How do you Design on a Dime (or penny) your home?

[Ottakee]

I seriously want to update our home a bit and just make it look better all around.  It has good bones and while the kitchen counter tops are a light teal/green from the early 1990s they are in good shape (and I have noticed that accent items with teal are becoming popular).

 

I just have a very limited budget here.  I need someone who knows design and flow and decorating to come in and make a few inexpensive changes to make it look better.

 

I just want clean and neat and comfortable while being inviting and not looking "tired".

 

Any good books on this?  Ideas?

 

I really don't want house envy, etc. but I see so many of my friends that have homes that are just put together well vs. the craigs list piece by piece method of decorating that I have done due to finances.  Like our couch.  It is a very good name brand quality leather couch in great condition.......it is just older and that out of date/style burgundy leather.  The rocker recliner is close to the same color and also leather and in good condition.  The snuggler (smaller love seat thing) is the 90s forest green leather.  IT is NOT in good shape at all but right now a place holder. 

[Guinevere]

Listening!

[Hannah]

Fabrics and paint can go a long way to brighten a room without breaking the bank - especially if you can get the fabrics at a good price and sew yourself.

 

To tie together the burgundy and green you could add some patterned or flowery cushions in bright colours.  You can update drapes(curtains) by adding a strip of contrasting fabric  where they join.  If you have plain drapes, then the same fabric as the cushions.

 

Freshen wooden furniture by painting it white.

 

For the kitchen you can try accessories with a contrasting colour to the counters to create focal points.

[Artichoke]

We have greenish teal 1990's countertops that I'd like to replace.  It's not in the budget though.   What's helped soften them is to paint the walls a medium, neutral  gray.   It's one of the more popular Benjamin Moore colors, but I can't remember the name.  Then I made window valances with a really pretty dark gray material with a teal design and some other brighter colors mixed in.  I bought the material on sale at Joann's  Those two changes greatly updated our kitchen. 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Artichoke

[Ottakee]

I know the grays are in but all of my woodwork and laminate floors are more of the red/honey oak type color and gray just doesn't work well with it.  I also have an open concept main floor where the 2 story entry flows into the dining area, hearth area, and kitchen as well as a hall with no walls between them to switch colors, etc.

 

I do like the idea of accent pieces for color/design and then core pieces.

 

Part of my issue is that I had the money saved up for new furniture for the living area, repainting the main floor and then some accent pieces and life happened and dd needed $$$$ in dental work and other unexpected expenses so the money is not there now and I refuse to take out a loan/credit card purchase for wants.

[Pawz4me]

Google (and especially YouTube) are your friends. There are SO many creative DIYers out there publicizing what they do. Start Googling any and all redecorating/remodeling subjects and terms you can think of. You'll find ideas that will inspire you and trigger other ideas.

 

Signed,

Work in progress ;)

[Storygirl]

An idea for the counters...my sister in law recently changed her laminate counters by changing them to concrete. They look great, and concrete is in fashion now. She figured out how to do it herself (with her dad's help), and the cement was super cheap. I don't know the process, but I'm sure you could research this online.

[Carrie12345]

I've always considered myself a terrible decorator, and I'm cheap, which never helped.

 

A couple of years ago, I decided to start making all accents black, and it did start pulling everything together. (We have an open living/dining/kitchen floor plan.)  My appliances are black and we have black IKEA bookshelves in the living room.  I added black handles on the cabinets, black curtain rods, black dining room chairs from Wayfair, recently put a black ceiling fan in, got two inexpensive black side tables from Amazon, and I frame the kids' artwork in very inexpensive black IKEA frames.

 

It's still kind of boring, but it'll never clash with anything!

[Ottakee]

I meed to look online more for ideas that I like. Most of the ones I see have way too much "stuff" and I like a homey, comfy, but more minimalist look (but country not industrial).

[Laura Corin]

I meed to look online more for ideas that I like. Most of the ones I see have way too much "stuff" and I like a homey, comfy, but more minimalist look (but country not industrial).

 

What we have and that I like is minimalist underpinnings with more idiosyncratic accents.  So very simple lines for furniture (plain neutral colours, no flounces or frills) but accented with ethnic cushions, throws etc (in our case, things we bought when we lived in China).  We also have Chinese wall hangings.  It's a bit like this:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=off&client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&biw=1505&bih=930&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=p8AOWuirD4HfgAbT_ZmgCA&q=shanghai+tang+furnishing&oq=shanghai+tang+furnishing&gs_l=psy-ab.3...11153.14402.0.14637.19.15.4.0.0.0.81.843.15.15.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.2.145...0j0i67k1j0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.Uv7Kx1hTOto#imgrc=5Mn_A3Wbrj_BbM:

 

What are you interested in?  Do you have someone in your life who takes good photos?  Knits great throws?  You can pare back to the simple furniture that you already own and then just add in one or two interesting elements.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Laura Corin

[Ausmumof3]

This book is around the budget decorating theme

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19868756-the-nesting-place

 

I enjoyed reading it but after a brief splash didn't get far. I'm just not much of a painter or decorator.

[Ottakee]

What we have and that I like is minimalist underpinnings with more idiosyncratic accents. So very simple lines for furniture (plain neutral colours, no flounces or frills) but accented with ethnic cushions, throws etc (in our case, things we bought when we lived in China). We also have Chinese wall hangings. It's a bit like this:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=off&client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&biw=1505&bih=930&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=p8AOWuirD4HfgAbT_ZmgCA&q=shanghai+tang+furnishing&oq=shanghai+tang+furnishing&gs_l=psy-ab.3...11153.14402.0.14637.19.15.4.0.0.0.81.843.15.15.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.2.145...0j0i67k1j0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.Uv7Kx1hTOto#imgrc=5Mn_A3Wbrj_BbM:

 

What are you interested in? Do you have someone in your life who takes good photos? Knits great throws? You can pare back to the simple furniture that you already own and then just add in one or two interesting elements.

