What are some budget friendly ways to make my house look nicer?

Question

Basically, I want to decorate my home in a more trendy, Classy look. But I need to go the checkbook-friendly route.

any good tips or ideas?

Answer 1

walking into a clean and organized home is usually the best...... get rid of clutter !
adding some fresh cut flowers or live plants helps make the room perfect.
doesn't take a lot of money to make people feel comfortable in a home but it does take a little elbow-grease.
when you have more money to fix up your home, then a fresh coat of paint on the walls and refurbished furniture will make the place POP.
have fun ;)

Answer 2

I love mirrors and they aren't much to have cut. If you go to yard sales and get old wooden frames and have mirrors cut for them they make a stunning grouping on the wall and make the house look larger. What I do is put my pictures or whatever I am grouping on the floor right infront of the wall space I am using and switch them around until they compliment each other then hang them about the same. Like an oval, rectangle, square different sizes. Be sure not to have an even number. (Like you never have 2 flowers in a vase-its 3 or 5 etc) Also I have found old chairs beside the road-took them home, hot-glued where needed then I use shoe polish, a brown or black marker and cover in all scratches then wipe it off real well and get a little piece of fabric that compliments your coloring and staple it on. You can trim it real close then hot glue some pretty braiding around. An Believe it or not, don't have things matchy matchy. The most stunning rooms I have seen( 10 years ago I would never have put a black and pink flowered rug under red flowered rug under something that didn't match at all. Rugs are great. As you can see I could go on and on. You would not believe how many things I bought from the Salvation Army. Sometimes I want a little lamp to sit on the floor under a houseplant for the ambience-and they have all been newly wired, and they are less expensive than the light kit. A small lamp in the bathroom looks good along with the kitchen counter. Also I dump wesson oil or cheaper oil on a rag and polish my furniture with it and it gives the best sheen. Make some pillows that don't match anything. The main thing is iwhat ever color you use have a hint of it a couple other places across the room. Like if you had a mainly blue chair, find a little something blue, a candle, a picture, and old plate on a stand and put it directly across the room, and a little touch somewhere else. I know you are tired of reading now but one other thing is floor lamps. I got one for a dollar and went to Lowes-my eye goes right to they yellow sale tags-I found a twirly blue glass globe-had been 16.00 and last on on sale for 2.95. That is so much fun. Once I needed something really different for a space so I hot glued 3 cheap different size ugly flowers on a board, sprayed the entire thing off white and it looked great. You will have fun when you do little things and you will be so proud!

Answer 3

Clean the outside of it so it has curb appial. Painting the trim white will clean up the outside and white goes with any color and looks clean too. Plant color around your home in the spring. tulips ar cheap and colorful. Clean up the inside by picking up and putting things into their place. I know you heard that before. LOL Then if your going to try to sell it, remove some of the cluter and thing about removing some of the furniture. A less then full room looks bigger.

Leave the curtins and blinds open during the day to let in light. Change the lite bulbs to the new blue. Cost is their but the savings are great, and the color is more natural. If you paint inside, remember to use colors that both sex's like. NOT white! Use colors that are soft and blind, i.e. creams sea foam green and silvers or grays. all lite colors not dark. The exception is the ceiling, dark gray on a tall ceiling with a new lite and trim of a liter shade give the room a look of charm and size changing without moving the walls or floor!
If this helps, then I learned a lot reading and doing for the past 40 years and making money turning homes, if not, sorry. Go to lowe's and take a class and enjoy the free coffee! I did that too!
John

Answer 4

Ohm someone after my own heart! They may call us stingy or whatever, but they have to admit that we & our homes look great, don't they? Plus, we always have a little jingle-jangle in our pockets. Let it stay our little secret.

To do a redo at home is very easy! And you couldn't have picked a better style to go easy on the pocketbook. First, look at your couch/sofa. Check out the colors closely and the design. Is it plaid, floral, a solid color, etc. This is where you will take your cue. That darned piece of furniture is expensive & we don't want to replace it. If you HATE it, then you are gonna have to get cover it. Keep your walls in the classic colors of beige, golds, whites and a couple of your other favorite colors. Hopefully, one of them will be blue or green. Trot around the house for your 3rd color that is going to be your accent color. You will know what that color is because you will notice that you already have a lot of knick-knacks in this color. This can be any color, BTW. Rearrange your furniture. I'm sure you intend to clean everything from top to bottom, so it will be easy to slap your new coat of paint on the walls.

See some things you have in a new light. Sheets can easily become swag curtains. Hot glue gun some fringe, tiny sea shells, or pieces of old costume jewelry onto the edge of lamps, picture frames or wherever you feel. Show exactly who you are when "in the moment". No one will be able to copy you that way. Cover your old throw pillows in another fabric. Even consider that throw rug over there... You really don't have to spend a dime if you don't want to. This is the time of year to think fall & winter. Pick up some twigs in your yard or the local park. They look great in a clear vase, with something that you already have to lie around the bottom of this arrangement. This could be anything from tiny perfume bottles to your girlhood tea set. YOU decide, it's your house. Spray paint all of your picture frames the same color as your accent color & put them all together in an arrangement on a lonely looking wall. The best design comes from your heart. When you feel that you are finished, does it make you happy? Do you feel comfy and at home? I thought so. Let us know if you come up with any more ideas. I have a lot but since I'm not doing that right now, I've forgotten quite a bit. You'll be inspired once you get into your project :-)

Answer 5

The living room is usually the first room that your guests see when they come into your home.

