Even when times are tough, you can still give rooms in your home a fresh look without spending a lot of money, experts say.
The first step to a fresh look is to declutter, said Kim Danger, creator of frugality Web site MommySavers.com. "Sometimes you need to take some things away instead of adding things. And reuse things you have already," she said.
Tips for going from drab to fab on a budget fit into three categories:
Paint, paint, paintYou can paint an entire room for about $5 by searching your hardware store or home center for mistinted paints on clearance. Danger said she's gotten three gallons of paint for $10 that way.
Deck the walls
Move existing art to other walls or rooms to create a different look. The same goes for furniture.
"Sometimes moving something from one room to another or putting it in a different place can make it feel brand-new again," Danger said.
Remat, reframe and rearrange your art and photos, said Debbie Wiener, author of "Slob Proof! Real-Life Design Solutions."
Swap out photos in your frames. Or, take a photograph that has colors that work in your room, blow it up, cut it and frame it in three pieces, suggests Tracy Morris of Tracy Morris Design. Many online sites, such as Shutterfly.com, will enlarge digital photos relatively cheaply.
Thrift stores are a good source of inexpensive frames. If you'll use several on the same wall, spray-paint mismatched frames the same color.
Bring outdoors in
Place cuttings from your yard -- flowers and shrubbery -- in vases. A great source of inexpensive ones is the dollar store.
Plants enliven a room and can be cheap if you're willing to nurse back to health those on clearance.
Danger said she knows a woman who used a birdbath as an end table by placing glass on top. She swaps out decorative items in the bowl, such as trading Christmas balls forEaster eggs.
Gregory Karp is a personal finance writer for The Morning Call, Allentown
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20. julij 2009
How to freshen up your home on the cheap
