Finding your inspiration, step by step

You can easily create a stylish room that reflects your taste on a very small budget.  They key is to make sure your inspiration is coming from something you really love so that you love everything you create to match it.  Here are a few steps to decorating a room from your inspiration piece:

First, Find an item that really speaks to you.  It can be as simple as this Anthropologie mug.  You don't even have to purchase the item, as long as you can get a picture of it.

Second, visit a paint store and pick free paint chips that match the colors on your inspiration piece.  If you are using the mug, you will want yellow, green, white, and blue, all in the tones found on the mug.  It's important that you look for colors in the right tone.  If your inspiration piece has a mustard yellow, then choose a mustard yellow, not a bright yellow.

Third, take note of the patterns in your inspiration piece.  It is a busy pattern? Is it a floral? Is it stripes? Is there lots of dead space?  Are there multiples?  Try to incorporate those patterns into your design.  You see on the mug pictured that there are multiple circle designs along the base of the mug.  One way to reflect this pattern in a room would be to have a collection of matching plates arranged on the wall.

Fourth, start incorporating the colors into your space.  Paint your walls.  Paint any furniture that doesn't fit with your inspiration.  Cover any upholstery with a fabric that matches.  Use whatever you can that you already have in the colors and patterns that you find in your inspiration piece.

Fifth, shop for items that you don't have, but always keep your inspiration item in mind.  I have actually printed out pictures of inspiration items and kept them in my wallet while shopping.  Even if you have to purchase low-end or cheap items for your room, you will find they they look nicer when they fit into your overall design.  I've found some great items at garage sales and thrift stores when I know what I'm looking for.  It keeps me from buying something just because I like it or its a good price.  If it doesn't match your inspiration piece, then you don't want it in the room.

Fall Wreath

As fall is swiftly approaching, I'm sure you are all ready to mix in some browns and oranges to your decor.  Here is a really cute wreath idea from http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2011/09/my-fall-wreath.html.  It's cute, cheap, and easy to make.

Wrapping Paper Decor

Here's a cheapo great idea for a little color on your wall!  This is wrapping paper, folded neatly over some inexpensive picture frames.  You can actually use fabric too, but wrapping paper is usually cheaper.  It's a great way to get a colorful impact on a budget.

Decorate with Toilet Paper Rolls!

Go here to learn how to make this fantastic art piece out of toilet paper rolls! Seriously cheap and a fun project for older kids too!

$1 plus10 minutes

Ta-dah! I found this old window at a yard sale for $1, and after 10 minutes of throwing on some paint, this is what I came up with. It is now that main feature in our master bathroom. Even the smallest budget has room for this. If you are not confident in your painting skills, you can easily tape a picture to the back and trace the silhouette.

Free Stuff

I very rarely refuse a piece of free furniture. Well, that's not true, I'm pretty stingy when it comes to anything that has upholstery and can't be disinfected a million times. But when it's easy to clean and easy to paint, I usually say yes. Who knows what it might turn into. I wish I had captured before pictures of these pieces, but you will just have to enjoy the afters of these free items...

A cute dresser that is serving well as a buffet in my dining room:

And a table that is supposed to seat six but faithfully seats 12 for Sabbath Dinners:

(I know, I know, the chairs go to another table. I'm on the hunt for new chairs, so in the meantime I'm putting up with the clashingness.)

Decorating the Spare Room with Spare Change

This post is for those of you on a budget that has no room for decorating. You can create a cute, comfortable space with just a few dollars. The trick is to keep your colors simple, with a few bold punches, and use a lot of what you already have. You might have to do some dumpster diving, so just make sure to have a gallon of white paint on hand.

Welcome to my spare room...

I chose to paint this room with the leftover dining room paint (BM Moonshine). Cost: $0

We rescued the twin beds from nearly ending up in the dump, and my awesome husband painted them white using paint that we already had. Cost: $0

I already owned the sheets and pillows, but I got the rest of the bedding from Ikea. Cost: $42

I found that fun blue rug at Ross. Cost: $6

I bought these candle holders at Ross years ago and spray painted them. Cost: $2

I did these simple paintings with canvases that I found on sale, using paint that I already had leftover from other projects. Cost: $5

I made the throw pillows from fabric that I found on sale and a couple of old pillows. Cost: $3

This chair was free, and of course I painted it white. It obviously still needs to be recovered, which will cost me something later. Cost: $0

The simple curtains on the windows are a temporary fix, but they have been in our house since we got married so I don't even know how much they were originally. Cost: $0

The table between the beds was another dump rescue, and painted with paint that I had for my front door. Cost: $0

The tray of toiletries is something that I always have on hand for overnight guests. The tray itself was a wedding present, but the vase of rocks and the toiletries cost:$6

Total cost: $64 to decorate an entire room!

