Decorating 101 ~ On A Budget

Since we literally designed, planned, and decorated our house from ceiling to floors after our house fire, we put many hours and days of thought into what it was we wanted from our home.  We also needed to stay within a budget, which isn't always easy to do when decorating a room, or for that matter an entire house. 

We have had dozens of people compliment us on our home, and want to know how we did it, and how they can duplicate what we did.  I am always flattered when others want to duplicate things we have done, or want items that we have purchased, which is why I am writing this post. 

For the purpose of this post, I am covering a single room in our house.  The above collage, depicts our sun room.  The carpeting is the exact carpeting we have, as is my desk, the curtains, and wall color.  We have a similar couch. 

I have been watching a few other bloggers online talk about decorating, and thinking to myself some big mistakes are being made when considering the bones of the room. 

I am one that gets bored with a color scheme rather soon, like within a year's time. Okay, I'll be honest, I think I have already changed the curtains in two rooms about three times.   I know that I am not alone in this either.  When you are considering walls, carpeting and major furniture pieces, think neutral, and think of your lifestyle, your family, and your needs.  (Browns, Grays, and Whites.)

We had many, many people raise their eyebrows when we said we were going with a chocolate brown carpeting.  (We went with the same color carpeting throughout the carpeted areas in our home.)  Why?  Well, we have large, okay EXTRA large dogs.  I have no intention of being without a dog or two, and I knew that we could not go with a light colored carpet in our home, and expect it to last. Stain resistant, is not stain PROOF. 

I am also not a monochromatic color person.  I do love my colors, whether it's lime green, blue, green or red, I pretty much love them all.  That's why the accessories in this room were all made to be a muted blue. 

Now, my favorite holiday to decorate for is Christmas.  I absolutely cannot wait for the weekend after Thanksgiving to completely transform not only this room, but the entire house as well.  By changing only the accessories, this transformation will cost less than $150.  By just changing the accessories, the feel of the entire room changes.

Want city chic?  Replacing your accessories to black and white will definitely update the look of this room, and again it won't hurt the purse strings.

I always loved the color green, however, green tends to be dark, so I will most likely be waiting until next fall to go with green. 

Springtime yellow anyone?  There you have it.  5 completely different looks, without having to paint, change furniture, or replace the carpet. 

If you're planning on redecorating take a few days, and search online stores for some colors you like, and save the image to your photos.  Head to the home improvement stores, and grab several paint samples you like, along with some rug samples. Print them out, and create your own collage for a look you'll love once it's complete. 

By taking your time, and going neutral on the major pieces of furniture walls, and floors, the rest just depends on the mood your in!  Changing the accessories, can be done as often as your mood changes.