Decorating on a Budget: 10 Top Tips
Decorating is something that you can invest as much time and money as you want, should you choose to take on the task yourself. But as well as spending all the hours in the day planning, painting and designing could also find yourself opening your wallet and pouring it into the project of making your house look nice. That means you’ll likely miss out on buying big TVs and cars and holidays for yourself, and big toys, sleigh beds and other much-coveted items for your children from www.ebay.co.uk.
Here are ten tips to spruce up your home without breaking the bank.
1) In the kitchen a few little alterations can make a big difference. Painting the doors in new colours or patterns and replacing handles on cupboards is a job that can be done in just a few hours.
2) Buy good-quality paint, especially for kitchens and bathrooms. Although it might cost you more in the short term, over the years it will save you money because you won’t have to deal with mould or mildew. In addition, a lighter shade in a room may mean that you don’t need the lights on quite as much, and alter the mood of a room, as this piece from housetohome.co.uk explains.
3) Don’t feel bad about using second hand shop items, raiding car boot sales, or accepting family hand-me-downs. No-one need know where you gained them – and does it really matter anyway?
4) Keep an eye on department stores for discounts, offers and promotions, or better yet make friends with an employee so you can be pre-warned of any future clearances.
5) Sometimes just moving a few items of furniture around can spice up a room and add a little originality and curiosity – meaning that you don’t have to buy. Chairs, lamps and other superfluous items can be placed on online auction sites or at charity shops.
6) Changing simple items can prevent the need to buy whole new items of furniture. New cushions on a sofa, new bedding or blinds, or different towels for the bathroom can inject some fresh colours and designs into a drab space. Take a picture of your room with you when you visit the store, so you can envisage the results.
7) Reflect on your actions – buy a mirror. They make box-shaped rooms look bigger, you can personalise the design to its surroundings, and they can add real light and vibrance to a hallway, sitting room, bathroom or bedroom.
8) An old t-shirt can be sliced up and used as a cloth for wiping walls or cleaning brushes. These items soon rack up in cost, so why not eliminate clothes you never wear any more and save a few pennies at the same time?
9) Chic artwork can be expensive, but pictures of family and friends arranged in stylish ways can look just as good, and adds a personal and striking touch to a room. The best aspect of this idea is that a room can look awesome whether the pictures are framed or on canvas, in blocks or surrounding mirrors, or just covering the walls. Some inspirational ideas can be found at Shelterness.
10) Wall stickers, stencils, and decorating just one or two walls with wallpaper, are three ways of changing a room subtly – saving both time and money.
These are just a few ideas that will give a room or a house a simple but effective makeover – and leave you plenty of cash for other extras.
Category: Home Renovation
I’ve found some excellent wall stickers from the dollar store. They stayed on the walls easily and didn’t damage anything when I took it off.