Did you ever wake up one morning, look around your bedroom and want to pull the cover back over your head? Join the club. Humans are one of the few creatures that frequently rearrange and re-do their living space. Bedrooms are the most frequent redecorating candidate. Every so often, for reasons unknown to many, we look at that cozy nest we carefully created and think “ugh.” It’s boring, it’s outdated, I’m sick of that color. Grand visions of a totally gutted and remodeled space may fill your mind, until you look at your bank balance. Don’t be glum! Redecorating doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg!

The quickest way to a new look is a splash of paint. Even if you use the same color (because you had paint left over), a fresh coat of color reinvigorates the room, makes it look cleaner, newer. If you’ve grown tired of your wall color, choose a new one, drape protective cloths over the furniture and get rolling. The endorphins pumping through your veins after painting the whole room may just fire up some other decorating ideas for your bedroom.

One reason a fresh coat of paint reinvents a room is that the different color gives the space a whole new identity. The same idea applies to your bedding. If your budget is extremely limited, you might start by adding new pillow shams. Usually sold as a separate piece from comforters, sheets, or pillowcases, a sham is a highly decorative pillow covering. When making the bed in the morning, you slip your covered pillow into the sham-remove the sham at night before you go to sleep. If you find a great deal on pillow shams, buy a bunch-you can fill them with plain foam pillows and give your bed a luxurious look by piling them on.

A new comforter or bedspread is another way to redecorate your bedroom inexpensively. Check local malls for discount linen stores, or browse the Internet for great deals on beautiful, but cheap comforters and bed skirts.

A simple way to create a coordinated look without spending a lot of money is to use bed sheets to make window treatments. Often, comforters are sold in “bed sets,” which contain the comforter, as well as a fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcases. Since you sheets will usually be covered by the comforter, you can use the fitted and flat sheets as material to frame bedroom windows. If you don’t sew, use the special “no-sew” fabric glue sold in craft and fabric stores to hem a nice edge. In a pinch, you can hold a hem using a hot glue gun.

Decorating or redecorating a bedroom is often a matter of changing one or two elements. You can have a new look even if you don’t feel up to the task of choosing colors or shopping for the best bedding deal. Sometimes, all that’s needed is to re-arrange the furniture. And if that simple change leads to others, good for you!

Additional information, resources, and updates for this article can be found at:
http://www.diyhomedecorating.com/articles/2005-10/200/cheap-bedroom-decorating-ideas/

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. Visit The Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network - http://www.diyhomedecorating.com - for more Decorating Ideas, Tips and Resources.

Tags: bedroom decorating, cheap decorating, decor, ideas, tipsbedroom decorating, cheap decorating, decor, ideas, tips

Share This

Summer decorating is a wonderful time to lighten up the colors and fabrics in your home. While you may not be able to decorate every room, there are numerous ways to add summer flair. You can decorate with a summer theme such as fruit (apples, strawberries, grapes), flowers (roses, carnations, daisies), or seaside nautical in addition to following some of the ideas listed below.

1. Replace heavy drapery with light sheers. The sheers provide an airy appeal while letting in the sunshine. If removing your existing drapery is not an option, consider changing just the valance and tiebacks to a lighter color. Another option is to use grapevine wreaths, strands of beads, artificial flowers, or decorative ribbons as your tiebacks or swag holders.

2. Store away items that are not useful in the summer such as blankets, throws, and heavy quilts.

3. Lighten up the color of your sofa by placing a slipcover on it or replacing your dark colored pillows with lighter colors.

4. Place light colored slipcovers on your all-wood dining room or kitchen chairs.

5. To add a lighter summer touch to your dark wood tables, use white lace or doilies as runners or tablecloths.

6. If you have a heavy bedspread, considering replacing it with a lightweight linen blanket.

7. Bring in the outdoors by adding fresh flowers in vases or baskets to counters, tabletops, and nightstands.

8. Add summer accessories around your home such as birdhouses, sea shells, bowls of fruits or vegetables, and summer reading materials.

