Written By: Sharon Jones
The first thing your new home decoration needs is good furnishing. The smart, chic furniture stores are alluring but expensive. So look for ways to furnish the house as attractively, at may be half the cost! It needs some effort and time, but the money saved will be worth it. Given below are some tips for budget home decoration.
Where to look for the bargains
Classified Ads: People keep changing houses and selling furniture. The classified ads in newspapers and the Internet will provide a lot of information on them. Be ready to pay in cash.
Consignment stores: These are stores where people come to sell their furniture. These can yield some good buys.
Closeout stores: Houseware manufacturers often sell surpluses to these stores that sell at much less prices than the malls. Some large closeout stores include Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Ross. These stores are good buys for linens, and decorative items.
Online auctions and merchants: These are good places to buy kitchen accessories but not bulky items since you have to pay for the shipping. Read well the fine print on description, payment methods and shipping costs.
Garage sales: This is where the saying "One man's junk is another man's treasure", is likely to come true in your case. Here you can get inexpensive shelves, chairs and tables. After refinishing them, no one will know whether they are old or new. But be prepared for garage hopping and cash payment.
Tips from shopping experts: There are shopping experts who sometimes give information about local sales bargains through the radio, television and the Internet.
Hotel surplus stores: These stores sell the furniture that hotels sell when they are redecorating. You can strike a good bargain here.
Re-upholstering
Don't discard your old furniture. With imaginative upholstering you can work wonders with them at little cost.
Artist's canvas or floor cloths are cheap upholstery materials. You can use colors and design of your choosing to either complement the existing furniture or do something new.
Old tablecloths can make excellent dining room chairs upholstery. It is also one way to use tablecloths with stains, which won't go. Use the good part and discard the rest.
Sheets can be used to upholster casual furniture but they should have a tight weave for more durability.
Curtains can be made from old silk, jacquard or velvet drapes bought from thrift shops. A little cleaning makes them usable. Work around the faded areas and get a rich and elegant fabric for very little money.
Bedspreads can be used to make covers for chairs or sofas. As a bonus, the fabric is almost always washable.
Décor
Pictures and wall hangings add color to a room. Inexpensive pictures and frames are available at many dollar stores.
Throw rugs can be had from department stores for a few dollars.
House plants improve the air quality of your house. There are florists selling three plants just for 10$.
Linoleum is an inexpensive floor covering and surprisingly easy to lay. All you need is linoleum glue and an edging knife.
Thus, give some effort and time, and you can save a lot that can utilized for other requirements.
Summary of author: Sharon Jones is an interior decorator and a successful writer of home decorating related issues, for more informative articles go to http://www.decorate-your-home.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Jones
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
It's Party Time - Let's Decorate!
Holidays are here and so is the spirit of partying. Here are some wonderful ideas for transforming your home into an innovative party scenario and giving your guests an occasion that will forever remain etched in their memories.
1. Entrance: Do up your entrance. The entrance to your home should be magnificent and welcoming. Line the driveway with luminaries. Place a guest book at the front door for expressing sentiments. Clean up clutter near your entrance. Decorate the entrance traditionally or with something unusual to set a celebratory mood. You could also decorate according to the theme of your party. Sleigh Bells or wreaths for Christmas, ghoulish figures for Halloween etc.
2. Lighting: Lighting sets the mood for the party. Interesting ways to play with lighting are to cover light bulbs with multi-colored cellophane strips, cover lights or battery-torches with soft white cloth and place them separately to give the room an air of mystery, or use all your beautiful candles together instead of lights to create a romantic mood. If using candles, combine candles of various colors, shapes and sizes together.
3. Flowers: Flowers will never go out of Fashion. Use lots of seasonal flowers to add freshness and fragrance to your decor. Use garlands to decorate tall structures, floral arrangements on mantels and corners and floating displays of seasonal flowers and floating candles for an eye-catching centerpiece. Visit our Flower Arrangement Gallery by Chrissie Harten (http://www.dotcomwomen.com/home/floral.shtml) for some great ideas. If you expecting kids at your party, place such arrangements out of reach of children or use wooden or metal vases and bowls instead of glass and porcelain.
4. Fabric and Linen: The color and texture of the fabric in the room should be decided according to the occasion, theme, season etc. Cool fabrics go for summers. Rich brocades and Velvet go with a Victorian theme. Red, Golden and White will give the room a Christmassy feel.
5. A Special Touch: Give the party scenario a special touch by placing an object which will be the center of attraction for your guests. A party is the right time to show off your beautiful collection of dolls or your set of original oils by a famous artist. A set of rare books placed together as a 'mini-library' in your party room will also become a major attraction if your guests are Literature-Lovers. Apart from collections, you can use mini-aquariums, waterfalls, miniature indoor gardens etc. These will not only beautify the room, but also give your guests a beautiful theme to start a conversation.
Happy Decorating!
About The Author
Lata Tokhi is the Founder/Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women's website and online community. Visit her at http://www.dotcomwomen.com.
1. Entrance: Do up your entrance. The entrance to your home should be magnificent and welcoming. Line the driveway with luminaries. Place a guest book at the front door for expressing sentiments. Clean up clutter near your entrance. Decorate the entrance traditionally or with something unusual to set a celebratory mood. You could also decorate according to the theme of your party. Sleigh Bells or wreaths for Christmas, ghoulish figures for Halloween etc.