I keep my living room simple and clutter free. I removed the television and put it in the back family room. I now have only a nice matching couch and chair with a large palm tree in that room. I have nicely framed family pictures on the wall. I keep my expensive showing things in this room in a china cabinet.

I painted one of the walls in a forest green. There is something classy about a room with one or two painted walls. It looks rich if you use a dark mate color. Barn red is really popular right now. Forest green is a little passe, but I still like the dark rich color. I pulled it all together with a Persian rug in the middle of the room and a few throw pillows that have the same color.

This is the room that I always clean first. It started when my children were small and I wanted to have at least one room that was always kept nice.

Answer 6

One good thing to do first is to remove any clutter that is congesting your space. Go in your closets (one by one) and:

Donate, discard anything that is beyond repair or that you never use. Removing such things opens up your home to abundance.

House Cleaning:

After decluttering, if you can afford it, have a professional come in and thoroughly clean your home from top to bottom.

You may love the results so much that you may want to do it more often.

Have the floors professionally cleaned/waxed or refinished or rugs shampooed and pay extra if you have to for stubborn stains. If a light colored carpet, treat with Scotgard to ward of future stains.

Buy a good quality paint on sale in your local Home Depot or Lowes (before you need it) in a fresh updated shade that will enhance your space and furniture.

Rearrange furniture.

Buy investment pieces of furniture piece by piece. The exception would be a dining room set.

Buy a chandelier or two on sale. If you don't like the crystal ones, there are more modern types to choose from.

Answer 7

Mirrors make a place look bigger, so you can use them to "expand" small spaces. Clean up any clutter and organize. Candles are a cheap way to decorate and personalize because you can get creative with colors. Also if your looking to really freshen up the place, try a coat of paint. I would first start with a really good primer, it's a huge money saver in the long run. Then when you're ready to paint, you should only need one coat instead of two or three.

Answer 8

My family doesn't have alot of money, so we usually just have to deal with what we are given. Lately my mom has been wanting to change the apartment around to make it look more homey. We are renting an apartment, but we are tired of moving around and hte landlord and my mother have become really good friends. So she is letting my mom do whatever she wants to the apartment.

We bought some paint in warm but light colors, since we also live in a basement we have to keep it light so that it doesnt look so dark and enclosed. We bought all new furniture that matched or that at least went with each other. We put up alot of mirrors, mirrors can be inexpensive and can bring an AMAZING change to the room. It can make itl ook richer, more inviting, more OPEN and it doesn't have to cost alot of money.

I actually went to IKEA for alot of the furniture and accessories. They are moderately priced and fit into our budget. They made the changes to the room pop. I bought a mirror for my room that is square and framed in a light wood frame, it was only 20$ it has some weight to it and it really changes the way the room looks.

Stencils can also add some class to a room. I am not talking grapes and vines, but maybe something like a quote or words that you feel strong about, you can stencil them onto the wall in your living room, kitchen or bathroom.

You really have to think out of the box and remember that some items don't always have to be used for the purpose they are intended for. Just keep that in mind when looking for items as well, think about how else you can use the item to make it more interesting in your home. Inexpensive items can turn into the most talked about objects in your home.

Good luck!

Answer 9

well start with making your own curtains, use the same fabric to recover your throw pillows if you have any. You can get some really good looking fabric on sale and clearance. You can also use spay paint to paint your curtain rods to match instead of buying new, they are so stinkin expensive!! Go too goodwill or other thrift stores for furniture if needed and either paint them or re-cover them, depending on what you need or want. Paint your existing tables, chairs, whatever for a more classy look. Also instead of buying new bedding, just cover it with new fabric as well. You can always go back or change it again if you make a slip cover for your comforter. You can also spray paint your picture frames to match the color/theme you want to go with so they match as well. Thrift stores all the way, you can always paint or cover with fabric to pull your room or whole house together. Also, catch some episodes of design on a dime, or the ones on TLC and HGTV that redecorte without spending anything. They have some awesome tips and ideas. Good luck and GOd Bless.

Answer 10

Well, as an alternative, you could go with new tile (might be able to find some relatively cheap). But it doesn't sound like you want tile again. The cheapest thing I can think of besides laminate would be linoleum. There's actually some nice lino out there if you look around, and at least it's easy to clean and practically indestructable (when it comes to dropping things at least). Personally, I'd save up the extra cash and go with laminate. Good luck!

Answer 11

You can spruce up by painting the rooms of your home in different but coordinating colors, (you can even create your own custom colors) get some nice window treatments i.e., blinds/shades, valances, drapes/curtains.

You may want to get throw pillows in different shapes, colors and sizes to put on your living room couch and in your bedrooms.

If you don't want to paint the walls, you can always paint only the woodwork around entry ways in different colors or get some border paper for the walls.
You may want to think a/b getting some nice artwork or prints to hang up as well.
If you like the look of table cloths, or table runners thats a great idea as well as faux flower arrangements, you don't have to put them on your tables, you can buy tall vases and stick them in a corner in any room. They have inexpensive faux flowers that are hard to tell the difference from the real ones nowadays too.

You can go to places like Ikea, Target, Wal-mart, K-mart, Home Depot, Macy's, Bloomies and vintage 2nd hand stores or flea markets etc. to find the above mentioned items.

Have Fun with it!!!