Make a Plan

Walk through your home with a pen and pad and write down all of the things you want to do. Do you need more space in the kitchen? Do you want to completely gut and remodel your bathroom? Perhaps your bedroom can use a makeover. Write all of these things down, being as general or as detailed as you wish.

Prioritize

Figure out what items that you can live without until you are able to complete the design transition. Once you have your plan which can include a colour scheme or an overall theme, begin to make a purchasing plan starting with the least expensive items. Just buying a few pillows or some new curtains can make a big difference on a little budget.

Set a Budget

Now that you’ve gotten your priorities figured out, create a design budget. Don’t create a budget for your entire list, but for each project. Will you need $5,000 to redo your bathroom? Figure out how much money you will need for each project. While it may seem like you’re taking the whimsy out of the process, by having a budget you can still creatively choose items but now you will know which ones you can afford.

Rethink Your Ideas

If the budget you set seems to be a tad high for what you can truly afford, rethink some of your plans. Does your bathroom really need to be gutted or would a fresh coat of paint and some new fixtures give it new life? Do you need an entire living room of new furniture or could you rearrange some of the furniture that you already own? There are dozens of ways to change the look of a room: a new coat of paint, new flooring, new bedding or even a few new accessories can brighten up any space!

Know Where to Shop

Chances are that you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to visit an interior design showroom. Knowing where to shop can save you a great deal of money. Do you need a new dining table? Hit the local flea market on a weekend morning and see what you can find. A refinished piece of furniture can look just as lovely as something off of the showroom floor. Gently used furniture can be the perfect choice when you’re designing on a budget. Almost anything can be made to look new again with a bit of creativity! Think outside of the box: flea markets, Craigslist and even tag sales can all be great sources of home furnishings and décor.
You don’t have to put off giving your home a new look simply because you’re on a budget. If you’ve got truly lofty goals, create a savings account and put away as much money as you can each month. Make a deal with yourself that the money won’t be touched until you’ve saved a certain amount. In the mean time, concentrate on the smaller, weekend projects on your list. Your home will be “new” before you know it!

Author’s Bio

Christine Lukes is an interior design guru and freelance finance blogger. She often recommends looking into cd rates for a great way to earn some interest on any cash you aren’t planning to spend immediately.

First, consider changing your window coverings. Many times, people allow their drapes, curtains and blinds to get outdated or discoloured from the sun. By updating your window coverings, you can change the whole look of a room, and really brighten things up, literally, with colour, and with sheer window treatments that will let in more light. A splash of colour in your curtain fabrics will improve the look; even a change in style from drapes to light-weight curtains can make a huge difference. You can also consider shutters, vertical or horizontal blinds, roman shades or a variety of other window coverings that will show your spruced up style.

In addition to window treatments, you may want to consider a new coat of paint. Paint can easily change the look of your room, even if it’s just a fresh coat of the same colour. You’ll be surprised how much a fresh coat will spruce up the look of your home.

Carpeting is another place to look for improving the appearance of your home. You can choose from a variety of wall-to-wall applications or an area rug. Even if your flooring has become dull and you’re not looking to spend the money to replace or refinish the surface, an area rug will draw your attention from the floor and make the space look fresh and renewed.

The exterior of your home can be spruced up by updating some or all of the landscaping. If there are overgrown shrubs, they can be removed in lieu of smaller, more artistic plants. Sometimes just reseeding parts of the lawn can really improve the curb appeal of a tired yard.

Finally, consider cleaning up clutter both inside and out. It’s amazing what we accumulate in a short period of time. Have a yard sale and get rid of things you just don’t use. Cleaning up clutter will make it seem like you have more space, and with the light coming in through those freshly dressed windows, you’ll want everything to be in its place.

After spending the last weekend cleaning my house, I realized how tired I am of the layout. After visiting friends’ homes I always feel they have more space and less clutter; their homes are friendly and inviting with a nice sense of style and smell. It’s depressing to come home to the workweek clutter that has accumulated around every bend and the dusty wall hangings that have been on every wall of every place I’ve ever lived. It’s time for a spruce up, a cheap spruce up!

