Designer Secrets for Updating Your Home Decor On a Tight Budget
By Pamela Cole Harris
Home decorating styles seems to change every time you turn around (or just when you get your old furniture paid off)! What was "in" yesterday, is a source of acute embarrassment today (what was I thinking when I chose THAT fabric!)! If your decor is stuck in the last decade and you don’t have the budget for a complete makeover, you have two choices. Keep your decor as it is until it comes back into style (only ten more years to go!) or update your decor for little or no money! Here are some secrets!
1. Color - If the color is a definite throwback from another decade, update by painting one wall that new, hot color. Or paint stripes of the new color on one wall! Create a color focal point in the room to draw attention away from the areas that may not be as updated as you would like. But don't go overboard! (Please get those lime green stripes out of your mind!)
2. Furniture - Work with what you have. If the upholstery is worn, cover with throws, quilts, slipcovers or sheets to draw the eye away from the problem areas. This also works if the color is outdated. Add a few throw pillows to catch the eye and draw attention to their beauty! Just one caution: If you have so many pillows that nobody can sit on the sofa, you have probably carried this advice a little too far!
3. Floors - Cover an old carpet with a large throw rug or make your own hand-painted floor cloth. If you have wood floors under the carpet, tear the carpet out! Then sand and seal the floors if they are in good shape or paint the floors if they are not. You can even make concrete look beautiful! (cold and hard, but beautiful!)
4. Furniture arrangement - Rearranging your furniture is always a good way to update the look. As with color, create a focal point of your best pieces. It should be the first thing people see when they walk in the room. They won’t even notice the ugly stuff in the corner!
Try these tricks and update your own decor! And just a little tip from yours truly - burnt orange and avocado green plaid will NEVER come back, so give that sofa to the Goodwill! (or the Smithsonian!)