Windows
Using window film products (such as Artscape, available at Home Depot or www.Artscape-Inc.com) is a quick, easy and fun way to add drama, provide privacy or disguise a less than desirable view in a window/room while still allowing natural light inside. It can also be used as an alternative to more traditional window covers such as blinds. A unique way to contribute to the WOW! facter of a room.
Hanging on Concrete Walls
Hanging things on walls that are concrete or that you don’t want to drill on – fabric hooks at your local home depot work great. All you need is H20 but make sure they dry before you hang your items.
They hold up to 40lbs.
Canvas or artwork
Any abstract painting or canvas can be cut out of it’s frame to be reused and laid out into a new frame – one canvas can become 2 works of art!
Overlay cut to size canvas over a family photo to depersonalize the setting.
Keep costs down by looking for canvas art in store liquidation bins, garage sales or thrift shops etc.
Feng shui
Strive to appeal to all buyers by balancing rooms using principals of feng shui. For example if I enter a dark living room where the table are square, the couches are angular or boxy; the fireplace is a rectangle with another rectangle (painting0 on the mantle. I say to myself: Too yang and go about balancing the room with yin qualitiesa healthy ficus or other upwardly energizing plant in round container in a corner, a floor lamp softly lighting upward, a round mirror above the mantle, a soft white area rug oval or at least rounded corners, and flowers with lacy, dainty baby’s breath. When yin and yang are in balance the occupants are in harmony and at home without even knowing why.
Flyers
For those who wish to compile decorating ideas when starting out, collect advertisements and flyers from the newspaper or pusli-sacs test show rooms.
Examples are: Brick, Structube, Molsilia, Ikea, Brault and Martineau, Leons, Linen chest, Bay etc. Most of their marketing departments hire professionals™ photographers and stagers or designers to set up their shoots so ideas are current trends. This is an inexpensive way to stay abreast of current colours. Feelings, trends, lines, etc and accessories without forking out money on expensive magazines. Build a scrapbook of looks you like so ideas get in your mind.
Artwork
When you need a painting or wall art – take a piece of fabric and stretch it across a canvas board and use this as your focal point for inexpensive art.
Sew or fabric glue fabric and hang on a café rod for focal point fabric wall art.
For inexpensive artwork, buy will frames at Target, bed bath and beyond etc. and then go to a wall paper store and find patterns that match the décor you are working on.
Dye something white to cream beige
Use tea if you need to dye something white to cream beige. Make tea in a sink or small tub let it cool (use 2 tea bags to 3 quarts water) Take your fabric run it through quickly and your white fabric is now cream.
Curtains
To dress up a window, in lieu of expensive drapery. Select an inexpensive fabric and simply hem the top of them with fusible hem tape. No sewing required.
Quick tip for tab top curtains, which are said to look more casual or informal and even “cheap”, a quick fix is to turn the tabs over to the back side of the curtains and sew them in place creating back tab panels for a more attractive look.
Hemming Curtains
Hemming tape allows fabric curtains to be adjusted to any length without any sewing or ironing. The same curtains can be used for more than one house.
A quick cheap trick
A quick cheap trick I have used recently is to update an old run down basement bathroom, the floor was faux wood shiny linoleum and it was not only ugly but dirty and moldy. On a budget because the home was going on the market and wanting to do as little as possible, I opted for peel and stick tiles. Instead of ripping up the old floor I then sanded the shinny layer down and applied. After 2 hours we had a new floor. The best part was I found the tiles for $.99 a sq/ft about $25.00 for a new floor not bad.
Making quick and easy curtains
Making quick and easy curtains:
- A) if the curtain rod is nice cut and hem the new fabric using iron on hemming tape
If the rods are really nice use plastic metal grommets
- B) If the curtain rod is not nice
Make the panels twice as long, ham as above and drape the fabric over the rod making 2 thickness, use tie backs.
Flowers
In most editorial spreads fresh flowers are used to enhance the photography. This is also good for home staging.
There really are so many tips one could give as far as staging is concerned, I truly believe that fresh flowers can make a world of difference. Visually they are beautiful; they add a lovely fragrance to a room and just give the sense and feeling of freshness. Whether it’s a beautiful arrangement on a dining room table, or as simple as one bloom in a bud vase in a bathroom. White blooms are especially beautiful as they add a clean crisp feeling, or you can play off an existing accent colour in a room, whether it’s a decorative toss cushion, a throw blanket or print. Try to keep the arrangement tonal. Some of the flowers that I would recommend that are long lasting, simple and beautiful are astromarias which come in a huge range of colours. Lilies, Daisies and Tulips. Flowers are inexpensive way to dress up a room, and truly add to the atmosphere.
Tie wraps / cable ties
Tie wraps / cable ties have several uses such as holding furniture together while gluing, Reinforcing climbing plants, holding computer wires together. WD-40 removes glue from furniture.
Uneven Walls
- For uneven walls that the home owner will not be replacing, utilize a textured treatment * this draws the eyes away from the imperfections as the entire wall now has interest! (Be sure to practice the application on a piece of drywall)
- Conduct quick inventory of hardware in room/home (handles, knobs etc.)If dated or in disrepair a quick solution is to update look with new hardware. The same approach can be taken with light fixtures as well.
- Home Depot sells paper based formulas that you can add water to.
Flowers and Pictures
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- For inexpensive, quick artwork, purchase scrapbook paper sheets (12 x12). Slip these into ready made scrapbook frames. You can create any size wall grouping and use co-ordinating papers to create pattern, texture, line/shape variety and colour schemes. Alternately, you can have the paper dry mounted into foam core sheets (at a framing store), cut to size and finish the edges with co-ordinating ribbon.
- For inexpensive, quick fresh floral arrangements (In season) look to your homeowners garden. A green arrangement using only a variety of shades of green and white is striking. Try fern leaves, hosta, lily of the valley, dragon/grass spikes etc. Or simply one Dracaena plant in a colourful ceramic vase.
Funtack
Use funtack (Kind of putty) at back corners of artwork. Well ensure that they don’t go out of alignment, don’t make marks on wall and are easy and safe to remove when art or photos come down.
Roses for Display
If a rose is not open enough, gently go around the rose opening, the petals from centre out. Gently blow warm air into the centre of the rose keeping the rose close to your mouth.
Floral Tape
Fresh flowers make a great impression, any vessel can hold an arrangement by making a grid pattern with floral tape on any container – you won’t need and oasis or floral form, in order to hold the flowers. A teapot, drinking glass (teacups are cute too) or any bowl can be turned into a great looking arrangement in a jiffy without spending a fortune on a ready made arrangement from the florist.
Floral Arrangements
Stones, marbles, glass beads, buttons, shells, seed pods, pine cones, bare branches, colored sand etc. are invaluable in doing floral arrangements and life style sets ups to suit the house on a moments notice.