how to decorate on a budget

How to Decorate on a Budget.

Decorating on a budget is a creative exercise that can be rewarding and fun. Spend a little money to change the basics in your home or office, such as your curtains, cushions, lights, and accessories. Where possible, do as much DIY work as you can to save money. Quality furniture makes a room feel homely and classy, so keep an eye out for sales and bargains or consider refurbishing your existing furniture. Add colour and personality to your walls with home-made art, feature walls, and personal photographs. Enjoy the decorating journey!

Method 1 Changing the Basics.

1. Replace the curtains and lampshades if they look tired. These items are generally inexpensive, but can make a big difference to the way that a room feels. Consider purchasing matching curtains and lampshades to give the room a sense of cohesiveness. Purchase the items new or look in second-hand shops for a bargain.

If you’re a confident sewer, consider making your own curtains to save money.

This is a great way to quickly freshen up an office, lounge, or bedroom.

Paint or cover up your lampshades for a new look for less money.

2. Remove clutter from surfaces to make the space look fresh. Minimalism is a classy and popular look that is easy to achieve. Re-home as many items as you can from all your surfaces, such as desks, countertops, tables, and shelves. Leave only a few of your favourite items on each surface. Decluttering is a great way to bring more attention to the items that you love.

For example, remove everything from your office desk except for your pen jar, a photo-frame, and a vase of flowers to create a clean and fresh look.

Try taking items off of your coffee table and only include items that look nice or that are functional.

3. Add beautiful pillows or throws to bring colour to the room. This is an inexpensive and effective way to brighten up almost any space. Choose pillows or throws that match your colour-scheme and are made from fabric that you love. Place these items on your bed, lounge-suite, office chair, or ottoman. If you are decorating your entire home, consider purchasing matching pillows for both your lounge and your bedroom.

Purchase pillows or throws from a homeware store or make your own.

Buy pillow covers or fabric to cover existing pillows for a fraction of the cost of new ones.

4. Purchase new accessories to cheaply modernise the space. Household and office accessories tend to be inexpensive and can quickly change the look of your space. Consider adding new accessories, such as placemats, door handles, light-fittings, tapware, tablecloths, vases, and coasters.

If your budget is particularly limited, simply decorate one room at a time. This will give you a sense of completion as you finish each room.

Get a few houseplants to improve the quality of the air in your home and add fresh looking décor touches.

5. Add extra lamps or lights to give the room a fresh atmosphere. Lights are a wonderful way to change the way the room looks and feels. Bring a new standing lamp into the room, add a hanging light, pick a new desk lamp, or simply replace a bulb with a high-wattage option to brighten the space.

Avoid tampering with electrical wires in your home or office, as this can lead to electrocution. If you want to install new lights into your wall, hire an electrician to do the job safely.

String lights are also a nice way to add mood lighting to an area.

6. Use DIY skills where possible to refurbish cheaply. Hiring trades-people is often one of the biggest expenses when re-decorating. If you have a few decorating skills and the necessary tools, try completing the tasks yourself. Consider building your own deck, laying wallpaper, installing vinyl or hardwood flooring, or painting the exterior of your home.

This can often save you 100’s if not 1000’s of dollars.

Search online for DIY tutorials for almost any type of project. Ask professionals at a hardware store for tips as well.

Method 2 Finding Bargain Furniture.

1. Search second-hand stores and auctions for a bargain. Nice furniture helps to set the tone for the entire room, so it is worth searching for great items. This is an easy way to find quality pieces of furniture at a good price. Make sure to hunt around for furniture that is made from quality materials, as it pointless buying items that will quickly wear out or break. Opt for solid wood instead of laminate coatings and real leather instead of leather look-alikes.

Keep an eye out in your local paper for garage sales.

Search online for auction sites, such as Craigslist, eBay, and Gumtree. These sites often have furniture for sale.

Check to see if people in your area are selling items. If they are, you may be able to negotiate a great price on something that you can pick up right in your neighborhood.

2. Refurbish your existing furniture to cheaply upgrade its look. This is a great option if you are looking to spend very little and have some DIY skills. Sand the varnish off your wooden furniture and re-stain it or paint it. If the furniture has fabric, reupholster it or purchase new cushions. This will help to give it a fresh new look.

