Free Home Decorating Ideas

Decorating your home to be environmentally friendly shouldn’t be expensive. And it shouldn’t just be for the environmental activists either; we all have a responsibility to our communities, and to our families. There are many ways you can decorate “green” for a lot less “green”! Here are The Budget Decorator’s top 5 ways to green up your home, on a budget!

Use what you have:
Many times when decorating your home, you already have many of the things you need! Look around to see what you already own and love could be repurposed. Repurposing items saves them from the landfills, cuts down on the need for things like lumber, volatile glues and paints, and recycles them as useful objects.

Craft smart:
Try to recycle materials when crafting for your home. One of my most popular projects on my website is the brown bag floor. Using recycled brown paper grocery bags, I have papered my floors to look like trendy stained concrete or stone. Visit our website for step by step directions and photos of the brown bag floor technique! Other ideas include using old used tissue and gift paper for decoupage, brightly colored magazine pages make terrific paper art holiday ornaments, and cardboard boxes can be covered with scrap fabric to make stylish storage.

Cut down on volatile chemicals:
It used to be that in order to use environmentally friendly paints or primers you had to spend big bucks. Not true anymore! Painting your home is one of the most popular and cost effective ways to decorate, and one of the first things The Budget Decorator recommends. There are new paints out now that are low, or no VOC. What this means is that these paints put off very low fumes and odors, and are safer to use in your home. Olympic Paint now makes zero VOC interior latex that has the lowest price point in the market. I love this paint! (My fav color so far? Butter!) And it comes with a 25 year warranty for almost half the price of what other paints with a similar warranty cost. Great news for budget decorators!

Be choosy about your large purchases:
Most of us at some point have to make larger purchases, such as with new flooring, window treatments or furniture.

When the time comes to make the huge investment of replacing your homes flooring, consider that carpeting not only produces formaldehyde gases, it has to be replaced on average every 7 years. However, using a renewable wood floor such as bamboo or cork may be more expensive in the beginning, but will save you money in the long run as you refinish, instead of replace over the years. If wood is totally out of your budget, using laminate flooring will last considerably longer than wall to wall carpet, and not hold in the dirt and pollutants that carpet and padding can.

Try to buy curtains made from natural fibers when possible, and use light colors to reflect the sun in the summer. Heavier curtains will help insulate form the cold in winter, and reduce your usage of energy. Vacuum your curtains often to reduce collection of indoor pollutants in your home.

When purchasing furniture, check out the consignment shops in your area. Many areas also have stores that sell furniture from model homes. You can get almost brand new furniture for a really good deal, and work on saving the environment at the same time.

Give:
That’s right, being giving can help our environment. The next time you replace furnishings or decorative items, donate your old pieces to a worthy charity, or put them up on a site such as Freecycle for someone who can really use them. Evan broken pieces might be useful to a furniture aficionado, or and appliance genius! Reduce waste in landfills, and help out others at the same time.

All of us can make small changes to go green with our home decorating. Being a budget decorator makes it a natural!

Want free home decorating ideas? Kathy Wilson is an author, home decorating columnist for LifetimeTv.com, and editor of several top home and garden websites. For hundreds of free do it yourself home and garden ideas, please visit her websites now at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com and http://www.TheBudgetChef.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathleen_Wilson

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admin frugal interior design, interior design tips

Home decorating can be challenging enough as it is, until you add a tight budget to the mix! Many wonder how they can learn to decorate on a budget, and if it’s possible. Here are the top three budget decorating problems, and the solutions!

Problem 1:

Q. Can I decorate my home on a budget without making it look cheap or tacky? I can’t afford to do much, but I want a nice home just as much as the next person!

A. Absolutely. Budget does NOT mean cheap! It means you need to take some steps to ensure you aren’t putting your family’s financial well being on the line while you decorate your home. It means making wise decisions, and following a plan. And it means using creativity and elbow grease, not bucks! We’ve all seen those home decorating tv shows and the miracles they can do on $1000 a room. What if you could do a whole room like that for $100. $50? Sounding better, huh?

Problem 2:

Q. I am not artistic or creative. I can’t see how I can do this without a lot of money.

A. EVERYONE has creativity within them. You only need to find out why you’ve been hiding it so long. First of all, there are a lot of great resources out there for those decorating on a budget. Check out your library for home decorating books, walk through model homes with a notebook, and visit websites like The Budget Decorator for endless decorating ideas. Once you get inspired by others ideas, you will be surprised at how freely your own start to flow. Keep in mind that few decorating projects can’t be undone, so don’t be afraid to try new things, especially when all your projects are done using very little cash!

Problem 3:

Q. I don’t know where to get started, so nothing ever changes. I just feel overwhelmed at the prospect of decorating and am afraid to move forward.

A. You need help and you need confidence! First, start by picking a small room to decorate first…a powder room, for instance. Choose a theme for the room, such as “Country Style Blue and Yellow Bath”. Your theme gives you a “mission statement” and allows you to make decisions based upon it. You will know that everything you choose for the room needs to fit within your theme. This will save you a lot of money and time in the long run, and help you to build skills and confidence. Make a plan, and start with the walls. They have the biggest impact in the shortest time. Once you see the difference one small change can make, you will be on your way!

Want free home decorating ideas? Kathy Wilson is an author, home decorating columnist for LifetimeTv.com, and editor of several popular home and garden websites. For thousands of free ideas, please visit her websites now at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com and http://www.women-on-the-net.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathleen_Wilson

admin home decorating, interior design tips

There are many places that you can find good home décor ideas. The great news is that most of the really good ideas can be found free of charge. This article is going to look at a few specific places that you might go to find some really great ideas for your home.

The Public Library

If you have not visited your local public library in a while you may want to check their first. In almost every library in America, you will find a nice selection of home improvement and decorating catalogs or magazines. This is a great resource to look through and find really good home décor ideas.

The Street of Dreams

Another great place to find ideas for your decorations in your home would be to go around to the local Street of dreams or you may even consider checking out local open houses that are available through local realtors on most weekends. Being able to physically walk through a home and see how different people have decorated their home up can give you some wonderful ideas for your next project.

Home Improvement Stores

Another great free resource for home décor ideas is to go to your local home improvement stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. These stores will often have many catalogs or magazines when you first walk into the store. These resources offer many free plans and ideas for almost every home project that you will have.

Secondhand Stores

And finally another really good place to find good home decor ideas would be to look in your local secondhand stores. Or if you’re on vacation, you can always look around at the various different gift shops and see many wonderful trinkets and ideas that you might want to add to your home décor.

If you need more helpful Home Decor information try visiting http://home-decor-helper.com, a website that specializes in providing helpful home decor tips, advice, and resources to include Home Décor Ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Turner

admin cheap home decorating, home decorating