Decorating on a budget can be painless

Even if you are decorating on a budget, following these strategies will enable you to design a room filled with ideas sure to please even the most discriminating homeowner

One of the main roadblocks to home decorating on a budget for many people is the financial decisions that have to be made. It helps to break down the expenses into small areas that you feel you can afford. This makes the whole project less daunting, and if it is a large decorating project, it can be accomplished in steps as the money is available. Of course, this only works if you have a plan in mind and know what you want to accomplish.

It is wonderful to visualize the perfect room while you are Dream Shopping, but if you only have $500. to spend on all your budget decorating ideas, it's time to come back to earth and decide how you are going to accomplish your goals without breaking your bank.

Before you start on the budget, you should have done some Comparison Shopping and have a file of pictures, paint chips, fabric samples, along with price lists for these items, and basically know what you want to accomplish as you plan to develop your home decorating budget.

You should at this point have a floor plan and know what pieces of furniture you would like to have in this room, and how you want the room arranged.

You are now ready to start your home decorating on a budget plan

Click here to print a worksheet that will be useful as you work on your decorating budget plan

If you are familiar with Excel or other spreadsheet software, you may prefer to use this type of program to keep track of your plans and expenditures, and budget decorating ideas.

Click here to see a sample spreadsheet for your decorating on a budget plan

How to Use the Home Decorating on a Budget Worksheet

• Your first sheet is for listing items you currently own. Will you be keeping some of the items you are currently using? Put these items in your worksheet.

• The next sheet is for listing what you want to purchase. Do you need end tables to fill out your furniture arrangement? Lamps to improve your lighting? New draperies or wall treatments? What about your flooring? Have you considered accessories? Again, list everything you need to arrive at your decorating goals.

• The third sheet will be to list supplies needed for your budget decorating ideas and projects. This is anything from paint or wallpaper to floral arrangements and wall art for the finishing touches.

For now, you are just going to put in the costs for all your needs and wishes. Once everything is totaled, then we can find ways to cut or eliminate costs if necessary so that you can stay on your home decorating budget.

The more complete you can make these lists, the better chance you have of completing your room within your budget decorating ideas. Don't be an ostrich and hide your head in the sand because you don't want to know the final total. Doing this will definitely prevent you from moving forward. It's better to know all the information up front so that you can deal with it from a position of strength and knowledge. Without a definite plan for completion, you are dead in the water before you even start. Now, back to the first sheet of your home decorating on a budget worksheet.

Look at what you currently own with a clear eye.

• Do you have pieces of good quality furniture but with a lot of wear and tear? Can they be refinished or painted and thereby be used for a long time to come, or at least until you can afford to replace them?

• If so, can you do the painting or refinishing yourself or will you have to hire it done. If you send a piece to be refinished, is the quality good enough to justify the cost?

  
  
  
  
  

• Do you really love your sofa, but find the colors are all wrong for your new plan? Slipcovers have come a long way since the sheets over the couch plan, or the stretch one size fits all (yeah right!) days.

• Do you have some items in the family room that could be used in the living room? Any items in the den that could be used in the office? What's hiding out in your garage, attic, or basement? Just because a piece of furniture is in a certain spot, it doesn't have to live there for it's lifetime. Look around and see if you can get a new look by moving some furniture and accessories from one room to another room.

The same principle can be applied to lamps, artwork, and accessories. Try to look at your possessions with the eyes of a stranger. You probably have lots of hidden treasures and decorating budget ideas right in your own home. Open your eyes and let your inborn creative talent help you along on this exercise. Ask you family and friends what they would do. You may not agree with their ideas, but sometimes a different point of view will set you off in a whole new and different direction.

Here are some purchasing ideas you may not have considered to help you keep to your home decorating budget:

• If you truly need to buy an new sofa and are yearning for the $3000 deluxe leather but it will take your entire budget, you'll have to trim your wings a little. Find a sofa that is within your price range, but try to get the same size as your dream piece. Purchase the less expensive sofa now and start a Christmas club account at your local bank or credit union. Have the money directly deposited and you are on your way to your dream sofa. When you are able to purchase the item, you know it will fit into your floor plan because you have planned the correct space and placement for it. The less expensive sofa can then be moved to the den or family room for further use and comfort.