I hope that encourages you to look around your house and use what you already have. A coat of paint can work wonders! I would love to see pictures of any or your rooms that you have decorated on a budget, so send me an email!

How to Decorate with No Time and No Money #5

When you are decorating on a very low budget, you really have to make color work in your favor. I'm a big fan of neutral palettes, but neutrals can't hide quality. When using neutral tones, you are relying on texture and shape and finishes, but when you embrace a little bit of color, you can easily trick the eye to notice the beauty of the color rather than the texture, shape, or finish.

For example, let's say you want to paint your a room but you really only have enough money for a gallon paint. You may be attracted to pictures of rooms with beautiful cream walls or soft tans, but if you choose one of these colors, your eye will be drawn to the items in the room rather than the walls. Unless you can afford to add some great textiles and furniture, you probably are going to end up with a blah room. Instead, use your $30 to buy a gorgeous color for the wall, and then you can easily get away with cheap, neutral textiles.

You might run into the problem of your room not being able to handle a strong wall color, or maybe you are renting and you can't paint. In this case, it is so important that you use color to your advantage on the furniture or textiles in the room. One of my favorite ways to dress up a piece of old, cheap furniture is to slap a coat of brightly colored paint on it. Since it is only a small area of the room, you can go a little bolder with the color. And it will distract from anything else in the room that might not be the quality you were hoping for.

So if you only have $30 to decorate, go buy a gallon of your favorite color and let everything else be boring and neutral. One good color can make $30 go a very long way.

Another good paint idea

Isn't this desk super? As you probably know, I'm a huge fan of paint, and this is just another reason why. If you can pick up some old pieces of furniture at antique shops or yard sales, don't be afraid to slap on a bold color. This emerald green would be too strong on a wall (or on four walls!) but look how beautiful it is in a smaller dose. All you need a a strong arm to do some sanding, a good primer, and a paint brush. Spraying paint onto furniture is usually going to give you a more even coat, but if you are like me and you don't have a sprayer or you paint in the middle of your kitchen while there is snow outside, a brush will serve you very well.

If any of you have pictures of fun pieces of furniture that you have refinished, I would love to see your pictures! And maybe even post a few pictures here! Just send me an email...mrstolly@gmail.com.

Have a happy Monday!

How to Decorate with No Time and No Money #5

Tissue paper is one of the cheapest ways to decorate. Obviously, it's not a long term solution, but if you are needing to create a fun centerpiece or add height, here are some fun options. They add a lot of texture and color (if you want color). Find the tutorial here and here

Do you have any fun ideas for using tissue paper?

How to Decorate with No Time and No Money #3

Now that you have chosen your color palette, and you've started to find inspiration clippings, I want to address what I think is the biggest issue for someone decorating their own home: EDITING! Anyone can put together a vision board with their favorite color and texture combo, but most people don't start from scratch on their own house. You have the dresser you picked up at a yard sale, the pillows you got for your wedding, the couch you bought the first year you were married, and then the chairs you got a few years later when your style changed. The trick to making your house a cohesive design is to edit the things that do not go. After you have your vision board ready, with your colors, perhaps some fabric swatches, and your inspiration pictures, start chucking the things that don't fit into the vision board. And the good news is that usually taking something to the dump is very cheap!

If you have items that are clashing with your mood, you need some editing. Let's say, for example, that you make your vision board and find you are really in love with a minimalistic, Swedish look, but you have some antique pieces that obviously don't work with it. You can either refinish these pieces (reupholster, paint, re-stain, etc.) to at least fit your color scheme, or just get rid of them. They might be beautiful pieces, but if they can't work then they can't work.