Phase One

The first step in your décor update should be the hardest. It won’t be the most fun you’ve ever had, so take your time and put on some good music. You will need to get rid of the clutter that has mysteriously taken over your realm of living. If you’re finished with the magazines, shelve them or donate them to a local library. Get rid of the paperwork that has taken over your kitchen table and that spot your cat likes to sit next to your bed. Put the books on the bookshelf where they belong and take all the weird odds and end off the bookshelf, then toss them or find a better home for them. The number one thing you can do to spruce up is to simplify. Once you get rid of the odd clutter and have a sense of organization again, you will be ready to move onto phase two of the décor upgrade.

Phase Two

Now that the clutter has moved on to a better place and your home is appearing so much more spacious that it inspires you to have sprint races with your cat and do cartwheels, it is time to clean the place up and prepare for phase three. Dust everything and clean your floors. Don’t forget the curtains and blinds. Now that everything is sparkling and shiny, create wall space. You are not 15 anymore (I apologize if you are) so get rid of the black light posters hanging from thumbtacks in your living room. If you have to keep these guys around, frame them with a simple black frame. Try to create a theme in your rooms. If you’re feeling crafty, purchase some fabric and make some new stellar curtains to match your theme.

Phase Three

Rearrange your furniture. Try placing your bed against the opposite wall, or switching your living room around. Place rugs around the house at entrances and put an interesting picture book on your coffee table. Try to use one theme and one main color in each room. Ultimate awesomeness can be achieved by painting the wall or walls a new and refreshing color. This can take a bit of time but friends should be welcome to join. I like adding local art around my home and creating open spaces in each room. It will be more inviting. Fruit racks and flowers add a sense of comfort to kitchens, just as matching bathroom décor adds a feeling of cleanliness to your bathroom. When all else fails, go to yard sales and secondhand furniture stores to chose a completely new look. Refinishing your old pieces can be a fun weekend project.

Remember, less is more.

Author’s Bio

Stacey Cavalari holds a B.A in Communications and currently writes for Viamedic.com, a safe facilitator for consumers to obtain FDA-approved medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra Online. Stacey uses her communications and research skills to cover health and wellness on the Viamedic.com Blog.

Wood flooring is something that looks great in homes.  It has a nice clean finish, and can really make a room pop! Unfortunately, wood flooring can be expensive and will need to be refinished in the future.  Since wood flooring doesn’t look nice forever and it’s on the pricey side, a lot of people are considering laminate flooring instead.

What are the benefits of laminate flooring?

• Laminate floors are extremely durable unlike wood flooring.  They take stains, scratches, impact and sunlight very well and are very resistant to them.
• They are very easy to install and are put together like a puzzle.
• There are no chemicals or glues that are needed.  They just snap together.
• If you need to replace a board, you just pop it out and replace it.
• They do not need to be waxed or polished.
• You don’t need to nail or staple the wood down.
• Laminate flooring is much more affordable and will last longer.

How much does laminate flooring usually cost?

The cost depends on the quality you’d like as well as the type and colour.  It can range anywhere from .80 to $6.00 pr square foot.  But, if you’d like to get it professionally installed, you could look at $2-$5 more per square foot.

Not to mention, if you are having people install it, you need to figure in the costs of moving furniture around, appliances and other things as well.  This isn’t much more, but can add a couple more dollars to your budget.

Laminate flooring is a great choice!  If you’d like wood flooring but don’t want to replace it and pay the expensive price, consider laminate and pay a fraction of the cost!

Author’s Bio

This is a guest post written by Hannah Munson.  Hannah runs HowMuchIsIt.org a website that is designed to help you find the cost of just about anything from daycare to electronics.

Handmade Accessories

Handmade accessories can be a great way to go green when it comes to decorating your home cheaply. Everything from rugs and vases to pillows, throws, and baskets can be handcrafted and made from eco-friendly materials. If you aren’t the hands-on type, you might have friends or family who are, and who would love to create such materials as gifts with which you can decorate your home.

