No Cost Decorating Ideas

If you want to make some decorating changes but have little or no money in the budget then you will want to read our article on "No Cost Decorating". The best, no-cost solution to cure uninspired spaces is looking at the things you already own with new perspective. Do this by shopping around your house and repurposing what you find. Move an accent pillow from the sofa to a bed, hang pretty china as art or turn an unused sheet into window panels. Be creative, have fun and enjoy the fresh (and free) new looks.

One free way to decorate is to turn greeting cards or magazine photos into wall art! Make sure the pictures match or have a them that looks good together. Buy a wide frame with a smaller center get creative. It’s a great way to decorate your walls at almost no cost! For minimal artistic effort and maximum effect, try framing a fabric. You can find beautiful pieces of extra fabric either lying around your house or at the clearance section of material stores. As long as the colors and design are beautiful and tasteful, framing it will instantly turn it into art. Calligraphy is a beautiful as wall art and Japanese calligraphy especially enhances a Zen decorating style. You can do basic calligraphy on your own with just a brush and black paint. Just look at some examples and try copying the images. You might need a little artistic talent for this one, but if you keep it simple it won’t take too long to pick up. You may even be able to create some calligraphy in Japanese! A great place to look for wall art is your kitchen. Plates, coasters and even dish towels that just take up needless space can be hung on your wall and displayed. Framed dish towels make beautiful wall art. Dishes and coasters can be hung with a frame or on their own.

A great no cost way to decorate a room is to set up a network of friends and create a decorating library. Sometimes we all just want something different. Get your friends together and set up a trade program for lamps, knick knacks artwork and anything else you want to add. Swapping back and forth allows you to get afresh look for free and later when you get your old items back they will feel new again. As a group you will need to set up the ground rules. What is up for grabs, how long the exchange lasts and how many items can be traded at a time.  Give it a try, what have you got to lose?

A free and no-sew idea for dressing a window involves bed sheets. Insert a curtain rod through the big hem at one end of each of two sheets- twin size is usually a good choice. This works best if you use a tension rod or curtain rod or some roundish-type rod that you can prop over brackets and cover the ends with something decorative. That's it. Straighten out the gathers, tie the sides back with something, and there's your no-sew window dressing.

• Declutter! This is probably the single best thing you can do for your space. Clutter saps energy and detracts from a home's strengths.
• Organize. Make sure that there's a place for everything and everything's in its place. If there's no spot for it, get rid of it.
• Clean. Cleaning floors, windows, and surfaces brings a sense of order and calm to a space.
• Rearrange. After your space has been cleared of clutter and cleaned, spend a few minutes in a room and pay attention to its energy flow. Draw up a floor plan and rearrange your furniture for the best flow.
• Paint. Okay, you do have to buy the paint, but painting is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce up a space.
• Restore. If you have quality furniture that's a little out of date, upgrade it by restoring it with a fresh coat of paint, a reupholstered seat, or new hardware. Click here for tips on restoring old pieces.