The price of redecorating can be out-of-this-world, but it doesn’t need to be. With creativity, DIY perseverance, and craftiness, you can decorate on a dime...or very close to it. How do you do it? Easy - just use the suggestions below. As you might guess, it’s all about working with what you’ve got.
Find out what you have to work with: Get reacquainted with your own possessions. What do you want to do with the old stuff in your new space-to-be? Keep? Relocate to another room? Store? The inventory process spurs creativity and stimulates planning, and helps you to decide what’s missing and what you will need to invest in.
Repurpose: Determine how you can repurpose items you already have to create what you want. Maybe you’d like a new entertainment center. But wait; you have a nice old sideboard, so you can remove drawers to create space underneath, add a lick of paint, and ...there’s your entertainment center. Cost: paint and some manual labor.
Swap items room-to-room: Just rearranging furniture can change a room’s look dramatically. From furniture, to what you have on the walls, to decor items, re-arrange or swap things between rooms.
Slipcover: Maybe you have a couch or some slipper chairs you’d like to change up. Check online for slipcovers. These days, it’s not about your grandmother’s slipcovers; there are some attractive and affordable options available now, and they can totally transform your space.
Relax and Relish: Relax and relish your new space. You deserve it.
If you have toddlers, it's hard to imagine a more dangerous area of your home than the kitchen. Knives, stovetops, and potential toxins all pose hazards to your kids, who can and will want to touch.
They say laughter is the best medicine, and sometimes that comes from innocent medical miscommunication. Take, for instance, the elderly woman whose allergies were printed on her medical wristband. Later that day, the woman's son called and complained that his mother had been labelled "bananas."
The era of pretentious McMansions is so over. One of this year's most important trends is the move towards traditional residential design - homes with the charm of a bygone era but with a twist.
Dining al fresco is one of summer's greatest pleasures. But it can be hard to pull off a great outdoor dining experience without the proper setup. Enter the outdoor kitchen. Interested in creating your own? Check out these tips:
Kids are a delightful reminder that the world is actually a big brightly colored circus. Here are some great online examples of the fun things they say:
Compromise is key to a successful relationship. But that doesn't mean it's easy, especially when it comes to buying a home with your spouse or partner. How do you strike a balance between each person's needs and wants?
So you thought you'd finished your spring cleaning a couple of months ago? Not so fast. The act of spring cleaning has become a deeply ingrained habit for most of us. And when something becomes habit, we often get lazy about it, assuming we know what to do. Sure, you went through your summer clothes, wiped out the fridge, and cleaned off the lawn mower. But did you wipe under the taps?
Remodeling is back in fashion - as many discovered during this spring's Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. Attendance at the Las Vegas show increased to more than 30,000 visitors, a jump of 145 percent over 2012 figures.
The temperatures are warm, and April showers have brought May flowers. It's spring. With summer on the doorstep, it's also time to ready yourself for long leisurely summer days and outdoor entertaining; it's time for spring cleaning and reorganizing.
A little landscaping can go a long way in transforming the look of a garden or yard. If you've got a green thumb and an eye for design, why not try DIY landscaping?
When you're selling your home, your agent doesn't just put up a sign: There are procedures involved in showing your home. And that means both sellers and agents have responsibilities.
As parents, we're often frustrated by our child's messy table manners. But according to a recent article on Mother Nature Network, this sort of food play allows children to explore textures - to associate the look and taste of food with its feel. Research also suggests it may even help expand their vocabularies.
It could be a chocolate lover's dream come true. The Hershey Company is working with 3D Systems on a printer that would allow users to design and print their own chocolates.
You should always be in a state of readiness when you're house-hunting. And this means ensuring you have a letter from a lender signifying that you're ready to buy a home.
Even though TV shows frequently feature "fixer-uppers" that are magically transformed into dream homes, many people don't realize just what's involved in the transformation. Not, that is, until they're the proud owner of what has turned out to be a money pit.
Shopping for a vacuum? Need new sheets? There are better times than others to purchase certain items. Be a savvy shopper with this seasonal buying guide, courtesy of Lifehacker.com and other websites.
"Green" has taken on a new meaning in the auto industry, and even Corvettes and pickup trucks are getting into the act. Take Ford's F-150. Many of its gaskets and seals now contain 25 percent recycled tires and 17 percent bio-renewable content from soy, according to Ford.
It's not good news for a seller when your buyer can't qualify for a mortgage from a bank. In this situation, the seller has two alternatives: He or she can start looking for another buyer, or act as the bank for the buyer and carry the mortgage him or herself. To both the seller and the buyer, this may sound like an ideal plan, but thanks to a rule implemented in 2010, this option may not be the best choice for either of you.
Spring's on its way, meaning spring cleaning and updating. One of the least expensive, most effective ways to update your decor is to paint. But what color? Paint colors, like fashion trends, fall in and out of favor. And most of us want to be in style.
A new tool has been added to telemarketers' tool kits: Now, call center employees are able to intuit our state of mind, thanks to mood detection software. The software, from companies such as Beyond Verbal enables voice analysis and gives marketers new levels of us to plumb. Just what we need.
The most important step in listing your home is establishing the price. That doesn't necessarily mean what you need or even want for your property; it means a realistic price that reflects its true value. An unbiased perspective is vital - as the homeowner you're proud of the upgrades you've made. But can you be realistic about whether the upgrades are still in good shape and on trend?
