The start of a new season is the perfect opportunity to beautify your home, even if you’re on a budget. Try these fresh ideas to maximize impact and minimize expenditure.
Repurpose Serving Ware For Sophisticated Touches
Add character just by taking antique silver creamers and using them as holders for cotton balls and makeup brushes in the bathroom. Brass sugar bowls can hold change or business cards in your home office. “An old ice bucket can become the perfect home for a beautiful orchid or evergreen plant for your coffee table,” says Dayka Robinson, owner of Dayka Robinson Designs.
Incorporate Natural Items From Outdoors
To introduce an organic feature to your decor, just take a few steps in the backyard and start collecting. “Our home is located on the Georgia coast and I wanted to bring nature into the house. I used seashells, driftwood and sea sponges to place around our home. The cost for collecting the items was zero. But the ambience they provide for our home is priceless,” says Annita Thomas, who personally decorated her rental cottages, Sapelo Island Birdhouses. To make items more stunning, you can clean, polish, spray-paint or varnish them.
Discover Designer Samples And Replicate
“I visit some of Atlanta’s premier designer fabric stores to glance through hundreds of designer fabrics. The goods are outside of my penny-candy-store budget, but often fabric stores will allow a free, small sample of material,” says Crystal Choates, home owner and thrift store enthusiast. After she saw a sample of $40 per yard salmon, blush and cream houndstooth fabric, she went to her hole-in-the-wall shop and found the exact print for $2 per yard.
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Redecorate And Reuse
Go shopping in your garage or Grandma’s attic and utilize an item in a way not originally intended. “Use an old trunk as a coffee table. Move an accent chair from the living room into the bedroom to create a cozy reading nook for no cost. It doesn’t get better than free,” exclaims Sonja Radford-Parker, founder and creative director of Design Box D.C.
Invest In A Prominent Piece
“Buy or make items for your home that combine at least two of these elements: bold color, pattern, texture and scale. You’ll make a big impact without spending a lot of money,” says Lisa Hunt, artist and owner of Lisa Hunt Creative. You can spend less by having a stunning anchor piece instead of a lot of trinkets.
Get Rugged
“Rugs are a huge focal point and getting them in the right size can prove to be very expensive. For a statement rug that won’t break the bank, consider using outdoor rugs on the inside of your home,” says Robinson. They run a quarter of the price of the indoor wool mat.
Turn Secondhand Into Superior Style
“I had an Eames-style metal lounge chair and footstool that I scored at a yard sale and reupholstered,” says Georgia resident Stephanie Lewis. “I will have my antique Chippendale camelback couch reupholstered next. The beautiful fabric that I picked out for my couch was only $10 a yard. I saved a lot of money.” Leave big-city stores behind and purchase high-end furniture at rock-bottom prices from vintage shops or estate sales instead. Getting a discount upholsterer for the project also makes a difference. In the end it will look as if you paid thousands of dollars.