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 It’s boring, it’s outdated, I’m sick of that color.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.

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Usually, people who choose to build or buy a log home are unconventional souls-”free spirits.” The decor inside their homes is as unique as the outer appearance. Not long ago, decorating such a home was a challenge, since the pieces sold in a typical furniture store didn’t fit-either in size or style-the interior of a log cabin. However, as log cabin homes have become more popular, specialized furniture, as well as floor and window treatments have evolved to fit this decorating niche.

Simplicity and natural ambience are key factors in log home decorating. With an increasing number of choices in log cabin style today, it can be easy to go overboard with rustic pieces, resulting in a cluttered, busy look instead of the simple, peaceful feeling most homeowners want. Creating the right balance takes careful consideration of each purchase.

You will want to offset each intricate piece with a more plain counterpart. For example, if your wooden bed frame has exquisitely carved detail, a simple single or two-toned quilt will show off the handiwork better than a busy-patterned Native American blanket. Pay careful attention to the balance of plain and complex patterns in the living room, too. Often, log cabin homes have very large living areas, so they can handle a number of woven patterns. Offset them, however, with simple clay or carved wooden bowls on natural or distressed look tables and rusted-metal lampshades.

Windows treatments in a log cabin should be simple. Typically, log cabins in pioneer days had very plain window coverings. Their main purpose was to control the amount of light and heat/cold that came in. Because today’s log cabin homeowners usually hold nature in high esteem, and windows are ways of bringing the outdoors in. So, window treatments are simple so as not to distract from the natural light or view outside the window.

Natural fabrics are the most popular choices for decorating a log cabin home. They range from single-colored muslins to heavy-textured woven blankets and rugs. In between is a wide variety of coarseness of cloth, prints and grains of leather. Using one main type of fabric in a room allows you to accessorize simply by substituting a different texture, and maintains the simple feel so right for decorating a log cabin home.

Americana folk art fits the log cabin decorating theme perfectly. In addition to human-made art, many people make the most of Nature’s artwork. Birch wood frames for photo collections, leaf-prints and pressed flowers under glass blend with antler coat or mug racks to highlight living in harmony with the natural world, the spirit that lies at the heart of all log cabin home decorating.

Additional information, resources, and updates for this article can be found at:
http://www.diyhomedecorating.com/articles/2005-10/206/log-home-decorating/

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

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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.

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