2. Lighting: Lighting sets the mood for the party. Interesting ways to play with lighting are to cover light bulbs with multi-colored cellophane strips, cover lights or battery-torches with soft white cloth and place them separately to give the room an air of mystery, or use all your beautiful candles together instead of lights to create a romantic mood. If using candles, combine candles of various colors, shapes and sizes together.
3. Flowers: Flowers will never go out of Fashion. Use lots of seasonal flowers to add freshness and fragrance to your decor. Use garlands to decorate tall structures, floral arrangements on mantels and corners and floating displays of seasonal flowers and floating candles for an eye-catching centerpiece. Visit our Flower Arrangement Gallery by Chrissie Harten (http://www.dotcomwomen.com/home/floral.shtml) for some great ideas. If you expecting kids at your party, place such arrangements out of reach of children or use wooden or metal vases and bowls instead of glass and porcelain.
4. Fabric and Linen: The color and texture of the fabric in the room should be decided according to the occasion, theme, season etc. Cool fabrics go for summers. Rich brocades and Velvet go with a Victorian theme. Red, Golden and White will give the room a Christmassy feel.
5. A Special Touch: Give the party scenario a special touch by placing an object which will be the center of attraction for your guests. A party is the right time to show off your beautiful collection of dolls or your set of original oils by a famous artist. A set of rare books placed together as a 'mini-library' in your party room will also become a major attraction if your guests are Literature-Lovers. Apart from collections, you can use mini-aquariums, waterfalls, miniature indoor gardens etc. These will not only beautify the room, but also give your guests a beautiful theme to start a conversation.
Happy Decorating!
About The Author
Lata Tokhi is the Founder/Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women's website and online community. Visit her at http://www.dotcomwomen.com.
Home Decoration - Keep It Simple and Modern
Your home can not only be dressed with houseplants but today’s generation of plants and decorative containers offer selections far surpassing those of only a few years ago. With the introduction of self watering pots, planters and containers, items never considered as “planters” now open an array of design possibilities.
With all these possibilities should you use everything at your disposal? Scale and color may not come naturally for everyone. Here are a few tips to help keep design simple but also fit the environment of the present-day:
1 – Know the furniture. Grab your digital camera and shoot some pictures, then print them out to carry along with you as you are out shopping. This can help when searching for containers.
2 – What’s the look? An earthy style can come with lots of colors. These colors can be found in the furnishings, carpet and fabrics currently popular. In these settings consider using contemporary containers with a rich or creamy finish.
Modern interiors with polished floors, stainless steel and other hard surfaces along with carrying the theme of blacks, whites and gray need color to brighten and cheer the place up. Terra-cotta planters in modern shapes will warm a place up.
3 - Look at the Furniture Hardware. For many office interiors metallic planters are a good first choice. In selecting any container, look at the furniture hardware, the color of drawer pulls, knobs, furniture legs and door hinges as your selection guide. Brushed finishes at the moment are more popular than bright shiny ones.
4 – Stop grouping go linear. Consider using a series of the same plant in a linear form. For example look at staggering heights of plants or position plants in a line. This can be done inside or outside. Tall, V-shaped planters work great in series of threes and pop with bright stunning colors.
5 – Consider combining plants and a wide variety of container choices placed artistically can create dramatic looks. Using suggestion number four imagine a series of bright colored, tall containers placed along the wall, therefore replacing expensive artwork.
6 – Create Focal Points. Make an interior WOW by using a few strategically placed specimen plants in large, substantial containers to make a statement, which also stays in style.
You can create more impact in your interior design following these tips. Remember less is more and makes a statement.
Thomas Fryd regularly shares his experience at http://www.plant-care.com where he recently discussed the subject of self-watering planters demonstrating how watering can be made much easier for houseplants.
Written By Thomas_Fyrd
With all these possibilities should you use everything at your disposal? Scale and color may not come naturally for everyone. Here are a few tips to help keep design simple but also fit the environment of the present-day:
1 – Know the furniture. Grab your digital camera and shoot some pictures, then print them out to carry along with you as you are out shopping. This can help when searching for containers.
2 – What’s the look? An earthy style can come with lots of colors. These colors can be found in the furnishings, carpet and fabrics currently popular. In these settings consider using contemporary containers with a rich or creamy finish.
Modern interiors with polished floors, stainless steel and other hard surfaces along with carrying the theme of blacks, whites and gray need color to brighten and cheer the place up. Terra-cotta planters in modern shapes will warm a place up.
3 - Look at the Furniture Hardware. For many office interiors metallic planters are a good first choice. In selecting any container, look at the furniture hardware, the color of drawer pulls, knobs, furniture legs and door hinges as your selection guide. Brushed finishes at the moment are more popular than bright shiny ones.
4 – Stop grouping go linear. Consider using a series of the same plant in a linear form. For example look at staggering heights of plants or position plants in a line. This can be done inside or outside. Tall, V-shaped planters work great in series of threes and pop with bright stunning colors.
5 – Consider combining plants and a wide variety of container choices placed artistically can create dramatic looks. Using suggestion number four imagine a series of bright colored, tall containers placed along the wall, therefore replacing expensive artwork.
6 – Create Focal Points. Make an interior WOW by using a few strategically placed specimen plants in large, substantial containers to make a statement, which also stays in style.
You can create more impact in your interior design following these tips. Remember less is more and makes a statement.
Thomas Fryd regularly shares his experience at http://www.plant-care.com where he recently discussed the subject of self-watering planters demonstrating how watering can be made much easier for houseplants.
Written By Thomas_Fyrd
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