Want to spruce up your home but don’t have the cash to spare? Here are some easy, effective and low-cost decorating ideas.
- Add elegance and drama by hanging a mirror in a living area or entrance way. Mirrors will also make small, dark areas seem larger when hung opposite windows and doors.
- Add a few wooden shelves above the toilet for valuable extra storage.
- Create a statement table runner by sewing together your favorite place mats.
- Plant herbs in terracotta pots (paint them for extra craft satisfaction) and line them up along a kitchen window ledge.
- Add color and interest by re-tiling your kitchen backsplash – use patterned tiles or break up plain porcelain tiles with hand-painted tiles.
- Create funky mobile storage boxes by painting wood crates, then screwing colorful casters to the bottom corners. Or make plain old cardboard boxes more appealing by covering them with wallpaper or recycled wrapping paper.
- Look in the bargain bins of your local carpet store for offcuts of top-quality carpet, which you can turn into a sumptuous rug. Ask a sales assistant if they can bind the
edges for you. Otherwise you can hand sew and use carpet binding tape.
- Add a character-filled accent to doorjambs, window sills, baseboards and around fireplaces by painting the trim in a contrasting colour.
- You don’t need expensive art works to liven up your walls. Instead, you can fill empty spaces by hanging rugs, tapestries, scarves or blankets with interesting textures and colors. As well as being visually appealing, it will help to soundproof your home.
- Frame your family photos in coordinating or contrasting frames, and hang them together to create a feature gallery wall. Stairwells and entranceways are ideal spaces to convert. Plan out your gallery on the floor first to get the composition right.
- Even your ceiling fan can be spruced up – just clean and repaint the blades.
- You can reinvent a space simply by rearranging your existing furniture. Ask for a friend for their advice on how you could move things around to get more out of a room.
- Don’t forget about your garage and basement. Donate and recycle things you don’t need (including electrical equipment). Then paint the walls, soak up musty smells with odor sponges or volcano rocks, and create extra space with smart storage.
