Insider Hints for Design on a Budget

Spend lazy Saturday afternoons browsing the pages of Architectural Digest or Dwell, wishing you had the budget to hire an interior designer to replicate their artistic interiors? Well-designed rooms don’t always have to come with a huge price tag; in fact, designing on a budget may be easier than you think. Many times, by changing small elements, you can give a room an entirely new personality. Sometimes adding a few colorful pillows or picking up a paintbrush is all you need to do to make your room look like something out of the pages of a magazine.

One of the most common fixes for a boring room is color. And it’s relatively inexpensive too!
Updating the color of just one wall in any room will give it an entirely new feel. Painting, when approached correctly, can be an enjoyable experience with instant rewards. Talk to the experts at your local paint store - or hire a designer to help you with your overall color scheme. It may be well worth an hour consultation to get you on the right path! You can go with warmer colors to make a room feel more inviting - or cooler colors if you are looking for that ultra modern ‘industrial’ look. Earth tones are still popular and can easily be adapted for many different decorating styles. You can punch them up a little by introducing a few brighter tones so it doesn’t get too boring for you!

Adding accents to pieces you already own can also make a large difference. For instance, if your couch is not as exciting as it once was, try throwing a few fun accent pillows on it. Remember, throws and cushions, when selected as accents, can really bring new life to a tired piece of furniture. Fabrics also can add beautiful softness to a room and allow additional patterns and textures to be brought into a room.

Another budget-friendly change is to rotate the artwork in a room. Using the same frames but changing the images can easily create a new theme or mood, and combining several different frames in different finishes and sizes can achieve different looks.

Often overlooked but strikingly effective, updated lighting can work wonders. Try installing a new fixture or simply swapping out the shades on current fixtures. Installing dimmer switches can also make for an interesting change.

Get excited and dive in to your project! If its paint and pillows that you’re dealing with, a ‘mistake’ won’t be too costly to correct and you’ll never know unless you try! (But you still might want to consider hiring a decorator or designer for a couple hours! You’ll be amazed!)
And be sure you are working with RHBA members! The industry professionals!

Oh! And if it’s decorating and remodeling ideas you are looking for - don’t miss Homearama 2010 at WaterSong! August 14-22.
For all the details click HERE.