Bedroom Makeover on a Budget

18 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Sarah Atkinson, The Home

Tags

bedroom, beds, budget, curtains, design, designing, furniture, interior design, painting, redecorate, redesign, shabby chic, wood

It is that time of the year when everyone needs to be tightening the purse strings as Christmas well and truly hits and January is spent recuperating from it. But that shouldn’t mean you have to put off doing something you want or need to do. The word ‘budget’ doesn’t necessarily mean having to sacrifice quality and style, it’s all about knowing where to look for things and how to create an expensive look for a fraction of the designer price tag!

Don’t redecorate, work with what you’ve got
Redecorating can be the most expensive part of making over a room, but what many people don’t realize is, you don’t have to change the wallpaper or paint to change how it look. If you have neutral colors and patterns on the walls then you are in luck, as you can change the style of the room to just about anything you like. If you went for something a bit more bold and bright at the time of decorating, don’t start stripping the walls yet! Look into what the current trends are. Maybe when you first decorated it was in fashion to have every single item in the room in one color, but now the trend may be to mix and match, the more colors the better!

Photo Credit: Digs Digs

Give your furniture new life
Kitting a bedroom out with a new bed, wardrobes, chest of draws, cabinets and more is another expensive part of redecorating a room. And there is probably nothing wrong with the furniture you have, you just got bored of it and fancy a change. So change it!

If its wood you can do so much with it. Sand it down and give it a new varnish or paint it a completely new color altogether. Shabby chic is very on trend at the moment, so painting it white and then distressing the paint would look great and isn’t hard to do at home. The best part is, it looks expensive and has a designer look. For other surfaces you could get some stencils and spray some fab new designs or purchase some appliqués (readymade designs) and stick them on to the boring old furniture surfaces.

Photo Credit: Painted Cottages

Photo Credit: Thrifty Inspirations

For beds, divans allow you to change the headboard easily so you could get a new one or jazz up your old tired looking one. For complete metal or wood bed frames don’t despair! You can bring new life to those by weaving colorful fabrics such as ribbon or scarves through their framework and hang decorations on their ends.

Photo Credit: Signature Homes

Curtains and bedding on a budget
Bedding and curtains are one of the main focal points of a bedroom and if done right they can make a room look modern with very little damage to your wallet. Satin is the material of luxury so it makes sense to assume satin bedding and curtains would be expensive? Not at all. You can find quality satin bedding and curtains for a fraction of the designer price tag. Don’t fancy sleeping in satin bedding or even want to change your bed covers at all? You don’t have to. You could simply purchase a satin bedspread which will cover the entire bed when you aren’t sleeping in it and throw on some bed cushions to make your bed look like it is straight out of a showroom.

Photo Credit: Furniture 4 World

There is so much more you can do with your bedroom no matter what your budget, it just takes a little creativity and imagination and you could have a whole new bedroom whenever you like!

Written by Sarah Atkinson

Creating a Designer Kitchen on a Budget

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, James Harper, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

appliances, cabinets, Caple, color, design, diy, floor models, Frigidaire, General Electric, home, interior design, james harper, kitchen, Kitchen Appliance Centre, redesign, refurbish, shopping, sinks, vintage

The average custom kitchen can cost upwards of $20,000, but in this poor economy not many people can afford to spend that much. If you’re willing to put in some sweat equity, you can have the designer kitchen you want without blowing your budget.

Add a Splash of Color
Bold, bright colors are everywhere; candy-apple reds, sunny yellows, and rich, warm tones are very popular in appliances. Electrical stores and kitchen specialists offer a huge range of products to suit all budgets, look for established brands Neff, Zanussi and Caple and do your research to find top of the line products. Buying your appliances from a discount outlet will give you the high end look you want at a much lower price.

As an alternative to spending thousands on an appliance that will have a permanent place in your kitchen, consider buying changeable panels for your dishwasher, stove and refrigerator. Other less expensive options include freestanding appliances in bright colors, changing lighting fixtures, adding a bright splashback, or re-facing cabinetry and changing hardware. These smaller projects can cost less than $100, but make a big impact.

Photo Credit: Kitchen Cabinet Design Ideas

Refurbish Vintage Pieces
Today’s less structured looks can be achieved at a lower cost by taking some styling cues from your family room. Get the look by using different finishes on furniture-style cabinetry; a cheap way to do it is to refurbish old pieces like dressers, armoires, and even rolling carts to create additional storage. For even more personalization, incorporate architectural pieces from the salvage yard.

Photo Credit: Ghoofie Design

Buy Floor Models
Manufacturers such as General Electric, Frigidaire and Caple frequently have stock that’s been slightly damaged; in most cases, the “damage” is a slight scratch that you won’t even see once the appliance is in place. Buying from scratch-and-dent stores or getting a floor or demo model can give you the kitchen you want without breaking the bank.

Shop Smart
Other kitchen necessities can be bought on the cheap as well. Caple sinks, custom cabinets, granite countertops and flooring made of bamboo and other materials are all widely available from discounters both in-store and online. With all the options available, it can be hard to find the look you want at a cost you can afford–online comparison-shopping tools make the process much easier.