• This same technique can be used to replace or upgrade other items in your home until you achieve the look you are dreaming and planning for.

• If you have never attended estate auctions and you have big plans, this is a good time to start. Many of these are put on by baby boomers looking to retire and move to smaller homes or warmer climates. A lot of this furniture was purchased in earlier decades and is of excellent quality. If you are a novice in this area, attend a few auctions to get the feel of the procedures. Be sure and do your homework on the pieces you are interested in. It is very easy to get carried away in the heat of the bidding and overspend. Always set a limit in your mind ahead of time, and stick with it! Otherwise you will crash your home decorating budget before you even get off the ground!

  For more information about bidding and buying at auctions and estate sales, click here.
  
  

  Some lovely decorative plates purchased at an Estate Sale
  
  

  

  
  
  
• Do not turn your nose up at garage sales, yard sales. or swap meets. Yes, a lot of it is junk. However, if you think of it as treasure hunting, you will be surprised at what you may find.

• Go through the sale location listings in the paper. Look for upscale neighborhood locations. Yes, upper middle class people have yard sales too. We are all consumers, and eventually we either have to make room for new stuff or we just want to get rid of things so that we can close our closet doors!

  I was lucky enough to pick these up for $1.00 apiece!
  
  

  

  
  
  
• If your city or town has a large goods trash pickup day and you have access to a truck, be one of the first people on the street that day. Everything on that day is fair game. I once got a brand new designer sofa because an older woman was moving to a condo and didn't want to be bothered putting a for sale ad in the paper. You never know what treasures you might find on that day.

• For some great accessories and collectibles, be sure to check out Ebay. Shopping there is like a huge scavanger hunt. This will also give you some ideas about prices and demand, so if you do attend yard sales and auctions it will give you some practical price guidelines that will help you stay within your home decorating budget.

• In our area, some paint stores have a "Paint Disaster Area". This is a place where people can purchase pre-mixed paint that customers wouldn't buy because the color was mixed incorrectly. These paints are available at huge discounts, and just because it wasn't exactly the right shade for one person doesn't make it a disaster color for you. Ask the salesperson if that store has an area similar to this.

• Also in our town, we have a paint recycling center. People bring their unused paint here and anyone is welcome to take what they want. If you only want a small amount of paint or if you want to do some faux painting and are looking for an accent color to add to your colors, this is a good option to investigate.

• If you like the look of paper but are not willing to spend a few hundred dollars on it, check out the in store borders. I say "in store" because if you use what is in stock you will be paying under $10.00 a roll as opposed to $50.00 if you special order it.

• You can use faux painting along with a border at the top or chair rail level to cut your costs considerably and still get the look of paper that you love.

• Of course all projects are cheaper if you do-it-yourself. If you have never attempted the type of project you have in mind, do it in a seldom-used area of the home, or in a small area. You will find more examples in the Wall Treatments section of this website.

You can do this by pasting all your fabric samples, paint chips, magazine pictures etc. into a small scrapbook or loose-leaf notebook. If you don't want to paste everything into a book, use the clear envelopes in your loose-leaf binder for storage. This portfolio should also contain a copy of your floor plan with measurements along with a copy of your furniture arrangement page. Also handy would be a list of items you are interested in and some photos to help you concentrate on the types of objects you are searching for.

This way, if you decide on the spur of the moment to head out for some "treasure hunting", you can grab your book and run. This book will keep you on track and hopefully stop you from buying something just because "it's so cute", or even worse, "I don't know what I'll do with it, but I'll put it somewhere."

You Can Cut Costs and Still Have a Great Look

Just be aware there are many ways to cut costs and still have the look you want. Once you start looking around and thinking about this, you will find your mind starting to come up with many different and creative budgeting ideas. So in closing let me say, fill out the worksheets. Know what you are facing, and as you plan and assemble your room you will be able to find many different options to get the job done. You may find that some of your best decorating ideas stem from your need to be creative and stay within your budget. Never let a lack of funds stand in your way.

There is always a way to reach your dream!

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