Sanding wooden tables and desks and painting them white is a popular decorating trend.

Search online for DIY tutorials to help you complete your refurbishments.

3. Buy unvarnished furniture and then stain it yourself to save money. Many furniture warehouses and stores will sell furniture that doesn’t have a top coat of stain or varnish on for a cheaper price than what you would pay on the store floor. Ask the manufacturer what kind of stain or varnish they recommend to use on the furniture. Apply the stain with even brush strokes and apply at least 2 coats.

This furniture is often higher quality than display models, as scratches can’t be hidden by varnish.

Desks and tables are easy items to stain yourself.

The display piece in furniture stores is often an unfinished piece that you can buy for less.

4. Keep an eye out for bargains to get quality items at a good price. Head to the stores during the big annual sales, such as Easter, Boxing Day, New Years, and Black Friday. Large furniture stores will often slash their prices by up to 75% during these sales. Also, keep an eye out for closing down and birthday sales for extra deals throughout the year. If you are willing to be patient, this is a great way to find furniture that you love that is within your budget.

Search online for sales in your area to quickly check the local deals.

Method 3 Decorating the Walls.

1. Decorate the walls with your own photographs to add personality. This is a great way to personalise your home and add colour to your walls at a very low cost. Frame your photos or print them onto a canvas. This can generally be done for less than $50. Search online for a photo printing service or contact your local printing shop.

For a modern and fun look, use sticky-tak to stick polaroids or small photographs onto your walls. Assemble them in a square, rectangle, or heart shape.

If you have a large wall, consider placing a few photos next to each other to make the wall look less bare.

Try printing stock photos from websites and framing them for an inexpensive way to add pictures and art to your home.

2. Upcycle old items into wall hangings to give a vintage look. This is a great way to reduce your waste and also create beautiful decorations. Try turning old planks of wood into floating wall shelves. Alternatively, make origami creations out of an old piece of paper and hang them on the wall. Another option is to use chipped plates to make a piece of mosaic artwork.

Be creative and express your own personal style!

3. Paint 1 wall an accent colour to change the atmosphere of the room. Painting is an incredibly inexpensive way to quickly and dramatically change the look of any room. Choose a colour that complements the existing wall colour and looks nice with your furniture.

White walls and a deep-blue feature wall are a beautiful combination. Light-grey walls and a pale-pink feature wall is another calming and pretty combination.

Hold different coloured paint cards up to your existing walls to help determine which colours will look good together.

Stencil 1 wall or cover 1 wall in wallpaper to create an accent wall.

4. Display your own art to showcase your unique style. Art makes your home feel extra homely and makes the space feel more interesting. Consider painting a picture, framing a completed puzzle, doing some embroidery, or simply hanging a piece of fabric that you love.

If you don’t feel confident making your own art, consider asking a friend or family member to design you a piece.

Hang your art on the walls or lean it on a desk or mantelpiece.

5. Purchase cheap artwork from thrift stores. This is a wonderful way to add artwork to your walls without breaking the bank. Keep an eye out at different thrift stores for art that you like. If you spot a piece that you like that has a bad frame, consider re-framing it, as this much cheaper than buying new art.

If there are no thrift stores in your area, search for online thrift stores.

Januari 27, 2020

how to choose soothing home decor

How to Choose Soothing Home Decor.

Spending as much time in your home as you probably do, soothing home decor will make it easier for you to unwind and relax. You can use soothing furnishings, like plush furniture and items that imitate nature, to create this effect. You'll also need to select a soothing color scheme by doing things like choosing cool tones for your base color and toning down colors that are too bright. Last but not least, you'll have to account for existing factors in your home, by doing things like integrating your design with its intended function and balancing design choices with lighting.

Method 1 Using Soothing Furnishings.

1. Decorate with plush, inviting furniture. Hard, spartan furniture can look uninviting from the very first glance. Furniture that is elegant, well upholstered, and luxuriously stuffed will make you, your family, and visiting friends want to sit down and relax.

Some examples of plush furniture might include things like comfy upholstered chairs, well-stuffed couches, inviting love seats, fluffy ottomans, and so on.

