DIY Home Decorating with Little or No Money

Is your house just the way you want it?

Do you love the way your home looks? Is every room satisfying to you? Pleasing to the eye? Comfortable and functional?

If not, you'd probably like to re-do it but you either don't know how or you can't afford it. Or both.

Help is on the way

I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful book called, "Use What You Have Decorating" by Lauri Ward. She claims you can, "Transform your home in one hour with ten simple design principles---using the space you have, the things you like, the budget you choose."

Quite a claim. But after reading the book and doing my best to implement its suggestions, I have to say I am impressed.

Here are what she calls the ten most common decorating mistakes:

1. Not defining your priorities
2. An uncomfortable conversation area
3. Poor furniture placement
4. A room that is off-balance
5. Furniture of different heights
6. A room that lacks a cohesive look
7. Ignoring the room's focal point
8. Improper use of artwork
9. Ineffective use of accessories
10. Using lighting incorrectly

She devotes a chapter to each of these challenges and it's enlightening to look at your rooms with fresh eyes after reading them.

For example, consider No. 3: Poor Furniture Placement. Ms. Ward discusses what she calls a "wallflower" arrangement of furniture. This is where all the furniture is arranged against the walls, with a big space in the middle. Apparently a lot of us think that you need to put your couches and chairs along the outer walls to make the room look bigger or to allow better access to the room. Not true.

No. 3 is directly related to No. 2: An uncomfortable conversation area. As the author points out, unless the room is extremely small, the wallflower arrangement of furniture leaves what she calls "screaming distance" between pieces. This humorous phrase comes from the fact that you must allow people to be seated reasonably close together if you want them to be able to converse comfortably. The goal is to create an intimate zone for this.

I tried it in my living room

I applied what I read to my living room, which has always been a source of frustration. I had never liked the way it looked and the furniture always seemed awkward, but because of some major inflexibility with where things could go (a piano and a 6-foot-long aquarium had to go on the only two walls that weren't taken up by a fireplace and tall windows), I'd never been able to come up with a good arrangement.

After applying what I learned, I ended up with the furniture arranged in a way I never would have thought of on my own and it works better than I would ever have imagined. Plus I moved some of my artwork and changed what is on the fireplace mantel. The results from these simple changes were amazing. The room is so much more comfortable and relaxing. And I spent $0.

Don't start from scratch

Ms. Ward emphasizes that you shouldn't throw everything out and start all over when decorating. She believes you should use the things you already have, especially things you love. She will often have clients take things from certain rooms in the house and re-locate them to other rooms in order to make the best use of them. Some tips are about scale. For instance, a common mistake is to put a row of small assorted items on a large mantel. I was guilty of this. It never looks right. Instead, put a few large pieces, such as framed artwork or photographs on the mantel. They don't have to be hung; they can be propped against the wall. They can even overlap each other. I did this on my mantel and I am amazed at how much better it suits the room.

If you want, buy something new

In a few of the example rooms shown in the book, they did purchase one or two modest items, but nothing extravagant. She gives before and after photos for each example so you can see for yourself that it's the same stuff, just presented differently.

You'll want it in your library

If you're longing for a new look but don't have the budget for major purchases, write a couple more articles for Associated Content so you can afford to get this book. Amazon.com has it for $11.53 plus shipping. It's worth every penny.