A Great Looking Home On A Budget

by Brenda Lee
(Fredericton, NB, Canada)

We all wish we had an unlimited budget to decorate our homes with, but that just is not a reality for most of us. Luckily, a huge budget is not required to have a well dressed home. You can accomplish any look you please, from shabby chic, to eclectic, to a more high end look, with a bit of imagination, some spare time and some elbow grease.

The easiest place to make the biggest impact is with paint. Changing the color of the walls in a room can completely change the feel of that room. The paint color really does set the mood, and once you find a color your love, it's an easy jumping off point to decide how you want to decorate the room. Alternatively, you can find an accessory, rug, throw, cushion, or anything else that you love, and use that to help choose your paint color.

Painting does not have to cost a lot of money. There are some very reasonably priced paints at the big box stores that will give great results as long as you take your time and do it right. Start by prepping the walls, filling holes, sanding bumps, and then carefully taping off the edges. Priming the walls is an important step to getting a great finished paint job. Then on to the fun part, painting!


Once you have your walls painted, you can source out some good bargains on everything from furniture to art work at your local thrift stores. Online buy and sell sites are another great resource for putting together a new look in your home without spending a fortune. Refinishing a dresser or table that you picked up for a few bucks is a great weekend project, requires very little in the way of supplies, and leaves you with a great sense of accomplishment.