Decorating a very small house... on a budget, please help!?

Question

Ok So my mom is looking at a very small house to rent. The rooms are very small and are painted very bright shades of pink, blue, and yellow. There is a room in the tiny basement that has blue-ish turquoise concrete floors and i'm not sure abut the walls. I would like help on how to decorate this small space without spending a lot of money??

Also, I know that buying a lot of primer to repaint the blue, pink, and yellow walls is going to cost quite a bit... Is there anything else to do? Please Help. They painted the ceilings the samse colors as the walls! The pink room also has pink carpet! Me and my sister are both in high school, so the decorating for those rooms shouldn't be very little girl like. Please Help!

Thanks

Answer 1

You have my deepest sympathies. If you can't afford the primer, then how about a cream glaze, you will need some cream paint and a container of glaze and they will combine to tone down the colors to something bearable. Probably two gallons of paint and a quart of glaze should cost about $55.00. Its put on with a rolled up T-shirt, check out the examples of faux painting at the store, I'm sure you will find a texture you like the look of. You will need a specific kind of concrete paint for the basement floor, about $30.
Take your newly toned down shades of pink, yellow, and blue and think romantic shabby chic for your style, that will allow you to paint any mismatched furniture creamy white and it will all work together and look like you meant it to be. It also means you can check out thrift stores and garage sales to make your home very personal, just don't buy broken junk, but think of more cream paint for lamps and things. Sheets and pillowcases can be used as drapes and Target is good for those. Good luck

Answer 2

Well, not using primer is not a good idea. And yeah, it'll cost a bit but you can buy primer in huge commercial 5 and 10 gallons drums and if you do that, the savings are pretty decent.

Since you don't know what kind of paint is already on the walls, you'll need to use an oil based primer. If you don't, and the paint on the walls is oil based and you paint with latex paint, it'll soon scrape and peel off... And that would be even more expensive.

Also, since the colors on already on the walls are freaky, if you try and paint with lighter colors, it'll cost you even more because you'll have to put 2, 3 and sometimes 4 coats of paint to cover what is there. So primer really is your best bet. Once you have the primer on, you'll only need 1 or 2 coats of paint...

As for the floor that is painted, you should prime that with the oil based primer also and then use a cement interior floor paint in a color of your choice.

As for making the space bigger, you can do so visually buy simply painting the whole place in a monchromatic scheme. That means you basically choose one color and use it in different shades and darknesses of the same color.

Did you know you can buy recycled paint? It's much cheaper and the colors, although you don't have as wide of a choice, are still quite nice. Here are a few web sites to help you.

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/lc/purchasing/latexpaint.cfm
http://www.sico.ca/En/Produits_Environnement.asp
http://www.boomerangpaint.com/

We often use boomerang paint for our clients. The quality is great and the cost is little.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have fun doing it and that you enjoy your new space! Keep in mind that small spaces can be much cosier than large ones.... And as a plus, are MUCH easier to keep clean!

Answer 3

It shouldn't take much primer to cover the pink or blue if it's light, just put a good coat on with a roller and then paint the color you want the walls to be, I would suggest that you paint a light color if the rooms are very small. Primer is not that expensive, I think I did a whole house once with a 5 gallon bucket of primer that may have cost around $40. But of course you need to be sure that the landlord is ok with you painting the house and maybe he or she will take some off the rent for painting it or if you are willing to paint, buy the paint for you. Just ask. As far as decorating just look at thrift shops, Goodwill, Salvation army and find some desks, old chairs and dressers you can paint and use, Walmart has some cute accessories and you can make artwork to hang very easily and cheap if not free. Use your imagination, just make sure you get the ok from the landlord for whatever you do. As far as the pink carpet, get an area rug to cover some of it and your beds and dressers should help cover the rest, if you still have some pink showing, use it to your advantage but match it with grey accessories so that it doesn't look babyish, also chocolate brown is nice with pink. So have fun with it.

Answer 4

Check out or buy a copy of "Beautiful Home on a Budget", by Emilie Barnes and Yoli Brogger. It is cram-packed chock-full of ideas for decorating, not just in one particular style, but so that your house or special area reflects your personality.
The basic idea is "share what you love--love what you have". For example, I had: two windows, one filled with really ugly foamboard, the other bare; one starry fleece throw; one odd-size flat sheet from a discarded bed; and one huge collection of paper dolls, hidden in the closet. Now I have a glowing starry sky in one window and a fabric-covered bulletin board (with matching valance) to display the paper dolls in the other. And the throw and the sheet are still both in one piece!

So. From what you said, neither you nor your sister like any of the rooms in the colors they are? Okay. You could:
Staple pretty fabric or mosquito netting in swags and drapes over the walls.
Do a temporary wallpapering job with gift wrap. If you want to get creative, you might do a sort of "quilt-top" effect with two or three different patterns of giftwrap.
Cover the walls completely with posters, pictures, and calendars that you like.
Don't repaint completely--for example, a blue room often benefits from stars on the ceiling, rather than a complete new paint job.

Anyway, the color of the walls doesn't always determine the decorating scheme. You don't have to have a Disney Princess room just because it's totally pink. Depending on what color your bedding and other accents are, the room will have a different feel as soon as your stuff is moved in--for example, orange and pink will feel more psychedelic than blue and pink.

And finally, you don't have to redecorate all at once. Do what you can when you can afford it--one gallon of primer goes a long way--and look at what you already have before you buy anything new. And have fun!

Answer 5

Oh my gosh, pink, blue, and yellow? The cheapest way to redecorate is with paint, but not all those colors, especially in a small space. If the rooms "flow" into each other, the walls should be in a similar hue, and not "compete" with each other. If you want the colors of the walls to be different in each room, then pick colors in the same family. Paint stores or home improvement stores have color cards to help you. I would keep the walls neutral, and bring color into the room with accessories, furniture, etc. Good luck.

Answer 6

Sponge paint!! This way you save on primer. Try metallic paint, silver may complement the existing wall color. Also try putting mirrors all around the house they help extend the space! P.S. with the money you save on paint and primer, splurge on pillows, throw rugs, knit blankets, candles, and potted plants!!

Good Luck!! And Have Fun!!

Answer 7

Paint the room, examine the cyber web for the backside cost suggestions for portray. %. a eye-catching shade. in case you have time, you may desire to take some much less costly sheets and stitch, or glue them into new window remedies, yet another factor is you could carry a number of your son's artwork artwork, if he's the right age to do any. yet another possibility is attempt out for between the t.v. makeover exhibits, we've "figuring out to purchase and advertising areas" while you're interior the united kingdom you have "changing Rooms". enable them to pay for area of the decorations. De-muddle the room as much as achievable in the previous doing any of those ideas. sturdy luck.

Answer 8

HGTV should have a list of shows that help in decorating. Also Clean House on the Style Network is great too.

Answer 9

if you dont mind having yellow blue or pink rooms you can always tone them down by getting a lighter shade that way you wont have to prime and paint. try ikea they are known for their furinture for small spaces

Answer 10

this should help.lots of info and ideas.good luck
http://interiordec.about.com/cs/projectreference/l/blwkfixup.htm