Wanting to Redecorate Apartment

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keri6789

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Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great 4th of July!!

I’m wanting to redecorate my apartment. I’m not rich. In fact, I’m pretty poor. 😊 All my furniture was given to me. The only new thing is my coffee and end tables. My couches have covers on them and the pictures on the wall are some my friends Mom didn’t use anymore. I really want to update and make the stuff look more like a 23 year old young woman instead of Mom type stuff. I finally have a tiny tiny bit of extra money. I know paint can change the way a room looks. I read online that light creamy beige colors make a room look bigger and brighter…I’m a single girl with NO money so my apartment is about the size of a shoe box so I need all the help I can get to make it look bigger! 😃

Do you guys have any suggestions about how to redecorate to make it more me??

I think I really only want to do my living room right now. I have an apple kitchen that I love! Most of my apple stuff is garage sale finds too! I’m not embarrassed to use other people stuff they no longer want.

I can kinda sew too…so if you can think of anything I can make that would be good too. I’m a creative person so I like making things!

👍 Thanks for all your suggestions!!!
 
Make sure things are clean and not too cluttered. That always helps. 😉 Then if you can paint the walls, go ahead cause that sparkles things up. For the couches, maybe you can make or buy some simple cream covers and then make or buy lots of fun pillows to jazz things up. For stuff on the walls, I’d recommend prints and posters you like rather than mom-type artwork you don’t like.

When I was single with my own place I did a lot of thrift store finds also. Some things I still have! LOL I also went to places like Pier One (which used to be SUPER cheap) and got colorful accent pieces like the pillows. I used to walk past a flower-stall after work and get fresh flowers. Always a nice touch.
 
I redid my living room by painting 3 walls and the ceiling white with a faint pinkish tinge and the fourth wall dusky-rose, it’s really pretty. Got new slipcovers and a couple of lamps, and it’s lots better. Whatever colors you choose, keep them very light, to make it seem larger.
I like country style, but you should choose the style you prefer. Get some library books on decorating. You could make some curtains, make them longer than the windows to make the windows seem larger.
Have fun!
 
Sr_Sally said:
For the couches, maybe you can make or buy some simple cream covers…
Click to expand...
Maybe I should have added this…I have a black weenie dog. I would love cream covers but I would have black hair all over them!!
 
keri6789 said:
Maybe I should have added this…I have a black weenie dog. I would love cream covers but I would have black hair all over them!!
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Dog hair is the number 1 consideration in decor. Dontcha just LOVE black furniture?
 
1.For paint you can try finding something at a local Home Depot type store that someone else got on accident, or was slightly the wrong shade (I don’t remember what they’re called). You may find one you love, and it will be waaaaaay cheaper than the normal product.
  1. Check out websites like HGTV and www.behr.com (a paint company site). Behr lets you find a color and coordinate (so some cream colored walls with maybe a chocolate throw for your furniture). YOu can even try out the color scheme on a mock room. HGTV site has design tips and shows you can watch, or just information about “Designing on a Dime” and such.
  2. Check out places like Ross and Big Lot’s and the like, (sometimes even our Bed Bath and Beyond has things at incredible clearance). You can find some suprising things…🙂
  3. For a slipcover, get a flat sheet (again look at bargain stores and on clearance) and if you want, sew on some sashes or ribbons to make it fitted (again, look for things to copy, for example, at the HGTV site).
  4. Garage sale, garage sale, garage sale…But Don’t buy something unless you really like it and have a plan (that you will follow through very soon) to use it. Otherwise you just end up with clutter (I speak from experience ;)). Maybe plan designs out in your head first, then make a list, than over the summer, pick away at that list until you’ve found it all.
  5. Declutter or reorganize things you already have, repurpose them, paint them (more “oops” paint). If you have enough things, or can combine some things with a friend, have a garage sale and purge! This will not only open up your space, but will give you a little extra dough to use on your revamp project.
  6. Are you artistic or do you know a friend who is? Have them paint (or you can paint) some artwork, find a frame at a garage sale or repurpose some of the old ones you have. Some magazines have gorgeous pictures … I also used to print out pictures online (like of JPII and mother Teresa)(usually Black&White), print them out. You can burn the edges just slightly and mount them on black paper…I really liked the look.
  7. You can always go to furniture stores (who usually have displays all set up) to resemble rooms to get ideas. Then you can find those things at Garage Sales, or make them.
Hope this helps!
 
keri6789 said:
Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great 4th of July!!

I’m wanting to redecorate my apartment. I’m not rich. In fact, I’m pretty poor. 😊 All my furniture was given to me. The only new thing is my coffee and end tables. My couches have covers on them and the pictures on the wall are some my friends Mom didn’t use anymore. I really want to update and make the stuff look more like a 23 year old young woman instead of Mom type stuff. I finally have a tiny tiny bit of extra money. I know paint can change the way a room looks. I read online that light creamy beige colors make a room look bigger and brighter…I’m a single girl with NO money so my apartment is about the size of a shoe box so I need all the help I can get to make it look bigger! 😃

Do you guys have any suggestions about how to redecorate to make it more me??

I think I really only want to do my living room right now. I have an apple kitchen that I love! Most of my apple stuff is garage sale finds too! I’m not embarrassed to use other people stuff they no longer want.

I can kinda sew too…so if you can think of anything I can make that would be good too. I’m a creative person so I like making things!

