Interior Decorating Information

Budget Decorating - What Is It?


Budget decorating. You see this phrase a lot but what does it mean? Does it mean the same thing to you that it does to me? Probably not, and here's why.

The term "decorating" is easy to understand; it concerns making something (a room, a space) prettier, better organized, more functional, more esthetically pleasing. Okay so far.

It's when we start talking "budget" that the confusion sets in. For instance, I have a friend who thinks following a budget means scrimping on 350 count sheets instead her favorite 700 count set. Me, I like to keep food on the table, gas in the car, and the cable modem hooked up. My decorating budget is what's left over, unless it's close to the holidays when that becomes my gift budget.

You may have a zero dollar budget (been there, my friend). You can still re-arrange your space, clean and de-clutter it, and look around your house for items to use in new, more effective, or unusual ways. You can create a pleasant, comfortable area without taking out a home equity loan or borrowing against the college fund.

Budget decorating is really about getting the most value and impact for whatever dollars you have available to spend on decorating. Put like that, it's not such a difficult concept, is it?

Budget decorating does not mean buying the cheapest of everything or making do with uncomfortable or inconvenient furnishings because they haven't fallen into pieces yet. It does involve some stretching of the imagination to see the potential in a marked down can of yellowish paint of a slightly odd hue that just happens to coordinate with another marked down length of fabric. It also helps to be willing to embrace various decorating styles. Eclectic is the budget decorator's friend!

It's important to spend your money on the most important items first. If you're decorating a bedroom, make sure that you have the best mattress you can afford. Stunning draperies lose some of their charm when viewed after a night of tossing and turning on a lumpy mattress. If it's a home office that you feel the need to spiff up, think about the desk and the desk chair. Oak filing cabinets look wonderful, but if I have to choose between sufficient room to work and a fancy filing system, I'll stick with my painted metal cabinets, thank you very much.

My decorating budget may be less than your budget, and it's certainly less than my friend's budget, and that's okay. Each of us can work within our means to create spaces that reflect our style and outlook on our world. When we sit back to enjoy our newly decorated rooms, we can do so with the satisfaction of knowing that there's still enough money left over for brownies!

LaJoyce Kerns is the creator of the website: http://www.decorate-bedrooms-for-less.com. She provides tips, ideas and techniques on decorating bedrooms for real people. LaJoyce believes that you can achieve beautiful results without breaking the budget, whatever your budget might be.


MORE RESOURCES:

Rockford Valley College to host interior decorating course
Rockford Register Star
By Leigh Hunziker Rockford Valley College Community and Continuing Education will hold an eight-week interior decorating course from 6:15-8:15 pm March 21 to May 9 in Classroom Building II on RVC's main campus, 3301 N. Mulford Road.



Business Insider

Gingrich's 'Modest' 5000 Square Foot House Has Issues According To Interior ...
Business Insider
AP Newt Gingrich lives in McLean, VA, in a house that can only be described as modest, considering real estate values in the Washington DC Beltway suburb. But it's pretty clear that the former House Speaker wants to trade up. Campaign website photos of ...

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Christina's on Magee offers upholstery, home interior services
Danbury News Times
Christina Spano Manowitz poses for a photo at her upholstery and custom interior decorating business, Christina's on Magee, on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Photo: Lindsay Niegelberg / Stamford Advocate | Buy This Photo Christina Spano Manowitz poses ...

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Talking Business: Carpet One closes Longview shop
Longview Daily News
Columbia River Carpet One Floor and Home shut down its Longview interior decorating store last month and consolidated its merchandise and services at its original Rainier location. "The economy won't support two of them. The builders aren't building ...



Airport manager search panel, timeline set
Brainerd Daily Dispatch
The commission identified two entities it wants to work with as it considers interior decorating ideas for the terminal in the future. The two are Danae Blanck Anderson of ID Your World and a partnership including Millie Engisch Morris and Dyan Westman ...

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Astrology Dining: How To Pick A Restaurant For Every Sign
Huffington Post
They use not just food, but things like interior decorating, location and service style to create a certain effect, which may or may not resonate with any given person. Of course, many people don't believe that astrology is "real.



Divorce Claims Man's Star Trek Apartment
Seattle Post Intelligencer
By Joyce Eng, TV GUIDE One man boldly went where interior decorating had never gone before - until divorce snatched it all away from him. After separating from his wife, Georgina, in 1994, British DJ/die-hard Trekkie Tony Alleyne spent 10 years and ...

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Mission in Milot
U-T San Diego
MILOT, Haiti — The first lesson that 10 students from the University of San Diego's Hahn School of Nursing learned on their weeklong immersion into community health care in Haiti was interior decorating with mosquito netting. The exercise, which took ...

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Boston.com

Standout symbols of a program on the rise
Boston.com
But he did find time to do a little interior decorating. Hang a left when you walk through the doors, and there on the wall are super-sized photographs of Patriots defensive back James Ihedigbo and Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.

and more »


TV Guide

Divorce Claims Man's Star Trek Apartment
TV Guide
by Joyce Eng One man boldly went where interior decorating had never gone before — until divorce snatched it all away from him. After separating from his wife, Georgina, in 1994, British DJ/die-hard Trekkie Tony Alleyne spent 10 years and $150000 ...

and more »

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