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DECOR. Interior Design. Ideas to make your space reflect your personality |
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Stencil with Kids: Children love to be part of decorating their own space. Talk to them about a color scheme or theme. Involve them in the decorating process by learning a new skill - stenciling! Brighten up all kinds of plain surfaces, like walls, dresser drawers, and even roll shades, by decorating them with stencils. Assemble a collection of colorful acrylic paints, a sponge applicator, stencils, and glitter. Present in a bucket with a work apron and enjoy making memories personalizing your child's space. |
Baskets, Baskets, Baskets! Organizing a space requires containers to hold useful items that would otherwise create clutter. One of the single least expensive containers is baskets. Pick them up at yard sales and flea markets. Don't pay more than 25 cents for one, unless it is huge or has a liner in mint condition. Also watch for clearance sales after Easter. I picked up a shopping cart full of colorful baskets that were not particularly seasonal in theme. One set was lined with white fabric - an old white sheet from my linen closet! I simply hot glued the fabric to the inside of the basket and used them to hold my son's Lego pieces. Attractive, colorful, useful, and extremely inexpensive - my idea of a great decorating tip! |
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Frame Calendar Art: Add style that reflects your personality by framing your favorite calendar art. Use inexpensive bargain store frames. Smaller prints can be matted into larger frames for even more pizzaz. To personalize the frames, use a hot glue gun and add coordinating items, like sand dollars, seashells, twigs, even leftover Scrabble tiles. Use your imagination! |
Jazz Up the Walls: Inexpensive wall borders will jazz up the walls of any room, transforming plain white walls into colorful spaces that reflect your personality. When you're renting, this is a great way to make your space your own - just be sure to apply the border over washable paint. Matte or flat paint usually does not allow for easy removal. Try cutting a design from wallborder to use as accent pieces. There are new wallpaper cutouts available on the market that I used to apply to the tile around my fireplace. It added charm and color for less than $10. Wrap leftover wall border around a hat box to create a coordinating accent piece. Use the box to store just about anything, and put an attractive end to clutter! |
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Dry Fresh Roses: Dried flowers have such a romantic, antique look. Every time my husband brings me roses, once they start to droop, I gather them up, tie string around them, and hang them upside down until fully dry. The color is muted and lovely. Once dry, you can use the roses to decorate wreaths or simply stand them in a favorite vase. It's a wonderful way to make those special occasions last forever. |
Create a Custom Clock: Customize an inexpensive battery powered wall clock by removing the clear front cover (they just pop off) and carefully removing each hand of the clock. [Make sure to note the order the hands go back on the clock so it will work properly!] Remove the heavyweight paper clock face. Use it as a template - lay the paper clock face on yet another favorite piece of calendar art and trace around it. Cut carefully, including the small hole in the center, and place on the clock. Add stick-on numbers, if desired. You can find these in the scrapbook section of the craft store for just a couple of dollars. Put the hands and then the cover back on the clock. Combined with matted, framed calendar art, you have a very custom designer look! I placed my wall clock inside an inexpensive wreath to coordinate with the rattan in the room, for even more style! |
Add Soft Light: Candles add depth, warmth, and ambiance to any room, regardless of the decor. I have them all over my house, even in the bathrooms! Light them when friends stop by in the evening to make your guests feel truly welcome. |
Color the Walls! For an inexpensive wall treatment, paint large sheets of foam core board. These may be tacked to the wall, then moved or thrown away. This is a great way to add your own personality to a dorm room or apartment with strict decorating rules. Another simple wall covering is to tack a long, thin strip of narrow wood to the top and bottom edge of the wall. Using a staple gun, attach fabric stretched between the two strips. This is an excellent solution for walls that have many imperfections. |
© 1997-2004 Debbie Nelson, Deb's Clever Ideas. All rights reserved.