These kinds of items can sometimes be expensive. If you're not ready to make this purchase, buy soft, cozy throw pillows to add to your furniture.

Many pieces of gently used furniture can be bought at a fraction of the price at secondhand stores, though you might have to patiently search these for these until they come in stock.

2. Use items that imitate nature. As appealing as sleek, futuristic designs can be, natural features encourage happiness, comfort, and well-being. To accomplish this, add some houseplants or a living wall to your home. Some other ideas for adding a natural vibe to your living space include:

Choosing wood-accented furnishings and decorations, especially dark colored wood. This will create a warm feel while adding contrast to the room.

Art from natural scenes can also add to the organic atmosphere of a room. Art can sometimes be pricey; find inexpensive art at secondhand stores and thrift shops.

3. Avoid too many sharp edges. Sharp edges give a clean, geometric, well defined impression to a room. It's only natural for the furniture of your room to have some edges, but too many of these can make a room feel aggressive, in a manner of speaking.

Furniture with flowing lines and rounded edges can really soften the character of a room and make it feel more relaxed.

Some examples of furniture without sharp edges might include rounded edged bookshelves, seating with softened edges (like couches and chairs that don't come to a point at the edges), coffee tables with blunted edges, and so on.

4. Account for lighting. Natural light has a direct positive effect on your mood. Use curtains that decorate your windows without cutting off too much natural light. Add mirrors to a room to encourage the spread of natural light throughout the space.

The "temperature" of lighting refers to its tone. Light that is very white is said to have a "cool" temperature, while light that is somewhat orange is said to be "warm."

Light that is too cool can make a room feel stark or clinical. Use warm temperature lighting to cozy up rooms you are decorating.

5. Install a water feature. Water is associated with a sense of calmness, clarity, and meditation. You can bring these feelings into your home when decorating by adding a water feature, like a small bubbling fountain or a trickling water wall.

If buying a brand new water feature is outside your budget, you might opt for a noisemaker that can make water effects or even a CD with water sounds playing in the background.

Similar to the regular, metrical noises water makes, the sound of ticking can also have a calming effect. If this is true for you, a clock may be a soothing alternative to a water feature.

Method 2 Selecting a Soothing Color Scheme.

1. Utilize cool tones in your color scheme. Cool tones are green, blue, and violet. These colors, and shades of these, generally promote a soothing feeling. By choosing one of these colors for the base of your color scheme, you can replicate this soothing effect. Avoid overusing too many cool tones, otherwise your room may feel cold and lifeless.

Use green as a base if, in addition to a soothing impression, you also want to convey a sense of rejuvenation or growth.

Blue, when used as your base color, will add a light and refreshing feeling, especially lighter shades of blue. Darker shades communicate a calm sense of dignity.

Violet is the warmest of the cool tones, giving it a vital feeling. It also carries the impression of serenity. Avoid overusing violet to prevent its warmth from detracting from its serene aspect.

2. Tone down bright colors according to your taste. Bright colors carry a sense of energy. Using bright colors is a good way to balance cool tones so that the overall effect isn't cold and drab. However, you may need to tone down some bright colors to prevent them from throwing off the balance of your color scheme.

When painting, you can soften colors that are too vibrant by adding a little white to them or dull them with some black. Be sure you only mix together the same kinds of paint. Different brands/types of paint may be impossible to mix due to their ingredients.

For example, you can create a cool, refreshing atmosphere with a base of cyan, dark blue, and black. Accent these with beige and a muted red. The red should give this color scheme an upbeat feel.

3. Accentuate a soft, open feel with pastel colors. Whereas bright colors can be softened with the addition of small amounts of white, adding a substantial amount of white creates a "washed out" effect in a color. This is the basis of pastel colors.

These soft colors create a wide open effect that's useful in smaller spaces. Pastels also impart a comfortable and airy atmosphere.

For example, in a child's play room, you might use a pastel blue as the primary color to give the sense of being under a soft blue sky, and then combine this with pastel green to add a vital feeling to the color scheme.

4. Create depth in your color scheme. Neutral colors, like white, gray, and black work with most other colors, when used as accents, and are great for adding definition to your color scheme. Earth tones, like beige, brown, and shades of umber and ochre are also sometimes considered neutral colors.