 

Your ideas are more.along the lines I was thinking. We have Native American heritage and live on a hobby farm. I will have an original artwork painting to put somewhere as well from a book my friend authored. www.westolivepress.com if you want to see the artwork style.

 

I need to declutter and ideally I could get a matching couch and loveseat and then maybe a rug to bring things together.

[lmrich]

I painted my cabinets 8 years ago. It cost less than $70. I also took down two upper cabinets and put up open shelving. AND that was before it was trendy!

 

I am seeing a lot of plants in home decor so that might be something to include in your design that is affordable. 

 

I would focus on one room at a time. Get that room perfect and then move to the next one using the colors that you liked. Paint is cheap and makes a huge change. You can paint your furniture; you can paint a rug on painters cloth. A can of spray paint can be your new best friend. I redid my office for under $150 using spray paint to update two old tables, and spray painted some accessories the same color including a peg board that holds my gear, and drop cloth to cover an ugly work table. Then I splurged and bought a ruffled burlap table skirt from Walmart to put on the other tables that are at my desk. 

[Hannah]

I need to declutter and ideally I could get a matching couch and loveseat and then maybe a rug to bring things together.

 

Decluttering makes a huge difference.  It allows you to then bring back only one or two eye-catching and beautiful items.

[itsheresomewhere]

Check out loca improvement stores for oops paint. It is either mixed wrong or the customer decided they didn't want that color. A gallon can be for as little as 4-9 dollars.

 

I also check the amazon warehouse when I find something I like on the main page. The ottoman I wanted was over 80 but it was in the warehouse for 30 as the packaging was messed up.

[Carol in Cal.]

What stands out to me is the loveseat.  I would cover it with a throw of some kind.  I'd probably go to the Salvation Army store and look at their bedspreads until I found one that went with the other furniture in the living room, and throw it over the loveseat kind of artistically for now.  I wouldn't necessarily cover the whole thing, but I'd cover enough of it so that the clash wouldn't dominate the room anymore.  Then I'd look and see whether that made things pleasant.  If not, I'd do something else--probably some decluttering.  I'd put up the art somewhere in there to draw the eye.  Then I'd look again.  I like making incremental changes, sitting with each one along the way.

[Soror]

I won't claim to be a decorating expert but then again I don't think it matters. When we rebuilt we had to go with flea market and Craigslist everything b/c that is all we could afford (not enough insurance). That was 10 yrs ago and I'm still trying to get things how I want them bit by bit. I finally realized that there are a lot of styles I like but that doesn't mean I like them for my house. I think it is great you have narrowed down how you want it to look because that saves a lot of money. 

 

What I've done is a bit at a time. I got new furniture at Ikea this spring with income tax returns, then I scavenged some items around the house and moved stuff around, and have spent little bits here and there. As Carol said since you don't have the cash I'd focus on one thing at a time, having to do it slowly I've realized that sometimes things I've thought I needed to replace weren't so bad when I took care of some other things first. Plenty of times I've went shopping and saw some things that were nice and pretty but didn't go at all with what I wanted, so I waited and kept my old tired stuff until I could find something I liked. I'd still like a new rug and entertainment center but haven't found any when I had money to spend, maybe next year. I finally found accent pillows I really liked last week, it's been 6 months of looking those things can get crazy expensive. 

 

So, watch Craigslist or swap for a new loveseat. 

 

Are your walls already a color you like? 

 

How about your curtains, curtain choice can really make a difference too. 

 

I have painted wooden furniture too, I've painted it and have it really fail but the last few times I used mineral paint and it worked beautifully. My bedroom has a hand me down dresser set that is so cheap you can pick up the little dresser with one hand, 1980s particle board. Last year out of desperation I finally decide I'd paint it, I didn't have enough money to buy a set, even used so I got the mineral paint a friend recommended (General Finish) and went to it. I absolutely love it now. The paint went on easily and beautifully. I don't care if I get new furniture now, mine serves it's purpose and makes me happy when I look at it. I shopped around and updated some other things and now love my room, instead of dread it. 

 

I did the same in the kitchen, using more leftover paint I had from the basement I painted it and my bedroom. I took my hand me down table and stained it and I found some vintage art online to print up. I had one frame and bought another (basic white with matte), reused some decorations I already had which worked well with the new color. Found a cheap curtain I loved and it has a totally different look.

 

None of it may be high fashion but it is my style, minimalist and eclectic. My basics are neutral but I've got some hodge podge stuff here and there. You just need to find what makes you happy. So, I don't have any websites b/c I don't follow any. When I was decorating the bedroom I did find some inspiration on Pinterest but you have to find the right combo of words. I believe what got me closest for that room was beach cottage, I just used it for inspiration I didn't find anything I could really copy. For my living room I've not had any luck. I've just did one thing at a time as I could afford it and find it.

 

Good luck, you might a great deal on someone getting rid of their old furniture b/c they are getting new for Christmas.

 

eta. I just search ecelectic minimalist living room on a whim, I guess I haven't searched that combo before b/c  that is exactly what I'm looking for :) 

 

Here is Native American Minimalist google image search, maybe some of it will be inspiring to you---

https://www.google.com/search?q=native+american+minimalist+decoration&safe=active&rlz=1CAACAT_enUS743US743&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJuJ2Q2crXAhWKSyYKHWNFB9gQsAQIJw&biw=1366&bih=677

Edited November 19, 2017 by soror