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Quick Affordable Decorating Tips

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Warm and Unique Accents and Touches

• Paint your white walls with a warm color such as yellow, orange, or red to give your rooms a more inviting and less generic feel.
• Spread candles throughout your home to give it a cozy feel. Scented candles also make for a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere.
• Old postcards found at local antique stores can make impressive, beautiful, and inexpensive artwork when framed. Similarly, pictures from standard wall calendars can have the same effect.
• Tack ribbon in a lattice pattern over one side of an upholstered screen and you can slide in mementos such as pictures, cards, etc. This will be an effective way to divide your space, while giving you a memento board in the process.
• Something as simple as a bowl (or interesting container) of oranges can create an interesting touch to any room.
• Hang any framed work about 5 ½ to 6 feet from the ground. That way they are just slightly above eye level, but at a perfect height for admiring.
• A coat of fresh paint is a cheap and effective way to rejuvenate tired furniture to look fantastic in your new home.
• New wall hangings, cushions, and throw rugs can be an extremely cost effective way to adapt your color scheme to complement your new home.
• Keep a couple of interesting books or magazines on the coffee table.

The Kitchen

• Everyday kitchen items can be used in a unique way to accent the décor of any room in your home. For instance, bold patterned dinner plates hung on the wall can give a plain wall a whole new dimension. Likewise, a series of white plate with interesting monotone patterns can create a whole different feel on a brightly painted wall.
• Clear up chaotic kitchens by hanging pots on the wall. This will free up cabinets and also give the room a new decorative touch.
• Before you begin to unpack, don't forget to wipe out all cupboards and shelves. You can also use shelving paper to line cupboards and drawers.
• Boiling cinnamon sticks will give your kitchen a clean, fresh scent.

The Small Room

• Large mirrors will give any small room a spacious and bright feel. Additionally, placing greenery in a position where it can be reflected by your mirror will give the room an even more uplifting feel.
• By placing delicate chairs around a heavy table, a room is given a more spacious illusion.
• A small room can be made to feel larger by painting large stripes or daring colors on the walls.

The Exterior

• Planting a few self-seeding perennials can be a cheap and effective way to add color to your new garden.
• Paint used flower boxes and hang them below your windows after filling them with your favorite flowers.
• Paint an old ladder and place it along a wall of your home. Set different potted flowers on each step. This simple process will give your exterior a new and inventive look.

Protecting your Home

• Improving the security in your new home will not only give you peace of mind, but will also lower your insurance premiums.

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Shopping for Discount Home Decor

• Consignment shops - stores where private owners sell their used furniture - are becoming more and more popular. Check if there are any in your area. The inventory is one-of-a-kind, so if something catches your eye be prepared to buy. If you get to know the manager they can let you know when the sort of home furnishings you're looking for come in.
  
  
• If your new home is in a pre-planned community, check out the developer's model home for pieces you like. They may be a bit worn, but often the developer will sell off the home's furniture after a period of time. It's a great way get room sets that are already coordinated.
  
  
• Many big furniture stores have scratch and dent rooms: sections where they keep slightly damaged (but very inexpensive) models. Also keep in mind that most furniture stores periodically sell off used furniture (again, comparatively cheap) when they get rid of "showroom samples" or "floor models." Ask about both possibilities when you shop retail.
  
  
• If you have any wholesale furniture warehouses in your area, consider stopping by. Buying wholesale furniture is almost always cheaper than buying retail.
  
  
• When looking at used furniture - or any used furnishings - don't think of what they look like now, but what they could look like with a little refurbishing. Maybe that coffee table wouldn't fit your living room now, but sand it down and add a coat of stain and it might not be so bad.
  
  
• Flea markets can be a great source of inexpensive, one-of-a-kind interior decorating materials. But finding a bargain at one can involve a lot of time and a lot of effort. Preparation always smoothes the way. The next few tips show you how.
  
  
• Nowhere is the expression "the early bird gets the worm" more apt than at a flea market. Vendors' best used furniture and bargain furnishings often go quickly, leaving late arrivals with the leftovers.
  
  
• Some flea markets can be huge and it's easy to lose focus. Take along a list of the furnishings you want before you set out. It also helps to take along sketches of the rooms you need to decorate, complete with dimensions and a tape measure to see whether the furniture in front of you will fit with your plans.
  
  
• If you fall in love with a piece of discount furniture at a flea market, bear in mind that moving it can be an issue. Some vendors will deliver, but only at the end of the day and only for an additional fee. Thus, you'll want to bring the biggest vehicle you have available (i.e. a pickup truck or a van) or consider renting one.
  
  
• When you're moving a piece of furniture home from a flea market, you'll want to take all the packing precautions you normally would when moving furniture. Before you head out to the flea market, make sure to bring a few old boxes, blankets, tarps, tape, twine, bubble wrap and a box cutter with you for the ride home.
  
  
• People selling antiques out of the back of van usually don't take MasterCard or Visa. When you're going to a flea market, bring cash.
  
  
• Don't be afraid to bargain. Flea market vendors expect it, and with a little negotiation inexpensive items can become even cheaper.
  
  
• When perusing home furnishings, try to think outside the box. You might not want to eat off that set of ceramic dishes, but they might make colorful, unique wall hangings.

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