Earth tones tend to add sense of warmth to a color scheme. Beyond this, the natural sense evoked by these colors can bring with them a feeling of tranquility.

Method 3 Accounting for Existing Factors.

1. Balance design choices with lighting. Rooms that have good lighting will clearly reveal the colors used in it. For this reason, bright rooms might need to be toned down a little with darker colors. Soft, light colors, however, work better for darker rooms.

The direction the windows in the room face also can have an effect on lighting. For example, if a room only receives evening light, this will generally be deeper in color and have a golden tint. This can give colors a muted tone.

Shadows may be cast by trees or outdoor features into the space you are decorating. Generally, you can expect shadows to have a darkening effect on your color scheme. Use lighter cool tones in this case.

2. Integrate your design with its intended function. Matching your decorating choices to suit the function of a place can make them feel more fitting. For example, even though red isn't traditionally considered soothing, it stimulates appetite, making it an excellent color to add to restaurants, dining rooms, and so on.

Green and shades of this color are great for sitting rooms, family spaces, and even offices.

The natural, soft feeling given from earth tones make these a strong choice for places like bedrooms or rooms without windows.

Dark colors, like blacks, grays, and earth tones can add definition to a room without becoming distracting. These are great colors to use in an office or reading room.

3. Coordinate with the existing features of your home. You'll likely have to plan your interior decorating around some existing features of your home. For example, re-flooring your home might not be an option, so you'll have to make design choices that match well with your current flooring. Other features you may have to integrate with your design include:

Cabinetry, wall color, fixtures (includes outlets, sink fixtures, door knobs, and so on), countertops, sills, and more.

Desember 20, 2019

how to choose soothing home decor

How to Choose Soothing Home Decor.

Spending as much time in your home as you probably do, soothing home decor will make it easier for you to unwind and relax. You can use soothing furnishings, like plush furniture and items that imitate nature, to create this effect. You'll also need to select a soothing color scheme by doing things like choosing cool tones for your base color and toning down colors that are too bright. Last but not least, you'll have to account for existing factors in your home, by doing things like integrating your design with its intended function and balancing design choices with lighting.







Method 1 Using Soothing Furnishings.



Decorate with plush, inviting furniture. Hard, spartan furniture can look uninviting from the very first glance. Furniture that is elegant, well upholstered, and luxuriously stuffed will make you, your family, and visiting friends want to sit down and relax.

Some examples of plush furniture might include things like comfy upholstered chairs, well-stuffed couches, inviting love seats, fluffy ottomans, and so on.

These kinds of items can sometimes be expensive. If you're not ready to make this purchase, buy soft, cozy throw pillows to add to your furniture.

Many pieces of gently used furniture can be bought at a fraction of the price at secondhand stores, though you might have to patiently search these for these until they come in stock.



Use items that imitate nature. As appealing as sleek, futuristic designs can be, natural features encourage happiness, comfort, and well-being. To accomplish this, add some houseplants or a living wall to your home. Some other ideas for adding a natural vibe to your living space include:

Choosing wood-accented furnishings and decorations, especially dark colored wood. This will create a warm feel while adding contrast to the room.

Art from natural scenes can also add to the organic atmosphere of a room. Art can sometimes be pricey; find inexpensive art at secondhand stores and thrift shops.



Avoid too many sharp edges. Sharp edges give a clean, geometric, well defined impression to a room. It's only natural for the furniture of your room to have some edges, but too many of these can make a room feel aggressive, in a manner of speaking.

Furniture with flowing lines and rounded edges can really soften the character of a room and make it feel more relaxed.

Some examples of furniture without sharp edges might include rounded edged bookshelves, seating with softened edges (like couches and chairs that don't come to a point at the edges), coffee tables with blunted edges, and so on.



Account for lighting. Natural light has a direct positive effect on your mood. Use curtains that decorate your windows without cutting off too much natural light. Add mirrors to a room to encourage the spread of natural light throughout the space.

The "temperature" of lighting refers to its tone. Light that is very white is said to have a "cool" temperature, while light that is somewhat orange is said to be "warm."

Light that is too cool can make a room feel stark or clinical. Use warm temperature lighting to cozy up rooms you are decorating.