9. If you have dark lampshades, replace them with lighter ones.

10. Repaint a dark hallway in your favorite hue such as buttery yellow, a creamy tan, or a fresh apple green.

11. Display a grouping of floral plates on a wall, hutch, or fireplace mantle.

12. Clean out the ashes in your fireplace and fill the firebox with a large artificial fern or a basket of colorful flowers.

13. Place twigs in tall vases and set on each side of the fireplace mantle.

14. To add summer whimsy to your bathrooms, hang lightweight fabric shower curtains printed with ladybugs, bees, flowers, or palm trees. Display matching hand towels and rugs to continue the summer theme.

15. Change the layout of your furniture to give your rooms a fresh, new look.

Decorating your home for the summer does not have to be complicated or cost a lot of money. As you can see from the ideas listed above, a new lamp shade, adding new fabrics, or changing the paint color of a room can breathe new life into your interior design. So, have fun and use your imagination to bring some fresh new looks into your home for the summer season.

Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the creator/editor of The Home Decor Exchange and the Home & Garden Exchange. The Home Decor Exchange is a popular home and garden website featuring resources, articles, decorating pictures, free projects, and a shopping marketplace. The Home & Garden Exchange website is a link exchange program and directory dedicated to the home and garden industry, as well as offering free website content and promotional ideas. Please visit both websites for all of your home, garden, and website needs.

http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com

http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com

Tags: decor, decorate, decorating, ideas, seasonal, summerdecor, decorate, decorating, ideas, seasonal, summer

Share This

The Feng shui decorating style of design has become increasingly popular and somewhat trendy in the past decade, with millions of Americans embracing its less-is-more, our-energy-is-our-soul-is-our-mind-is-our-mood-is-our-life philosophy.

While that is a simplified definition, at the heart of Feng shui decorating is simplicity and a conscious attempt to embrace the subconscious in a space.

Pronounced “fung shway,” (literally means “wind, water”) it is the Chinese practice of positioning objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

It is an ancient rule in Chinese philosophy that spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy is crucial to mental, physical and spiritual health and well-being. The favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into consideration in designing and sitting furniture and rooms in a home. The practice has been embraced by countless designers in the States. A lot of this is driven by a new-found American appreciation for oriental art, food, and decoration.

Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

While harnessing your chi and getting in touch with the yin to your yang is not simply a matter of painting a room red, there are some basic tenants of feng shui decorating that, when applied, have made millions happier, and, they would argue, healthier.

*Clear the clutter. Get rid of everything that is useless, evokes negative feelings or responses, or serves no purpose. The goal here is, as Thoreau said, Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

*Pay attention to the energy in your room. No, this does not mean stare at the light or put a fork in a socket, this means be cognizant of the feelings evoked by items, different areas in the room, different furniture positions, and different lighting. Having positive energy flow is crucial. If something is having a positive or soothing effect in a certain place, leave it.

*Clean the room from top to bottom. And that means everything; walls, windows, doors, closets, baseboards, heating elements, fixtureseverything.

*In the bedroom, where feng sui is most commonly applied, bed placement is very important. Make sure your bed is placed to provide greatest visibility to your doorway and also provide a feeling of protection and safety. If this is not possible, a mirror on the wall opposite the bed can reflect the negative energy. Your bedroom is your haven, a place of safety and serenity.

*Sleeping areas should not be too dark. Reds, light greens and blues and yellows are positive colors that have beneficial effects on the mind and spirit.

*Avoid overusing whites, which, according to feng shui, deliver “cold energy.” If white is unavoidable, flowers, plants and splashes of well-placed color can counteract.

While feng shui decorating is most commonly applied in the home, many have embraced it in the workplace and are using the same principles to guide the layout of their desks and offices. When applied, feng shui decorating in the workplace encourages productivity, better work, and, ultimately, financial and professional success.

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard, Visit The Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network - http://www.diyhomedecorating.com - for wonderful home decorating tips, decorating styles, pictures, photos and more.

Tags: advice, decorating, feng shui, ideas, style, tipsadvice, decorating, feng shui, ideas, style, tips

Share This