Do the Work Yourself
Some of you may be reluctant to get your hands dirty, but going the DIY route can help you get a designer-look kitchen without the designer price tag. Installing your own countertops and splashbacks will give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment (and a fatter wallet). Of course, your pricing will vary depending on the products you choose, but you’ll definitely save on labor.

Photo Credit: CabFabLab

Written by James Harper on behalf of the Kitchen Appliance Centre

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blues, brown, gray, home, interior, living room, neutrals, redesign, white

This is the second post for my Home Sweet Home series. If you haven’t checked out the last one, you can read it here. This time I will sharing our final design for the living room of our new home. I love how the space came out and am very excited to show it to you all. Transforming the room took a series of steps and even though it was hard work, it all paid off in the end.

Here is what the living room looked like before. It was dingy, musty and the beautiful characteristics were almost unseen.

The first step was to take the rugs up. Dan gets all the credit for this one. He took up all the rugs in the house by himself! Once they were up, the room was able to finally breathe.

The second step was the painting. The main issue we had was the walls. The previous owners liked to add layer upon layer which was a pattern we saw throughout the whole house. So, underneath the paint was wallpaper. Because of this, the walls were cracking and peeling. Since we didn’t have the funds to replace the walls, I used textured paint and went over the bad spots to make them even. It didn’t come out 100% but it certainly helped.

You can see the worst spot in the room to the right of Danny. What were these people thinking!

After the walls and moulding were painted, the room was starting to look like I had envisioned. I wanted a calm and peaceful space that was a combination of our favorite styles; industrial and country with vintage and crafty touches. First, we placed the furniture and hung up the curtains and blinds.

Then added all the details and brought it to life. Most of the items in the room we already had. We just bought new covers for the couches, a new coffee table, a small recycled jute rug and textured curtains which was a great buy. It’s cool how the stuff you may of had for years looks take on a new life in a new home.

We stuck with a cool palette of blues, grays and whites with a touch of brown here and there. All neutral colors that bring a soothing and airy feel to a space. This is my favorite color scheme of all. It makes the room feel fresh, clean and comfy. With the addition of all the plants, its a haven of the earth.

I must say the living room is my favorite space in the house because it is everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s a room where people can gather to hang out, Dan and I relax and introduces guests when they enter our home. It speaks of comfort and peace and has an inviting feel. We LOVE our new living room!

Redesign Tips for Every Room in Your Home

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Art & Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

decorating, furniture, home, interior design, redesign, space

Everyone wants a nice looking home, but not everyone has the money to do it. However, you can have a stylish home and not pay tons of money. Sometimes just changing up the scene is enough to update any room in your house. With a little work, creativity and guidance, you can have a fresh space in no time.

{Living room before the redesign}

The best and most affordable way to update a room is to figure out a new floor plan. You don’t want to know how many times I’ve done this. I might be a little crazy but seriously, by just moving furniture around, your space will feel new and exciting. Here are a few tips to guide you along the way:

Take photos of the room from every angle as well as measurements of the furniture.
Ask yourself what you want from the space. Do you need more room or want to have a more organized area? Figure out how you can benefit from the space.
Move all the smaller pieces of furniture out of the room as well as any artwork, lamps and other designer items.
{Optional} Draw a diagram of the room and tiny replicas of your furniture. Cut the drawings out and place them on the diagram in all different ways. Experiment and get creative.
Start to move the bigger pieces around and see what works best. This is why having measurements are helpful! Then slowly bring the smaller pieces in the space. If something doesn’t work, just move it somewhere else.
Don’t feel you have to keep everything in the room. Look around your home to see if you have something you can pull from another room. If it looks good, keep it. It’s decisions like these that will help the space feel like new.

I’m not going to lie, this takes some time. But if you’re determined and ready to focus, in a couple of hours you can sit back and enjoy your newly-redesigned space. I suggest you ask someone to help, especially if you have heavy furniture. Plus, it’s always nice to have other opinions.

After you’ve finished, add some finishing touches with new accessories. Find some cool items throughout your home or purchase some inexpensive ones. You don’t need to buy a whole bunch — pillows, curtains, artwork or a couple knick knacks will do the trick. Here is what I did for a past redesign in my old apartment.

Step One: I moved the pink chair to the other side of the room and created a quiet space for reading and resting.

Step Two: I moved the chair back to the other side but placed it on an angle.

Step Three: I moved the bookshelves to the opposite corner behind the smaller couch. This helps to make the transition from the living room to the dining room stylish.

Step Four: I moved the couches and table so they faced the corner of the room making it a little more interesting. This allowed much more space in the room giving it a more open feel.

Step Five: I placed the TV on another piece of furniture so I can have a new coffee table. Who needs to shop when you have all you need right here!

Step Five: I rearranged accessories and gave the room a new fresh feel. Olive seems to like it too!

Good luck and have fun. This is your chance to be a designer and really make it happen. When you’re done, invite some friends over so everyone can enjoy your genius!