Creative Ideas to Decorate Your Living Room
Whether money is short or you just haven't found anything in the stores you like, you can find many inexpensive and unique ways to decorate your living room. Often this is the first room that your friends and family see when they enter your home, so you want it to be a good reflection of your style, taste and personality. A good design requires analysis and planning. Think about what you like. What style or theme would you like to display?
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Find Your Style
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Look in magazines for design ideas that appeal to you. If the decor you like is out of style, check thrift stores, yard sales and relatives to find hidden treasures. Keep a color book of paint samples and fabric swatches you like with you when you go out, so you can snatch up deals that can be incorporated into your design. Many homeowners have found just the right finishing touch in someone's garbage or at a thrift store. Instead of replacing an item, revamp it. You can use fabric, decorative paper or paint to cover or modify an old table, trunk, dresser, desk or entertainment center.
Add Texture
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Fabric can be used to cover or enhance a sofa or chair. Even if you don't sew, you can make curtains, pillows or a small throw with fabric glue. You can also cut out fabric or paper that relates to your theme and decoupage them onto a lampshade. Just about anything can be glued on with a hot glue gun to enhance walls, lamps and furniture. Add decorative ribbon, lace, tassels, rope or rivets at the edges or in an all-over pattern. If you knit or crochet, you can make a wide variety of decorative items. Afghans and lap blankets can be made in many colors, textures and patterns to add interest to the room.
Use Color
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Use plaster of Paris or clay to make knickknacks or sculpture. There are molds that can be used to make a chess set, candy dishes or figurines. Animals, shapes and people can be sculpted with a little patience. These can be painted or made with colored material. Paint is one of the least expensive ways to decorate a room, whether you choose one shade and do the whole room or paint a mural on one wall. To make a favorite color pop, paint one accent wall and do the others in a lighter, coordinating color.
Go Natural
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Nature is another great storeroom of decorative items. Make your own fountain from rocks collected from the outdoors. Use leaves, flowers, twigs and tree branches to make dried floral arrangements. Herbs are easy to grow, and many of them have flowers that are quite lovely when dried. Old branches can add a touch of drama underneath a coffee table; use them as is or paint them. Carve shapes out of bits of wood or paint a repeating design on several similar slices of wood. Trees, flowers and leafy plants add color, life and texture to a room.
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