Budget Makeover Tips For The Great Room

If you had the funds to simply walk into a furniture showroom and hire a decorator

to do a complete makeover of your great room, you would be free of the challenge of having to do it yourself. However, you would miss out on an opportunity to make your great room a stylish reflection of your personality and design sense. Instant gratification may be easy to achieve on a home decor TV show, but it is not reality and is too expensive for most people. Instead, focus on these decorative tips that will help you create the style you want at a price you can afford.

A little attitude adjustment may be necessary before you start: You are not settling for a budget makeover, you are embarking on an adventure. Be patient and savor the fun of hunting down just the right piece to pull your room together. The search is nearly as much fun as living with the finished result.

Start with a floor plan.

Make a plan before you start buying. Create a 1/4 scale drawing of your great room that indicates where permanent fixtures like windows, doors and the fireplace are located. One-quarter scale simply means recreating the room on 1/4 inch graph paper, where each 1/4 inch square equals one foot.

Since you are going to be referring this drawing over and over again it is useful to transfer it to white felt with a transfer pencil that can be purchase at a fabric store. Trace the paper plan on the backside of the felt, then iron to transfer the markings; go over the lines with a permanent marker and cut out scaled pieces of colored felt to represent your existing furniture and area rugs. This makes it easy to play with different furniture arrangements without having to physically move the furniture.

Organize and purchase around your lifestyle.

Now is the time to also think about how you use your great room. If you are an avid reader or movie buff, you need a way to store and display those items that you will refer to over and over again. Do you want a floor plan that lets you watch TV one night and entertain friends the next? Do you want conversation areas or do you have a smaller space that demands flexibility. Now you can shop with those goals in mind.

Choose your style and prepare to shop!

By choosing a style you will end up with a cohesive look instead of a disjointed mishmash of furnishings. Take pictures of furniture, wall art and accessories that you would like to keep and tear sheets out of home decor magazines, etc. that capture a look that appeals to you. Keep both your tear sheets and your photos in an album that you can carry with you when you shop. Paint chip and fabric and carpet samples are other items that can be helpful, as well as an inspiration piece, such as a plate or pillow, that helps you stay on a design course.

All of this may seem like a lot of work but keep in mind that a bargain is no bargain if you get it home and it is too big or clashes with other furnishings.

Do not overlook the potential.

There are many potential bargain sources for furniture and accessories. Furniture and chain stores have sales; so do online stores. Resale and antique shops, flea markets, craft shows, garage sales and estate sales are treasure troves for gently used pieces or unusual accents that might fit your personal style.

Look at older pieces of furniture in a new light. An old hutch buffet could be transformed for stylish DVD or CD storage. Can you paint a mismatched pair of side chairs in one color to unite them? Consider overall quality, sturdiness and style lines, then refer back to your photos, tear sheets and floor plan to see if they match your inspiration and space.

by: Aja Klena

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