Rotation

You might be surprised at how many of the items you already have inside your home could be positioned in new spaces or displayed in different ways in order to have a completely new affect upon the décor of your home. Not only will reusing accessories you already own keep your impact upon the environment to a minimum, but it can save you a lot of money as well.

Resale

Taking advantage of items through resale could be a great opportunity to reuse home furnishings that others no longer want and save money in the process. Either through garage sales, resale stores or consignment shops — even by picking up unwanted items that people have set out on the curb on trash day — there are numerous ways to take advantage of decorative items that others no longer desire but that could be perfect for your home’s style.

Floral Décor

Depending upon the region in which you live, you may have the ability to grow your own flowers and plants; they may even grow wild around your home. You could turn these gifts of nature into lovely floral arrangements used to brighten up the interior of your home or keep them outside to liven up its exterior. Utilizing nature’s own decorative items can be a cheap and eco-friendly way to decorate your home inside and out.

Lighting

You might be able to incorporate your home’s own natural lighting into your eco-friendly décor. You can utilize natural lighting from outside to warm and brighten rooms, shade it to create a snug and cozy atmosphere, or use its shadowing for effect upon painted walls, stained-glass windows or a variety of other options. The great part about using natural light is that not only is it eco-friendly, but it’s completely free!

Coming up with greener ways to decorate your home on a budget can be fun. Consider asking the advice of friends or family to discover how they choose to utilize environmentally-friendly décor in their homes to get more ideas.

Author’s Bio

Roger is a real estate broker that specializes in homes in West University. For more information on West University Place and other luxury neighbourhoods in Houston visit http://www.rogermartinproperties.com.

What Kind of Sponge to Use

While a synthetic sponge (the kind you clean your house with) can be used, a natural, sea sponge usually provides the most attractive patterns. Sea sponges can be purchase at most hardware stores and come in a variety of sizes and types. You can even get a few to bring a little more variety to your sponge painting project.

Paints to Use

While you can sponge paint with any kind of paint, glaze paints are recommended. Glaze paints are a great way to bring out subtle details in your existing base colour or to highlight other design elements of a room. There are literally thousands of glaze colours that can be used. You can go with a very thin coat of glaze for subtle looks, or get daring and try thicker, or varied colours of glazed coats.

Technique

To get a feel for sponge painting you can use the glaze on a piece of poster board or paper. Experiment with the amount of paint used, the positioning of the sponge, and pressure applied. Each of these will have an effect on how the final job will look. Once you have your technique down, start on the walls and have fun.

Sponge painting is fast and easy to do. You don’t need a lot of paint and the sponges are inexpensive. Sponge painting a living room is a nice weekend project. Once you see the final results, you may want to tackle some of your other rooms. Sponge painting also has the added benefit of covering up wall imperfections. You’ll be stunned when you see what a great look this painting technique achieves.

Set the Mood With Details

Your kitchen doesn’t have to be decked out with the most expensive furniture and appliances. In fact, it’s the little details that make a kitchen memorable and stylish. Add some new curtains for spring to shed a whole new light on your kitchen. Few things make as much of an impact as new curtains. Once you’ve added some new colours with the curtains, follow suit and accentuate the curtains with a new tablecloth, throw rugs, and linens that match. Hanging a few kitchen towels in the right spots can really make your kitchen design come together. Just a few small things can make an impression that you will be amazed with.

Get Organized for Efficiency

While you want a cozy kitchen, you need to keep efficiency in mind too. Find the areas of clutter that exist in your kitchen and empty them out. It’s easy to come up with organizational methods that keep your kitchen clutter free. Hit the yard sales and find some old flour bins. These bins make perfect holders for all of your large kitchen utensils. Instead of keeping everything in a drawer, bringing them out into the open in a nice bin brings a sense of charm and style to any kitchen. Don’t worry if you can’t find the right colours either. A little ceramic paint in the right shade can turn any piece into the right piece for your kitchen.

Keep your kitchen humming at peak efficiency without ruining the coziness of this all important room. Adding a few details like curtains and throw rugs can revitalize your kitchen. Adding some containers for organization and a shot of country comfort will put the toppings on your recipe for kitchen fashion.