Everybody’s hungry for inexpensive decorating and remodeling tricks that can update and transform rooms, particularly during the holiday season when expenses mount as high as the White House Christmas trees.
We asked a handful of creative architects, designers, builders and retailers for ideas that wouldn’t cost more than $250 per room, but wouldn’t look chintzy either. Following are more than two dozen of our favorite suggestions, which will make your house more enjoyable and also put it in the best possible light if you’re selling. Many of them cost less than $250 and some cost nothing if you’re willing to invest the sweat equity.
– For a back splash in a kitchen or bathroom, put up new decorative tiles. “If the area isn’t too large, you won’t need many tiles and many home-improvement centers or stone and marble showrooms have remnants that you can buy at minimal cost. If you’re handy, you might be able to buy a book and do the installation yourself,” says Pearl Schless of Pearl Interiors in Riverwoods.
– Buy bad (inexpensive) art and put in a quality frame, and it’ll look terrific, says Brooke Givot of First Impressions, a design consultation firm.
– Change the color of accessories in a bathroom. Bring in new towels (possibly monogrammed for contrasting color), a new toothbrush holder, soap dish, cups, cabinet knobs, shower curtain and mat, says architect Allan J. Grant. If you still have money left, replace your towel bars and toilet paper holder in a similar palette.
– Change your dishes and placemats. Consider inexpensive Pyrex colored dishes so that the mats show through, says Givot.
– Change your pillows to make a room look brighter, softer or to fit your present mood. Chenilles, silk stripes and cut-out designs in spicy colors are all hot now, says Bette Kahn of Crate & Barrel. You can do so at a moment’s notice or seasonally, she says.
– Clean and fix up your rooms; it makes all the difference, says Mick de Giulio of De Giulio Kitchen Design. Caulk joints where the countertops meet the walls with a clear or white caulk. Repair grout lines in tiles. Adjust any doors and drawers. Restain nicks on cabinets if they’re wood and clean with a mild soap and detergent. Clean your appliances thoroughly both in front and on the sides so they sparkle; don’t forget about walls, which also show wear, tear and soil.
– Add crown molding in a traditionally styled room. “It definitely gives any room more character and depth,” says Winnetka architect H. Gary Frank. Wainscotting will add even more cachet and Old World charm.
– Cut patterns from leftover wallpaper rolls. Glue the patterns to your walls, chests, desks, chairs or any furniture for a lively accent color and pattern, says Schless.
– Take dishes or teacups you infrequently use and create a mosaic on a wall, says Kim Preis, owner of The Fine Line home furnishings and tile showroom. “Randomly arrange them; you don’t need an organized structure, and they look better if they’re casually done,” she says. “If you don’t have the plates or cups, head to a flea market or resale shop.”
– Arrange fresh flowers on a regular basis, which will add color, pattern and wonderful fragrance, suggests designer John Cannon of Cannon-Frank. And you don’t need a fancy vase, he adds. “You can put them in a pitcher or flower pot. When I was really poor, I took shot glasses and filled them with itty-bitty flowers that I put at each person’s place at my dining table.”
– Get out a garbage bag or a few of them and get rid of stuff you no longer like or need, Cannon advises. De-accessorizing is a wonderful way to alter a room’s look and give the furnishings and art you love more space to breathe and show off, he says.
– Group collections you already own rather than disperse them throughout rooms, says designer Cindy Christensen. “It will make a bigger impact. If you have blue plates, rather than scatter them on various pieces of furniture, put them on one or two shelves. Stand some up, lay others down flat. Always be aware of what height you’re viewing something from. If you’re seated, you want to look down on a plate or into a bowl; if you’re standing, you want some plates vertical so you look straight at them.”
– Hang an old family quilt or other large textile on a wall, creating an instant focal point, says Jay Goltz of The Goltz Group, which owns Artists’ Frame Service. “People have things in their drawers and attics that they often forget about. One customer framed several old purses that she had as a child; they were beautiful but also brought out personal remembrances. My father has a World War II bombing jacket he wore on missions; I’m waiting for my mother to give it to me.”
