Shop vintage stores. You can find lovely furniture, knick-knacks, and accent items at your local consignment or salvage store. Think outside the box: is that ratty old chair something that would come back to life if reupholstered? Does that faded painting come in a lovely frame that you can repurpose?
Redo your furniture yourself. Buying a new living room suite might be beyond your financial means right now. But slipcovers that hide the cat scratches and coffee stains might be just what you need. Sofa covers, new pillows, all can go a long way to breathing new life into that old furniture.
Paint a single wall instead of the entire room. Not up for a time-consuming paint job on the entire room? If the paint is just bland or tired and not stained or chipped, consider painting just a single wall as an “accent wall.” Instead of four walls painted a boring light yellow, think about the impact three yellow walls and one burgundy accent wall will have. Think about your furniture and decorations, and choose your color wisely.
Paint the ceiling. A bland, neutral color on the walls can come to life with a bold color on the ceiling.
Use mirrors to give the impression of space. Your contractor or designer might tell you to knock out an entire wall to give more space in that cramped living room or den. But, especially for purposes of resale, you might consider saving the thousands of dollars that would require and simply buying a large mirror, or a nicely grouped number of smaller mirrors, to give the illusion of space. You don’t want that room to look like a dance studio, but even a few artfully placed mirrors can give the impression that the room is bigger than it really is.
Use shelving as décor. Shelves don’t have to just hold books or video game equipment. Consider using wall or hanging shelves as places to put carefully considered knick-knacks or accent pieces. Putting a small potted plant that doesn’t require a lot of light on a shelf is a great way to beautify an area. Same for your grandmother’s cross-stitched pillow, or a framed photo of your kids.
Improve the lighting. Even the most boring room can be improved with better lighting. Sure, a fancy, expensive track lighting system would look great, but so would a couple of carefully chosen, perfectly placed lamps from that vintage store we mentioned above, and the lamps would cost a lot less. Easy-to-install light dimmers would also allow you to control the ambience of an area.
Custom-look appliances. Ever priced the fancy aluminum- or black-finish kitchen appliances? They aren’t cheap. For a quick improvement in the look of your stove and refrigerator, consider metallic peel-and-stick contact paper made for appliances. Give your kitchen the look of brand-new appliances without the cost.
New switchplate covers. Simply changing the faded, dirty old switchcovers on your light switches for new ones – whether you go for simple white or ornate brass – can upgrade the look of a room for a very small cost.
In conclusion, you can add thousands to the resale value of your home, or brighten and beautify it for your own use, without spending a lot of money.
]]>
