Easy Bargain Decorating

Easy bargain decorating is within reach with a little creative thinking and elbow grease.

Just because you are on a tight budget doesn’t mean that a stylish home is out of reach. You can get the design looks you want even if you need to keep a close eye on the bottom line.

The first step in any design project should be drawing up a budget, but if you need to accomplish your design goals on a shoestring, your budget is your best friend. Decide up front how much money you can spend, and then start prioritizing the things you need (and want). By figuring out up front how you will be spending the money you have earmarked for your interior design project, you’ll avoid the trap of blowing money on small things you don’t need without setting enough money aside to finish the whole job. It is very easy to spend a lot of money and end up with a room that doesn’t look very different at all, so make your plan and stick to it. If you need help envisioning, free interior design software programs can help. These programs also often have a budgeting feature to help you get a handle on how much cash you’ll need to bring your ideas to life.

These ideas will give your place a facelift while keeping you safely within budget:

Paint and wallpaper can give any room a new lease on life, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Shop for discontinued and discounted wallpaper designs to give your walls some zip without spending a fortune. If you see a full price wallpaper design that you can’t live without, consider papering a single wall as an accent wall instead of doing the whole room or wallpapering the top half or bottom half of all of the walls in the room. A border can also completely change the look of your room.

When it comes to paint, if you are willing to be a little flexible on color, you can score some great deals on cans of paint that have been incorrectly mixed for other customers. There is nothing wrong with the quality of these paints, and even though the color might have been slightly wrong for another customer, it could be the perfect color for your room. Again, consider an accent wall or only painting part of each wall. Even leaving your walls the same and painting your molding or your ceiling can change everything.

If your cabinets are looking a little stale, you can save money by freshening up the ones you have rather than replacing them. Stain or paint your cabinets, liven then up with contact paper/wallpaper on the panels or swap out the handles and knobs.

Outdated appliances can bring down the look of an entire room. Avoid replacing them by recovering them. You can buy stainless steel paper designed to cover fridges, dishwashers and more that will give the impression that you have all new appliances in your kitchen.

Accessories are a great and affordable way to change the look of your room. Simply swapping out some pillows and blankets can spruce up your room for a new season or holiday. Save money by buying this just out of season and putting them aside for the next year.

Keep these general ideas in mind while trying to stick to your decorating budget:

• Do it yourself. Wallpaper, painting, sanding, staining – you can do many design jobs yourself and save a ton of cash.

• Shop bargain stores. Shops like Home Goods, Wal-Mart and Target have huge home decorating departments with stylish but cheap options. They’re perfect for designing on a budget.

• Plan ahead. Stock up for next Christmas' decorating just after the current Christmas holiday is over - when all of the Christmas items are 75 percent or more off.

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