👍 Thanks for all your suggestions!!!
Click to expand...
Light paint does make a room look larger. Mirrors strategically hung can help as well. Best thing I can think of is to keep furniture and clutter to an absolute minimum. Stack various size baskets (with lids) with things stored inside–to get stuff off the floors. The less you have furniture size the larger the room will look.
 
Get a wall bracket and hang a plant from it, or you could also hang a pretty windchime. I have both in my living room 🙂

Mirrors also make the place look bigger. I have one that looks like a window (a mirror behind a window-style frame).

You could find some colorful plates and hang them on the wall. When we first got married we went to get wall-hanging plates and the hangers from the dollar store. Now we have more decorations and don’t need those colorful plates in the living/dining room anymore, so we use them as the backsplash of our kitchen sink. I know you said you’re happy with the kitchen, but here’s a picture to maybe help give you ideas 🙂
 
Check out Decorating Apartments on the Better Homes and Gardens website. I have a subscription to the magazine and they always have wonderful ideas for small spaces.

Pillows, slipcovers, rugs - make all the difference in the world! And I saw a very cool thing in one of the mags recently where they took a gorgeous fabric shower curtain, made a simple wood frame out of pieces of 2x2 wood, covered the frame with batting (cheap at the fabric store), then covered with the shower curtain, stapling around the back to make it look like it’s stretched art canvas. Then hung it over the back of the sofa - it was a fantastic look!

Have fun!! I love decorating on a budget - it forces you to be creative, which always lends so much more personal flair to a room than just going out and buying stuff.

Also - display the things you LOVE! If you have a collection of things, no matter how silly or cute, display them in a way that is meaningful to you, and every time you see it, it will make you smile. What more can you ask from the place you call home!

~Liza
 
Painting is cheapest and easiest. Focus on the rooms that others see. So, if you have a one bedroom, do up the living area and bathroom first. If you can’t afford a paint job, there’s plenty of other ways to spruce things up.

Also, I don’t know if you are a big brand name person, but if you don’t care I have a few ideas.

Target has some great things for home at a pretty decent price. Dollar stores are great for accesories! Here’s a few ideas:
  1. A fresh coat of paint. Light colors make the room bigger, dark make it more cozy and intimate.
Kind of pick and choose what you can afford here:
  1. A new couch cover.
  2. A new bedspread.
  3. New hand towels and or a shower curtain for the bathroom.
  4. New picture frames for the pictures.
  5. New throw pillows and throw rugs.
  6. Shelves/drawers to help organize and reduce clutter.
  7. New lampshades
  8. A new tablecloth (tablecloths also double as old furniture covers!)
All this can add color, even if you can’t paint. I would love to be in your shoes right now. Have fun! 👍
 
Just thought of another idea -

Take the art work you have that is hand-me-down stuff. Pull the frames off and paint them a cute color to match whatever theme you decide to go with (buy the tiny bottles of craft paint at the craft store, then you don’t have tons left over). Go to the fabric store and find some great remnants of fabric that coordinate. Cover the artwork itself with the fabric (use heavy tape on the back if you are worried about damage, then pop it back into the frame, and hang it up.

New art for the walls in probably under $10. 😃

~Liza
 
If you’re looking for inexpensive pictures for the wall, try enlarging pictures you’ve taken of beaches, landscapes, sunsets…this has worked for me. You can find cheap frames at garage sales or discounts stores.
Also, if you want new lamps try painting the old ones to match the colors of your room. If you use a stiff brush you can paint gold flecks over the solid colors and it can really add to a room.
Have fun redecorating!😃
 
Another idea for artwork…buy a calendar and frame the pictures you like. I did that with a calendar of old black and white photos of Paris and plain black frames from Hobby Lobby…made my laundry room look much more simple yet classy.👍
 
kquinn said:
1.For paint you can try finding something at a local Home Depot type store that someone else got on accident, or was slightly the wrong shade (I don’t remember what they’re called). You may find one you love, and it will be waaaaaay cheaper than the normal product.
Click to expand...
It’s called “Ooops”. It’s anywhere from $2 to $5 a can. Normally, paint costs $26 a can, and that’s for Behr (Behr is excellent paint sold by Home Depot). I am doing my house right now in Ooops paint. Now, some of the colors on the Ooops rack are just downright ugly! You have never seen such a ghastly array of reds, purples, blues and greens! You’ll have to go through the racks to see what they have, but if you do it once a week for about a month, there will be somebody who got the wrong neutral. It will then be your neutral color, for about $5.
 
I don’t know if they have this where you are, but where I live, there’s an online group called “Freecycle”. You post stuff you don’t want anymore, and others in your group can get them from you, and vice versa. I’ve gotten tennis rackets, and given away lots of clothes, toys, books, appliances, etc., that are just fine but I don’t need/want anymore. Check to see if they have it in your area. 👍
 
That freecycle site is neat. I didn’t find anything but I’m going to start checking it all the time! I’m going to get up tomorrow morning and try to go to some garage sales. Don’t know if there will be any since it rained like crazy yesterday and there is a chance for the next few days.

I would love to to a checkered wall!! I saw some pictures of one and I really liked it. That would be so cool to have…The only problem I see with that is I can’t draw straight lines even with a ruler!! lol!! Any suggestions about how I might be able to do that?

I’m going to go to the fabric store and look at the scrap table. I’m going to try to make some pillows…This question are for you guys that sew alot…What do I use for stuffing??

I really want to make alot of stuff too. Its so much cheaper than buying and I could add those personal touches that you can’t really do with store bought stuff.
 
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