Home Makeover Ideas Under $100
There’s a plethora of home improvement shows on any tube 24 hours a day. From shows that discuss top of the line products and applications to those turning cast offs into cash, it’s not only good sense but a way to put your personal stamp on your home whether you rent or own.
First, you need a plan of action. If you want to try the completely free route, I’d say make an outline of all those that you think would be willing to donate or who have access to resources that might donate. I don’t advocate stealing, but begging and borrowing can work in your favor. Spread the word amongst your friends and their friends that you are looking for donations of anything from wood and paint to fabric and buttons. Second, get a theme together and hit the library and design shops. Design shops can give you a wealth of ideas and then you can research online or at the library methods to reproduce the look on the cheap. Third, decide on a few key pieces that are worth blowing the budget and stick with them. If you decide to use a paint treatment rather than real bamboo paper for your walls, get good looking accessories or bedding to dress up a spare bedroom or deck out the guest bathroom.
Fourth, keep your receipts when you make a purchase. You might end up finding the item marked down if it needs to be returned or find you need to make an exchange. Fifth, go back to the first step and find out if the resources you have are handy, can loan tools, or know someone that might help out. If you are enlisting the aid of someone, even creative types don’t want to sit around and wait for your vision. Have small projects in mind that you absolutely need someone’s expertise to complete, don’t waste their time, and make sure they have everything they need to get the job done. Sixth, don’t be afraid to barter. Maybe you have a talent or found object that someone else wouldn’t mind using, go for it. And the final step, don’t be afraid to reciprocate, for free if someone else asks or even if they don’t. Holding a free room makeover party for a friend might be just the surprise they need.
Paint – Free or up to $100 a gallon. Go to home buider sites, go through odd lots at places that sell paints, or ask friends for left overs and odd lots. It can easily change the entire look of a tired or stale room with the right color. If you can score primer, you are even more golden. Can’t get enough paint for a whole room…get enough for one feature wall in each room you want to change.
Accessories, Accessories, Accessories – Free to $100. Hold a friendly “House Swap” party that follows the same lines of group clothing swaps. You’d be surprised how the old adage of one person’s trash being another’s treasure can work to your benefit. Some people change their rooms with the season or with a whim. Get large boxes and seperate cast offs into fragile, fabric, and other piles. Pillows, fabric, or even art can get repurposed as stuffing, pillow cases, or the backdrop for a dramatic wall hanging.
Sheets and more Sheets – You don’t have to be country clever to cut up a 1200 thread count slice of heavan but sheets can be turned into pillow cases or shams, wall hangings, or pressed into frames with cork board for a message board with a classy look. Adding ribbon, buttons, graphics, or dying to create something completely new. Sateen finished bedding can cost anywhere from $5 for cases to $60 for a queen sized set netting plenty of fabric to turn into something new.
Chairs, Sofa, and Ottomans…Oh My – Check out furniture that folks are giving away. Free, cost to move, or nearly free. You can have it cleaned, get a slip cover, pay to replace the foam in the cushions or dumpster dive to get better foam from one chair to go in another. Chair pads are easy to unbolt, stapling napkins or upholstery odd lot fabric to an existing cover, carefully trimming the ends, and replacing can create a whole new dining set. Don’t forget to add a vase and fresh picked flowers.
Last Call – Check out stores with bruised and reduced items. This can be absolutely free to a few dollars. Ask the managers what happens to the items that come in or are part of the damanges. Lots of places just toss them out and here’s where a keen eye and sense of style come in handy. Shades from broken candle lamps can become shades for a chandalier, bent stencils can be unwrinkled with a warm iron on the lowest setting, and mark downs can become your best friend when coordinated with other like items. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the age old art of dumpster diving. If it’s at the curb or in the huge dumpster outside a work site, it’s normally open season. Just be sure to check that the dumpster items are free for the taking!
Lights, Camera, Action – Check out the obscure to get a one of a kind item. Magic shops, hobby haunts, theater companies, model homes, funeral parlors, churches, synagogues, home demolitions, and store displays can make reproductions or least season items come alive in your own design. You might even find one or two of these professionals ready to give some free decorating or deconstruction advice.
To wrap up, you can do a room under $100 and create a place that captures real flair and has your own personal stamp.
