Easy Ways to Decorate Your Living Room With a Theme Without Having to Spend Too Much

When I moved in to my home I had pictured what my living room looked like in my head,but I knew that I would need a lot of money to make my dream come true. Like many people I have a full time job and a full mail box also,filled with bills,so spending a lot was not a good idea. I came up with a breakdown so I didnt have to go crazy thinking of what to do in my room. First you need to see what your budget is. Breakdown how much you are willing to spend on every stage of your decorating.For example:if you are willing to spend $200.00 then this is what I reccommend-

Paint $30.00
Furniture $60.00
Accessories-such as:
candles,wall frames,rugs,fans and curtains $60.00
Lighting $50.00

Try to stay within your budget,with a set amount it will be easier to search for less expensive things because you'll be motivated knowing you only have a certain amount to spend.

The second thing you should do is come up with a theme/style for your room. Here are a few you can choose from:

Eclectic
Contemporary
Asian
Cottage
Country

The theme I chose was tropical,so I will guide you in how to make a tropical room and you can get an idea on how to decorate your own theme. Color! when designing a room you need to know what colors will go with your theme. Because mine is a tropical I will start with a pastel green,red,yellow and for some added fun, purple. Lets start with the walls,leaving my walls plain white will not do,I need to add some color to the walls and give them some character. I chose green pastel for my walls, to give them a palm tree feel.

Now, to get a nonexpensive paint I went to Lowes and got the Signature Colors paint, which is about $12.00. I picked a color I wanted from the palettes they have available at there store and gave it to the paint associate. He mixed my color exactly how I wanted it. The total was about $25.00,try to pick a good and cheap paint,look around and dont rush when searching for the perfect paint. Signature Colors is durable and you only use one coat,so you can use just one quart without having to buy another one.

Once you've painted your walls now its time to move around your existing furniture. Try not to buy new furniture,but if you do I recommend Garage sales,you can find many things for a lot cheaper and fixed them up yourself. Well because Im re-arrainging my existing furniture I bought some white slip covers, so I can add some colorful pillows. I got the pillows at Wal*Mart for $5.00 on sale,what a find! You can go to any local store and look through the clearance aisle,you might find exactly what you were looking for. You can even get a really cheap pillow and buy some fabric,which goes for about $1.00 a yard and cover it with whatever color you want.

I got some red and white pillows and green and yellow,you can get them with print or just solids,just make sure the colors blend good.Buy at least 5 or more pillows.

To give my couch some added comfort I bought a light green throw blanket to place on the side of it. That way when you sit down to watch a movie you can cuddle in it. My floors are tile floors,so to give it some warmth I bougth an area rug. I went to Wal*Mart, my favorite store, and searched for the perfect area rug. The cost was a little much but it's worth it. If you have carpet then you can get a coffee table and place it in the middle,that way it looks like it belongs in the room.

Now its time for the finishing touches,the accessories. I bought items from Wal*Mart and even the dollar store. I got a palm tree for $8.00 at Wal*Mart and put it in a pot and placed it in a corner of the room. I bought some vases and flowers and scattered them around. I got some figurines with a tropical theme to them and some candles. I spent about $40.00 dollars in accessories.If you want to add some wall frames with paintings or pictures you can try to find a good price but what I did was I looked through some magazines and cut out some pages that had colorful and tropical pictures and cut them.I made a collauge and placed it in a glass frame.

Now you're ready to show off your room! your friends and family wont believe there eyes once they see how different your room looks.Try to be creative and make sure you have fun with your room,you dont want to be stressed to get what you want. Once you're done you'll feel the satisfaction and enjoyment of your new room.