Install a water feature. Water is associated with a sense of calmness, clarity, and meditation. You can bring these feelings into your home when decorating by adding a water feature, like a small bubbling fountain or a trickling water wall.

If buying a brand new water feature is outside your budget, you might opt for a noisemaker that can make water effects or even a CD with water sounds playing in the background.

Similar to the regular, metrical noises water makes, the sound of ticking can also have a calming effect. If this is true for you, a clock may be a soothing alternative to a water feature.







Method 2 Selecting a Soothing Color Scheme.



Utilize cool tones in your color scheme. Cool tones are green, blue, and violet. These colors, and shades of these, generally promote a soothing feeling. By choosing one of these colors for the base of your color scheme, you can replicate this soothing effect. Avoid overusing too many cool tones, otherwise your room may feel cold and lifeless.

Use green as a base if, in addition to a soothing impression, you also want to convey a sense of rejuvenation or growth.

Blue, when used as your base color, will add a light and refreshing feeling, especially lighter shades of blue. Darker shades communicate a calm sense of dignity.

Violet is the warmest of the cool tones, giving it a vital feeling. It also carries the impression of serenity. Avoid overusing violet to prevent its warmth from detracting from its serene aspect.



Tone down bright colors according to your taste. Bright colors carry a sense of energy. Using bright colors is a good way to balance cool tones so that the overall effect isn't cold and drab. However, you may need to tone down some bright colors to prevent them from throwing off the balance of your color scheme.

When painting, you can soften colors that are too vibrant by adding a little white to them or dull them with some black. Be sure you only mix together the same kinds of paint. Different brands/types of paint may be impossible to mix due to their ingredients.

For example, you can create a cool, refreshing atmosphere with a base of cyan, dark blue, and black. Accent these with beige and a muted red. The red should give this color scheme an upbeat feel.



Accentuate a soft, open feel with pastel colors. Whereas bright colors can be softened with the addition of small amounts of white, adding a substantial amount of white creates a "washed out" effect in a color. This is the basis of pastel colors.

These soft colors create a wide open effect that's useful in smaller spaces. Pastels also impart a comfortable and airy atmosphere.

For example, in a child's play room, you might use a pastel blue as the primary color to give the sense of being under a soft blue sky, and then combine this with pastel green to add a vital feeling to the color scheme.



Create depth in your color scheme. Neutral colors, like white, gray, and black work with most other colors, when used as accents, and are great for adding definition to your color scheme. Earth tones, like beige, brown, and shades of umber and ochre are also sometimes considered neutral colors.

Earth tones tend to add sense of warmth to a color scheme. Beyond this, the natural sense evoked by these colors can bring with them a feeling of tranquility.







Method 3 Accounting for Existing Factors.



Balance design choices with lighting. Rooms that have good lighting will clearly reveal the colors used in it. For this reason, bright rooms might need to be toned down a little with darker colors. Soft, light colors, however, work better for darker rooms.

The direction the windows in the room face also can have an effect on lighting. For example, if a room only receives evening light, this will generally be deeper in color and have a golden tint. This can give colors a muted tone.

Shadows may be cast by trees or outdoor features into the space you are decorating. Generally, you can expect shadows to have a darkening effect on your color scheme. Use lighter cool tones in this case.



Integrate your design with its intended function. Matching your decorating choices to suit the function of a place can make them feel more fitting. For example, even though red isn't traditionally considered soothing, it stimulates appetite, making it an excellent color to add to restaurants, dining rooms, and so on.

Green and shades of this color are great for sitting rooms, family spaces, and even offices.

The natural, soft feeling given from earth tones make these a strong choice for places like bedrooms or rooms without windows.

Dark colors, like blacks, grays, and earth tones can add definition to a room without becoming distracting. These are great colors to use in an office or reading room.



Coordinate with the existing features of your home. You'll likely have to plan your interior decorating around some existing features of your home. For example, re-flooring your home might not be an option, so you'll have to make design choices that match well with your current flooring. Other features you may have to integrate with your design include.

Cabinetry, wall color, fixtures (includes outlets, sink fixtures, door knobs, and so on), countertops, sills, and more.

November 19, 2019