Room Redo - Fabulous Decorating Ideas on the Cheap

In a world when every other television channel claims to have the newest, freshest, or coolest home design show, it is inevitable that we would want to use their ideas in our own homes. The biggest caveat however is usually money. No longer do we have to pine away for those new designer pillow shams or the hot new room accessory, because you can make it. Now all of you, who are whining, stop it! It is not necessary to be a "creative person" to make neat things.

First assess what it is about your room that needs updated, remade, or just taken out altogether. Second, create your idea book of things you like. Take advantage of paint chips at home improvement stores, the paint departments at Lowe's and Wal-Mart nearly faint when I walk in. Tear ideas from magazines (not from the one's at the library, please), and take notes from your favorite shows. Third, look at the items you already own and try to re-imagine them into the things you want.

Three great projects to try no matter how "creative" you are:

Lampshade Face-lift

Love your lamp, but hate the shade? This is an easy fix. First, give it a fresh coat of paint. I strongly recommend using spray paint (proper ventilation is a good thing, even if you like the feeling you get from spray painting in your closet), spraying in broad sweeping strokes (pretend you are the Queen waiving to the people, just without the can pointed at your face the way she holds her hand...) from at least 8 inches away to avoid drips. Love it just painted? Then leave it.

If you want to add some pizazz, then it is time to accessorize. From ribbon to feathers to beaded fringe, the glue gun is your friend. Wrap decorator ribbon to create stripes, folding the ribbon over the top and bottom and gluing to the inside. If your shade is pleated, glue skinny ribbon (you could also use yarn, twine, or even twigs) into the pleats for a clever dimensional stripe.

Remember that you can use the same techniques no matter your style. A linen shade striped with black grosgrain ribbon looks very classy, while the same shade with silk gerbera daisies in bold colors glued randomly could be a hit with your teen or tween daughter.

Renter's Walls

We've all been there. You rent. Your walls are white. The landlord says no paint. You cry. Solution to your hair pulling demise? Hit the local home store, dollar store, super store, etc for flat sheets. Cheaper than paint and available in a million colors and patterns, flat sheets and be hung flat against your walls for instant drama and much needed color relief. If your walls are drywall, use tiny push pins (which can easily be spackled and touched up with paint when you move) to secure the sheets where the wall meets the ceiling and where the wall meets the floor or baseboards. If your walls are paneled (horrible flashbacks to my first apartment), you can try removable hook and loop tape, or brushing on liquid fabric starch as a "wallpaper paste". Step back and admire your work and assure your landlord that if you leave his walls will still be just as *beautiful* as when you moved in.

Fab Fabrics

Walking through the bedding section in any nice store is enough to give most design diva wannabes dry heaves. You can have those amazing pillows and sheets for a mere fraction of the cost of the designer ones you know your toddler/husband/pet would spill red punch on anyways.

Pick a graphic (meaning bold, not explicit) design you love, such as a fleur-de-lis, and create a stencil. Enlarge the image at the copy store, or your own printer, to the size desired. Cut away the image with an Exacto knife leaving the negative space. It should look like a traditional stencil now, but you're not done yet. Place the paper stencil on a piece of thin but rigid cardboard (like poster board) and trace the stencil onto it. Now cut out those pieces (leaving the negative space intact) and you have a sturdy stencil to paint with.

Using your stencil and fabric paint, sponge on your design to sheets, pillowcases, curtains, throw pillows, a canvas drop cloth (hello, cheap floor rug! - Just hem the edges), and the list could go on! If appropriate to the item (as in it may need to be washed down the road), heat set the paint according to the paint's directions and you are all set to relish your designer duds that YOU made all by yourself.