Town Talk

Style Home Design Tips

True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new, wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince. And during these hard times—when it seems the long winter is hanging on, the economy is hanging on, and we’re barely hanging on—perhaps the best thing we can do for ourselves is to transform this glumness into a self-made creation that brings happiness to our home. Here are some easy, inexpensive ideas to tempt your muse. (P.S. Don’t forget to check our Style Beauty Tips, too.

Feeling sad? Have the icks? Rearrange the furniture in a favorite room. Change can invigorate and rustle up a new outlook.
Revamp your lamp shades. Dye completely with beet juice (for a lush red) or blueberry juice (for an indigo blue), or paint stripes or polka dots on your shades.
If your wood floors need sanding, try painting a “carpet” on them first. If you don’t like the look, sand off the paint. If you love the look, apply a layer of Polyurethane and you have a new floor with half the work of sanding.
Is that knick-knack collection an eyesore to everyone but you? Consider a private area in your bedroom for the collection, and open up the more public part of your house to simplicity.
Want dark paint but fear it? Find a photo of a look you love, trust the look and take the leap of faith. Just paint. Chances are that you’ll end up loving the new look.
Go unconventional in big bathrooms: add an overstuffed chair, a bookcase, toss in a quilt, put plants and antique photos everywhere, and maybe a watering can. Make your bathroom more than a utility spot.
If the money is tight but the carpet stains are everywhere, lightly brush beet juice over the entire carpet, then clean, for a burgundy rush. Or dye your wall-to-wall into an earth-tone color by staining the entire carpet with tea. Experiment with different tea tannins before you begin.
So you need new curtains desperately but have no budget for the ones you want? Buy inexpensive white sheets, apply strips of masking tape to the sheets (horizontal or vertical), paint with acrylic paint, let dry, then remove the tape. Trim the side-ends of the hem and pop the curtain rod through. Voila. You now have fresh looking, striped curtains—and nobody will know the difference.
Kids need new curtains? Let kids paint on inexpensive sheets and then hang those as curtains. Or give kids an ego boost - pin their newly designed sheet-curtains to your living room curtains (remove for company, if needed).
You’ve come to the end of your favorite scented bath gel, lotion, etc., and you don’t want to buy more, but you don’t want to lose that lovely smell? Soak an old piece of cloth in the last bit of liquid. Let dry. Then use the cloth as closet or drawer sachet (or pop it into your car!).
Extend your interior (and exterior) paint jobs. Keep some of the paint from each room in small squirt bottles. Scuffs? Dab with paint.
Stick your television in a bookcase. Whey you’re not watching, hang a small tapestry in front. Pop a small plant in front of the tapestry. Your television set has disappeared until the next season of American Idol.
Need to stock up on food but you have no extra shelf space? Forget building an add-on right now. Instead, take small small planters filled with house plants, and place on top of same-sized jars of dried foods—connect planters to jars using a fat ribbon in a color that matches your curtains. Place anywhere you’d put a plant, or bunch together in an interesting arrangement.
Also, if you have a collection of coffee cups that need to be culled, but you’re just too sentimental to let them go, put plant cuttings inside the cups and put the cups on a shelf as cute bookends (attention roots.. add pebbles at bottom for drainage).
An hour before bed, use a heating blanket to warm things up. Before you jump in bed, turn blanket off & thermostat way down. Sleep like a baby and save money.
Strip down all the wood furniture in your house and start using only Linseed oil. Your furniture will be gorgeous, your house will smell incredibly fresh, and you’ll save on expensive, unnecessary chemicals.
Love all those baby clothes, but don’t want to save them or don’t want to give them away either? Get bits made into a “remember” quilt.
Have white pillowcases ready for spend-the-nights. When kid comes over, let your kid design a special pillowcase for their spend-the-night friend. The pillowcase can be a lasting, cherished memory.

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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/24/09 at 10:38 AM