– Hang a sleek set of stainless steel numbers for your address by your front door, says architect Frank. If there’s still some money in the budget, add a matching or similarly styled new knocker and maybe even a new mailbox.
– Hunt at flea markets for inexpensive furnishings, Schless says. “Flea markets are great for bargains such as individual quirky chairs, little chests, dishes and glassware. Be sure it’s in decent condition and check that you like the piece’s silhouette, size and scale. You may want to give some of your finds a fresh coat of paint or some stencils.”
– Install a new plastic laminate countertop in one of the many spiffy colors or patterns now available. This can be done fairly inexpensively if the area isn’t too large. Do the work yourself and you’ll keep the cost down more, says Grant.
– Change even one light fixture or shade and you can create a new focal point, particularly if the fixture has a different flavor than the rest of the room. In a contemporary room, consider an elegant old-fashioned style lamp with a shade and fringe; in a traditional room, be daring and add a sleek modern or funky design, possibly in stainless steel with a colorful paper shade.
– Add a bit of nostalgia and sophistication with a martini cart. Be sure to create the entire mood with the right glasses, stainless steel shaker and stirrer, says Kahn of Crate & Barrel.
– Paint–it’s the least expensive and most dramatic way to change a room, says designer John Robert Wiltgen. Specific ways? Paint a ceiling that contrasts with the walls, suggests Grant. Paint an entry door a lively hue that contrasts with the house. “Consider a classic hunter green or a rich red for a traditional white home,” says Frank. Paint an existing tub a different color or repaint old wood shutters that you find at an auction or estate sale and you’ve got–voila!–a whole new bathroom new for almost nothing, says Preis of Fine Line.
– Place a folding canvas screen in an important area of a room and let it become a revolving bulletin board, a picture gallery or a work in progress for your children who can decorate it with their artwork and handprints in colors that match the room, says Kahn.
– Put a large plant in a wicker basket or French ceramic pot, says Goltz.
– Rearrange your artwork to alter the look of your room. The only cost may be picture hooks and some paint to fill in holes, says Grant. Or, rearrange your decorative accessories and you might incur no expense, he adds. “The point of accessories is to switch them around periodically. They’re not supposed to remain static.” Periodically rearrange the furnishings in a new layout, adds Christensen.
– Recycle your leftover fabric into a runner for a table, placemats, napkins,” says Preis of Fine Line. “Or sew banding to the bottom of draperies. Add buttons or fringe for extra flair.”
– Rubber stamp a border pattern near the ceiling that’s totally unique or stamp an entire wall or ceiling. “The impact can be great, and if you do the work yourself, which is fairly easy since there are so many stamps available, you’ll feel good as well,” says Schless. Good sources for stamps, she says, are The Paper Source in Chicago, the Stencil Gallery in Naperville and numerous mail-order catalogs such as Ballard’s.
– Incorporate some silver or silverplated objects for sparkle such as a platter or bowl filled with bright green or red apples, gourds, pumpkins or pine cones, depending on the season, says Christensen. “It’s a way to direct your eye and add some sheen.”
– Do the unexpected. “Instead of putting candles on a mantel, consider the season and line up three small pumpkins or a grouping of dried leaves and berries,” Christensen says. “Instead of framed family photographs on a piano, leave it bare but add a dramatic and pretty floor lamp next to the piano.”
– Use different-colored lightbulbs such as pink or peach to give a room a different cast. The colors are warm, flattering and give a nice glow to a room painted white, says Givot.
– Wash your old kitchen cabinets with a watered-down acrylic paint using a sponge. Consider a neutral cream, off-white or gray color. The work is easy, permanent and saves replacing cabinets, says Givot.
– At a window, drape remnant fabric over a pretty decorative rod. You can find the fabric at a second-hand shop or large fabric store, many of which have close-out sections. You can find good-looking rods at large fabric or home improvement stores or through home-decorating catalogs.
– Go on a vacation and bring back one fabulous souvenir. Every time you’re in that room, your eye will zoom to that object and rekindle happy holiday memories.
