Redecorating on a dime

Published 11:34 am Monday, January 21, 2008

Ready to redecorate, but your wallet is bare? It’s easy to get a whole new look without breaking the bank. A few simple tricks and projects can make a boring room beautiful.

The first step for any redecorating project is to de-clutter. A room that looks too lived-in also looks tired. Find somewhere else to store children’s toys and schoolwork. Clear away the excess knickknacks, pictures and photos, and dispose of old magazines and newspapers.

One of the worst offenders is an overloaded bookcase. If your shelves are starting to sag in the middle, or you have books sitting horizontally on top of vertical books, it’s time to downsize. You can donate unwanted books to charity or turn them in to a used bookstore for trade-in credit. When you rearrange the remaining books, put the ones with the nicest covers at eye level.

Once the floor and surfaces are clear of clutter, you can better evaluate what you have to work with. When you can’t afford to buy a whole new set of furniture, you have to decide what to do with what you have. Consider trading furniture from other parts of the house if you need to.

Sometimes moving furniture around can give a room a fresh new feeling. But keep utility in mind when rearranging things. There’s no point in putting a TV set in a location where you can’t view it in comfort. Putting a piece of furniture directly in the line of traffic can result in a lot of stubbed toes.

Once your room is rearranged, it’s time to decide on a “look.” This can be as simple as just a repeated color to tie the room together, or as elaborate as a whole theme. Thumb through magazines to find pictures of rooms that appeal to you, then analyze what it is about them that catches your eye.

Perhaps you long for something sleek, cool and contemporary. Maybe Italianate formal is more your style. Floral prints are ideal for helping to create that shabby-chic look. Sunset hues and earth tones can suggest a touch of the Southwest. Whatever you’re after, see if your furniture’s colors and fabrics are going to work with the look you want. If not, you’ll need to do a little magic with slipcovers and paint.

Paint is one of the least expensive ways to change a room’s ambience. Use paint to change the look of your furniture or to add interest to picture frames, baskets and lamp shades. Change wall color to add warmth, vibrancy or tranquility. You don’t have to paint the whole room. Consider painting just one wall. It’s easier to do and can complement the theme nicely.

Exciting effects can also be achieved with wallpaper. As with paint, you can create a focal point by papering just one wall in a pattern that reflects your theme. Create faux wainscoting by papering only half way up the wall. Apply a thin strip of molding at the top edge for a more realistic effect. Add wallpaper borders around the top or bottom of your room for a crisp, clean finish.

A single roll of wallpaper can go a long way. You can customize light-switch and outlet plates. Shelf edges can be highlighted with thin strips. For a custom look, put wallpaper on the surfaces of end tables or coffee tables and top with glass. Framed wallpaper samples can make interesting coordinating art, too.

Lampshades are easy to decorate and to color coordinate using paints or wallpapers. Try sponging on the paint for a textured look. You can also get out the hot-glue gun and add beads or fabric trims for a bit of fun flare.

Fabrics are a wonderful way to change the look of a room, and they don’t have to cost a lot of money. Most people make the mistake of running to the fabric store and buying right off the bolt. Instead, search retail-store clearance racks for odd or discontinued curtains, drapes, bed skirts and tablecloths.

Thrift stores and second-hand shops are another place where you may come across fabrics in the form of drapes, curtains, tablecloths and bedspreads. An old damask bed skirt easily can be transformed into an elegant table runner and matching napkins for decorating a dining room table. If the gauze in the center of a bed skirt is in good shape, it can be sewn, shaped or even dyed to create a breezy window treatment.

Two cloth table napkins sewn together can make attractive cushion covers. The napkins don’t have to match. Use a solid color on one side and a print on the other.

Freshen furniture by making or buying slipcovers. Or, just a color-coordinated throw can draw the eye away from worn or boring upholstery.

Area rugs can hide a number of flaws while enhancing the look of the room and tying the color scheme together. You can find affordable area rugs at box stores, flooring retailers and design shops. These are also great places to buy small numbers of decorative tiles to turn a worn end table into a mosaic-topped masterpiece.

You don’t have to go to the expense of replacing fittings, fixtures, knobs and drawer pulls in your room. Simply freshen them with a quick coat of spray paint. You can choose a metallic look or be bold and paint them all a coordinating accent color.

There’s even a spray that produces a stone or granite effect straight out of the can.

Once your room is fresh and reorganized, finish off by adding art and accessories. A good rule of thumb is to draw the eye to a single focal piece. If your dream is a Tommy Bahama bedroom, make or buy an eye-catching net to go over the bed. Then complement the rest of the room with a leafy house plant and some sepia-toned art prints.

Art can be very affordable. Find free art by framing prints from old calendars. There is plenty of copyright-free art online. Download pictures you enjoy and print them out on your home printer. For a sleek modern look, consider making black and white Xerox copies of color photos to enhance the monochromatic color scheme of a room.

If you choose to use a single large picture or painting, make sure it is good quality, because it will likely become the focal point. The shabby-chic look can be enhanced by using a mishmash of inexpensive, different-sized frames, but painting them in the same light or white color scheme. Mirrors tend to be low-cost, fit into many themes and can make a room seem larger and brighter.

Candles are affordable accent pieces that are easily displayed and decorated. Ceramics, china or glassware that complement the room’s theme may already be among your personal possessions. You can also find them at low cost through garage sales and thrift stores. Just remember not to go overboard with too many accessories, or they’ll give an impression of clutter.

Don’t be hesitant to work with what you already have. If you really are sick of that old cabinet, will it hurt to paint it white or red or black? If you paint one wall a Mediterranean blue and find it’s just not you, it can always be repainted. Design is about expression and exploration. Like fashion, it’s always on the move.