Post your best BUDGET decorating tip here!

[missypie]

I guess if you're an electrician or cabinet maker or plumber, your best budget tip would be do do all of that stuff yourself. But as for the rest of us...what is your best BUDGET decorating tip?

Mine is to shop the "holiday" aisles after the holidays. Keep an open mind and you can find all sorts of useful stuff. I went to Joann on Saturday and they had all Halloween stuff 90% off. Now, we don't need any more Halloween decorations, but I scanned the aisles anyway. They had these very cool, square, shiny solid black plates. They had been $9.99. I picked one up for $1. It will be perfect for candle displays.

I use a lot of red accents. Red stuff goes on clearance after Christmas, Valentine's Day and Fourth of July. I have a great bright red wooden tray that I use all the time that I got after 4th of July one year.

Not all "Holiday" stuff has jack 'o lanterns, Christmas trees or flags on it. A whole lot of it doesn't.

 

[hercamore]

You're right.

I just bought some really nice candles at Menards for $2. Plain jar candles in with their marked down halloween stuff. Fall scents.

herc.

 

[HunnyPots]

Even if you aren't a seamstress, you can learn to do a straight seam and hem. You will save a bundle over ready-made treatments and they will look so much better, as ready-mades never use enough fabric to be full enough or hang right.

The same goes for decorative pillows. You can easily spend a bundle on them, even at discount stores. But nothing is easier to make and they take very little fabric.

 

[missypie]

Even if you aren't a seamstress, you can learn to do a straight seam and hem. You will save a bundle over ready-made treatments and they will look so much better, as ready-mades never use enough fabric to be full enough or hang right.

The same goes for decorative pillows. You can easily spend a bundle on them, even at discount stores. But nothing is easier to make and they take very little fabric.

I make window treatments and dust ruffles. Over the weekend I bought two yards of fabric for a valance for DD's room...It was also reduced to 70% off because it was classified as "costume" fabric. If I could have stopped there, I would have had a $6 valance...but then I also had to buy way cool beaded trim for $7 per yard...that brings the price of the valance to $20, but it will be fabulous!

 

[Chicago526]

I find cleaning, de-cluttering, and rearranging furnature a great way to really change the look of a room.

Getting clearance stuff after the holiday in question (as previously mentioned) is another way.

For my first home, I had gotten an old couch from a neighbor for free. Hated the fabric so I bought a cheap slip cover in a pattern I did like. Took a lot of tucking but it looked okay (and 100% better than the original fabric!).

I've had my brother build my entertaiment center for a fraction of what it would have cost me (about $300 in materials vs. $2,000 retail!). He's also refinished an old antique side board for my dining room and refinished my family room coffee and end tables.

And I haven't done it yet, but I'd like to start to fram some of the pictures I've taken on vacation and use those to hang on some of the walls for cheap, unique, and personal art!

 

[pearlieq]

Paint! You can often change a whole room for less than $50 and if you get tired of it, paint over it! Also, creative painting techniques (stripes, blocks of color, overlays) are striking and unique without spending a bundle.

For artwork and wall decorations, think creatively! No need to buy mass produced prints at Wall Art R Us at the mall. Find something meaningful to you and frame it. Cover walls with a fabric you love.

Plan before you decorate. Come up with a general idea of what theme you're going for, what scale items should be, and what colors you need. You'll be able to focus your attention on getting good deals on what you actually need rather than randomly buying whatever catches your eye

Accept hand me downs. Go to garage/estate sales. Some elbow grease and new fabric/paint can resurrect almost any peice of furniture, leaving you with something custom made and inexpensive.

Simplify, simplify, simplify. Seek out pieces that do double duty--storage ottomans, covertable bar/sideboard pieces, etc. Think carefully before bringing anything into your home. Every single piece of furniture and knick knack is going to make your home look smaller and will require cleaning/maintenance. Make sure it's worth it before you buy it.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I buy calendars for 90% off around the last week of Jan/first week of Feb.. I look for ones with beautiful pictures. Cut them out, mat and frame them and it's a wonderful peice for a fraction of the cost.

You can do the same thing with books on sale.

There is a great book out on frugal decorating, "More Splash than Cash". It is chocked full of terrific ideas!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Have a good friend look at your place and your stuff and help you come up with ideas for rearranging, using your belongings in different ways, etc. This kind of thing is becoming all the rage with the decorating shows on TV (just don't let your friends have complete freedom, like on the TV shows ).

And as my M-I-L says, put away some of your decorative items and rotate your decor--you don't have to have all your "stuff" out at once.

I love color and use a lot of color in my decorating, but I agree (with my M-I-L, once again) that it helps to purchase major items, at least some of them, in neutrals--makes it easier to redecorate when you tire of particular colors or a particular look.