Not every time I moved (and I've moved alot) did I have extra money for renovating and decorating.So here are some ideas (that believe me I have used) on how to fix up a dump on a dime. (might have you).
The first thing you do is find all the paint you can.Latex preferably, but I've used whatever I could get my hands on. Because paint will make anything look new! And I'm also known for painting anything I couldn't replace. For example , besides just walls I've painted cabinets,shelving,furniture,lamps.shower stalls and even rugs and windows.
If you don't have enough of one color to paint an entire room, paint one wall a color and the rest white.Or I've also used extra large Navajo blankets to cover a wall.Or paint each wall a different color,have fun with it.
The more you paint, straight up or in a design, the better your place will look.
If you don't have alot of paint there are other ways to cover walls.Blankets for one.And one of my personal favorites, which I call the wall of shame, is a wall covered entirely with photographs. I guess it doesn't hurt that I'm somewhat of a photographer ,but I'm sure eveyone has those boxes of pictures that never made it into albums.
If you have a crappy couch that you can't afford to recover, break out a king size sheet and cover and staple it on the couch. For the cushions, just slip them into matching pillow cases.
Crappy shower? I painted one of mine in ocean colors and bought fish stickers to add on, it made you feel like you were under water.
You can also put the focus of a room on one of your favorite things and build around it.For example in my kitchen I have a large Coca-Cola clock which led to my 50's red formica and chrome table which led to my red retro payphone (which works) which led to red utencils and so on.
Window treatments: Curtains and/or blinds can be expensive ,so until I had the money to buy what I wanted, I had to make do with what I could rustle up. And sometimes it was a large piece of material that I cut to size or matching Navajo blankets.(yes I have some Native-American decor) But once I painted two windows to look like stained glass and they looked pretty good.You can also use plain white sheets and throw some matching paint on them and there you go!
Also keep in mind "low lighting" for rooms that just aren't up to par yet. Candles and incense can make any room nice and cozy.
And now for my personal favorite"The 200 year old pink carpet" Yuck! Well first I would see what was under it. Wood floors, great, rip it up. If not I would try to get my hands on a large throw rug. If thats not an option I'd paint it,in a design,it might be stiff but it wouldn't be pink!
Some people think that if you have paneling you can't paint it. Wrong, it actually looks good painted.I recently moved into a house where a few rooms had white paneling, I personally don't like white paneling, so what I did was this: It was to be my office,I have a nice Navajo blanket with the colors red,orange,turquiose and black, I hung that on one wall.I had some Navajo border paper (enough for 3 walls) Then I painted the top half of the walls a light sunset orange, and the bottom half a light sand color, then I put the border thru the middle around the 3 walls. Looks pretty good,since I'm looking at it right now!
Well I know some of these ideas might sound a little eccentric, But hey ,you work with what you got. Good luck, and remember, always save your paint! susanb 8/23/08
