Interior and Health

Trying to decorate your house creates a lot of pressure. You may see perfect homes in designer magazines or on television shows. Maybe you are trying to make over your house when all you can afford are a few fancy Votivo candles. Maybe you want to hire a professional to make over your home, but you realize quickly that interior designers cost as much as Orlando vacation packages. Don’t worry. There are many things that you can do on a budget that will transform your home rather miraculously:

1) Invest in paint. You can often buy very nice paint colors at a deep discount at your local hardware store by looking for “oops paint.” This paint is premixed by customers who later change their mind about their colors. It’s a great way to touch up one wall or one room on a budget. Even if you decide to splurge on full price paint, you will find that paint costs far less then new furniture and most other new décor items. At the same time, paint can have a very dramatic impact on your home’s appearance. Look in design magazines and books specifically related to painting your home. You’ll find that stenciling, different paint techniques, and color schemes can completely transform your home. Switch a dark dingy room to a lighter color, for example, and create the illusion of a much larger space. Painting your floors and even your furniture can make it appear that you have completely transformed your house.

2) Invest in fabric. Besides paints, fabric is another very inexpensive way to change a room’s décor. With large swatches of fabric — which you can often buy at discount or on sale at fabric stores — you can create faux canopy beds, new carpeting, and even elegant new wallpaper for your rooms. All you need is a staple gun, a hot glue gun, some sewing techniques, and some fabric. Even if you don’t know how to sew, staples and glue will get you far. You can even drape your current furniture with new fabrics for a whole new look.

3) Know where to shop. Even if your house is calling out for more drastic renovations — such as new cupboards — you can often find these for far less than retail if you know where to look. For example, try checking your local classifieds. Contractors will sometimes sell almost new cabinets and almost new appliances for a fraction of their original cost. Similarly, you can go online to look for a reduced cost item. Failing that, shop factory outlets and discount stores. A great tip: find out where contractors and real estate investors in your area shop. This is often where the deals are.

4) Get professional help for less. Sure, the services of a professional interior designer can cost a great deal, and an interior designer will generally try to convince you to get new furniture and new items for your home. However, many interior designers today offer low-cost services. For example, many interior designers offer consulting services. This allows you to get a professional to come into your home and work with what you already have in your home in order to create a better environment. For about $100, in many cases, you can get professional advice that uses your current furniture and possessions in a whole new way. It’s a low cost way to get a whole new perspective — and professional perspective at that — on your home.