Redecorate the Living Room on a Budget

Despite the weather, the calendar tells us that spring is here. While life is still revolving around the indoors, there is no better time to add a few fresh, spring-time touches to your living room. These tips will have your living room looking spring-time ready without breaking the bank.

Remove Clutter

Before sprucing up a room for spring, it is best to start with a clean slate. Remove all the clutter that has been hanging around the house for the winter. Sometimes our homes collect so much stuff, they start to look like a thrift store. Wash heavy blankets and pillows and store them away for the summer. Pack away dusty knick knacks to lighten your shelves and save time with dusting when the weather gets better and you'd rather be anywhere than inside cleaning. Find a home for books and papers that have been cluttering up the coffee and end tables.

Consider Slip Covers

Instead of forking over the money for new furniture, consider lightening the look in your living room with some spring-time fresh slip covers. Sure Fit Slipcovers is a great source of covers for every type of couch and chair. Slip covers in a lighter color will brighten up a room and give it a whole new look for spring. They have the added benefit of protecting your furniture from food and drink spills. Sure Fit stocks many styles that cost less than $100 apiece.

Add Throw Pillows

Whether or not you decide to cover your furniture with slip covers, a few new throw pillows will brighten up the room. You can purchase pillow forms from a fabric or craft store to make your own, or you can shop at any department store to find a varied selection. Two or three new throw pillows, in colors and styles that coordinate with your furniture, are all that is needed to create a fresh look.

Replace Pictures

Wall displays of pictures can often become just as cluttered looking as knick knacks on a shelf. Over the years, we add things here and there. Eventually there is just too much on the walls. Or, you've had the same pictures on the wall since you moved into your home, twenty years ago. Spring is the perfect time to change this.

Remove all pictures and think critically about each one. Ask yourself if you love it. If you don't, then don't put it back up. If you do love what you have, think about rearranging the pictures into a more eye-catching display. Three same-size pictures placed evenly on the wall above the couch looks appealing, especially when the pictures all have a similar theme. Think spring and consider an arrangement of pictures of flowers or ferns for a prominent display.

If you can afford it, you can shop for new pictures at a department store. Stores like Target have good selections of already framed artwork that can bring some spring-time décor into your home. You can even buy inexpensive frames and put some of your own artwork on display. Children's artwork also makes a fantastic display and is very often colorful and whimsical.

Finishing Touches

In the spring, the best finishing touch in a newly decorated living room is fresh flowers. If you've got them growing in your yard, cut and display fresh flowers in a pretty vase. If you are lucky enough to always have something in bloom, you can have fresh cut flowers on display all season. If not, you can pick up an inexpensive bouquet or potted flower at the grocery store. Most grocery stores have blooming hyacinths on sale this time of year. Once the blooms have faded, you can plant the bulbs in your own garden to bloom again next year.

If you have an allergy or don't have access to fresh flowers, you can purchase some beautiful fakes. Wal-mart has a decent fake flower selection. You can buy enough flowers to fill a vase for less than $20. The beauty of these flowers is that they will last all season.

Whether you decide to use all the spring decorating tips or just one, your living room will feel as fresh and pretty as the new season. You will be hoping for a spring rain so that you can stay inside and enjoy your efforts!