Obviously, you have certain large functional objects that have to be there. If you walk through my house you can probably make a list of items that don't fit the vision....my refrigerator, my carpet, my faux wood counter...I could go on. Which leads me back to my point - make a list of things you want to edit, and edit as you can. Most of us can't have beautiful homes immediately (and if you think my home is perfectly beautiful, please, please stop by and have a look for yourself. It's not.) but the point of editing is to gradually take out and replace those things that don't work. You want to work on training your eye to see what isn't working. Walk through your rooms, make lists, and get rid of whatever you can that is hindering the flow of your design.

How to Decorate with No Time and No Money #2

I know all of you reading this have stacks of magazines. You've probably ripped out pages or folded corners marking your favorite rooms. This is a great idea and a terrible idea. The down side is that since you have no time and no money, you won't be able to put together that exact room. You also probably don't have professional camera lighting in your house every day. So, how do you make your house look like those pictures without any money? Start to notice the details of the room, instead of looking at the big picture. What materials did they use? What colors? What textures? Do you have a picture of a beautiful table from Pottery Barn with pinecones and hurricane lamps? You can do something very similar without spending any money - I'm sure you have something that is glass in your house. Don't be afraid to use items to decorate merely for their color or texture. Be creative. If you need something shiny on your table, what about your juice glasses with a votive in them? If you need something bright in the bathroom, what about taking a couple minutes to cover the tissue box in bright wrapping paper? If you need some texture or height in your living room, why not bring in some branches from your back yard? If you see furniture that you love, take note of the fabric. Could you find a cheaper neutral piece of furniture and make a throw pillow out of the expensive fabric? Do you see where I am going with this? Start circling elements and details in those pictures that you like so much and try to find something of that same material that you already have. Just because it is wrapping paper, doesn't mean it has to stay in the wrapping paper box.

A color tip

If you are decorating on a budget, don't forget that a single bold accent color can go a very long way. Since you don't have the money to make everything in the room perfect, focus your efforts on a bright color that will draw attention.

Your three colors

Good Morning Monday! And you know what that means? The very first post in a never-ending series on How to Decorate with No Time and No Money! I thought about writing a post on all the cheap things you can decorate with...wrapping paper, juice glasses, tissue paper, paper plates, rocks, sticks...but I will get to all of those later. I'll start where I always start when I advise people about decorating their house and, believe me, you can do this in 5 minutes with no money! Woohoo! My favorite sort of chore! Plus it saves you a lot of time and money later.

The first thing you want to do when decorating any space is to pick 3 colors that are going to be the base for your entire house/apartment. Start with the things you can't change. Do you have dark brown wood floor that you are not planning to replace? Well, then brown is going to be one of your main colors. Choose two other colors that compliment that color. I hear many people say that they are not good with colors and they don't know what will look right together. Find a pattern or a picture that you really love and draw your three colors from there.

The second step that will probably take you the most time, is to make a stop at the paint store. Just grab a bunch of paint chips that you like, even ones that you're not 100% sure about. You may love them in the light of your own home. Choose your three favorites and put them in an envelope or paste them to a card.

The trick with this color card is to keep it in your purse so you have it with you whenever you go shopping. Use these three colors in the main areas of your home, and make sure all the rooms that flow off of those areas coordinate with these colors. For example, if you choose red, brown, and orange as your colors that you use in your living room and hallway, make sure that whatever colors you choose in the bedrooms look good with red, brown, and orange. Basically this is the very beginning of a color palette for your house. It doesn't mean that everything in your house has to be one of these colors, but everything should look good with these colors.

Of course, there are those of you out there who really like a neutral or white palette. But I still think you should find your three colors. Your colors can be white, tan, and brown or gray, brown, and tan. To ensure that your rooms have dimension, you want to find three. You can always choose to do a completely white room with wood floors and one red item, but again there are three colors (white, wood, red) even though most people would just call it a white room. Your colors do not have to be equally balanced.

You can definitely have more than three colors! But you should start with three and add to that, making sure that your fourth, fifth, and sixth colors look great with each of the first three. If any of you have seen my house, you know that I never limit myself to just three colors in one room.

Okay, wow, I could go on and on writing all day, but I better save something for next week! Plus you all don't have time to be reading all day - you have to get to the paint store and pick outyour favorite paint chips! And in case you were wondering, I do carry a color card in my purse with me. When I'm running around town with my little munchkin and we find something we like, I whip out the card to make sure the item will work with the rest of the house. Of course, my card has more than paint chips on it, and it's sort of becoming a notebook, but we will get to that later.

Questions?