Got a drab home in dire need of style but lack one vital key to fixing your problem; namely, money?
Never fear! With an eye to nontraditional sources for decorations and with even the slightest creative knack, even the most cash-strapped home dweller can feather their nest.
Below are three ways to harness your inner Martha Stewart without breaking the bank.
Take a road tripl!
Maybe you've got a hankering for some old style wood with which to make a cool entryway bench, but don't have a fortune to spend on traditional lumber sources? Look no further than your local farmer. Even if you're not fortunate enough to live right next door to Rural America, a nice country drive and a willingness to visit with the owner of a farm complete with dilapidated barn may yield a surprise or two. More often than not, these intrepid folks are more than willing to part with wood they'd otherwise have to pay to remove or burn usually for pennies on the dollar. Be adventuresome and don't be afraid to ask...think like those guys on that TV show about "picking" cool stuff from the hinterlands of America. If you don't know where to go, a great resource is the Old Barn Wood Site. There, you can locate places where they claim, "an estimated 3 trillion board feet of lumber" which has "been produced in the US since 1900 and much of this wood still resides in buildings!" So many farmers just want to be rid of this wood and even if you don't have much in the way of carpentry skills, the quality of this (some century-old) wood far surpasses the veneer sheets that pass for hardwood in the modern big box home improvement stores. There are many treasures literally by the side of a country road just waiting to find themselves into your home.
Get back to nature!
Sometimes the simplest touches can breathe life into a tired home. Bring in some cool driftwood from a trip to the lake and arrange it on a shelf for some natural inspiration. An arrangement of seashells from a recent beach vacation, perhaps in a large brandy snifter or on a pretty porcelain plate, can bring back pleasant memories of seaside adventures. Or you can, like mentioned on the Thrifty Decor Chick site, get a nice simple arrangement of flowers set in an uncomplicated vessel to add color to an otherwise dreary late-winter day.
InHabit your Home!
Have you ventured into a Habitat for Humanity ReStore shop lately? If not, you're missing out! A recent visitor to the Aurora, Illinois shop found a gorgeous, delicately painted Scandanavian-style dining room chandelier, for a whopping $20.00! According to the site, the goal of the ReStore resale outlets is to "provide an environmentally and socially responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of the waste stream while providing funding for Habitat’s community improvement work." And before you worry about buying something that doesn't work, rest easy. All electrical fixtures are tested thoroughly before they are even put out on the sales floor. And no, you don't have to buy a used toilet! Many stores simply have overstocked sinks, countertops, and toilets from local vendors or construction sites. If you don't mind a slightly dinged (usually on the back) dishwasher, for example, you can potentially walk away with a thousand-dollar model for just over a hundred bucks!
See, in today's tough economy you don't necessarily need to sacrifice style when you redecorate. With an eye to outside-the-norm venues and the willingness to use your imagination and perhaps take a road trip, you too can refresh your nest on the cheap!
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