On a similar note, while curtains can be very expensive, decorative valences are usually very affordable. Adding a valence or changing an old one to a pretty new one can really do wonders for a room. Again, if you are good at sewing, you can make these yourself and they can complement the pillows or slipcovers if you have sewn these as well.

Yet another idea is to add artwork to your walls. Very inexpensive pictures can be purchased at many department stores and discount department stores as well. Of course it may be more meaningful to hang photos of family and even places you've traveled. If you have a photographer in your family you are very lucky. Often photos taken on family vacations can be re-printed as 8 x 10 photos and then matted and framed to look very professional. In the least, these types of pictures will bring back happy memories from (hopefully) great family vacations!

To summarize, I think that you will find that even small changes to a room will make a big difference in the overall feel and look of the room. Changes or additions do not have to be expensive to make a difference!