Thrifty Decorating (Part 2)

Add personality!
Use personal family items such as photos, vacation souvenirs or theme park / movie tickets and brochures in a special frame.


Use what you have!
Sounds kinda simple, but sometimes just looking around your house for items that would offer a new look in another part of your home. Look through your attic, closet, basement and inventory all of your pictures, knickknacks, furniture, etc. Then paint, refinish, or buy some cheap fabric and throw it over the piece.


Disguise!
If you can't afford to replace, disguise! Cover a sofa, lay a rag rug over that stained carpet, or use fabric to screen an unpleasant view.


Be creative
Use fabric from sheets and quilts, use yard sales to locate furniture to be painted to match your décor, and visit your dollar shop on a regular basis for picture frames and candles. Express yourself. Do you love music? Look for old sheet music with great covers whenever you're at an antique or junk store, garage sale or thrift store, or at a going-out-of-business sale at a music store. Hang the music on the wall above your piano, framed or unframed. Do you sew? Keep an eye open for antique (or just old) sewing equipment and display it on the walls and shelves of your sewing room.


Thrifty artwork
For thrifty artwork, don’t buy at a high-end art gallery - instead window shop the galleries and magazines for ideas on what you would like.
Then take some time to check online.

There are dozens of discount artwork websites, many of which offer prints of popular paintings. Try an e-coupon site to get some additional discounts on artwork. You can find coupon codes for some of the top discount artwork sites, saving you a great deal. Many throw in free shipping for going through one of these discount coupon sites.

Buying prints is an easy way to save some money. Print manufacturers will take a copy of a famous piece of artwork and print it out on a sheet of paper. They come in a variety of different sizes, and work well for almost any décor. Prints are fairly cheap and you can do the framing and matting yourself. Go to your local craft store to purchase an inexpensive frame and mat. It takes only seconds to put together, and you will be very pleased with the overall look. No one will ever know how much money you saved by doing it yourself!

You can frame just about anything. Try framing posters, postcards, or even play programs for an interesting look.



More to come!

Janet

Check out http://www.thrifty411.com/ for more on being thrifty and frugal.