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Autumn is a great time to go through your home and give it new life for the coming colder weather.
The fall colors are so inspiring for making a change to your surroundings. Out with the old and make what’s left look new. And Instead of buying new things to decorate your home why not take a look at what you have lying around and see if it can’t be repurposed into something new.
Years ago a friend clued me in to the book Use What You Have Decorating. In this book decorator Lauri Ward showcases homes where she has borrowed pieces from one room to update another. She points out ways to make your rooms pop and to transform your space with what you have on hand.
Using this book I learned a bunch of ideas for borrowing from one room to spiffy up another and ideas for moving furniture around to open up a room or make it more cosy. I like a new look as much as the next person but I have neither the money nor the desire to make a hefty purchase every time I feel ready to make a change.
Here are some no cost changes I like to make in my home as the season changes.
1. I like to start at the front door. After giving it a good cleaning up I organize and tidy things to make the space more efficient. To store hats, scarves and gloves I use a big basket I had left over from my wedding (15 years ago) and store them next to a chair by the door. In the summer I use an extra fabric bin to hold summer hats. If you don’t have any spare baskets on hand you can always cover a copy paper or similar sized box with fabric and use that to store your outdoor essentials.
2. In the living room I like to space the furniture further apart in the summer giving it an airier look and closer together in warm cozy conversation areas in the winter. I add a throw or afghan to the back of the couch in the winter for snuggling up on cold winter nights. And I also move the lamps closer next to chairs and couches for ample light while reading. Another thing you can do is angle furniture for a new look. Instead of backed against flat against a wall try putting couches, and even bookshelves at angle. You can always move it back if the look doesn’t suit you.
3. I keep a lot of plants in my home. They’re in various rooms where there is enough light. For a new look I swap plants to different rooms making sure they still get enough light. Plants can also get really dusty so a quick way to remove the dust is to place plants in your tub and give them a light shower. Let them drain a bit and you’ll have a good as new plant to decorate your home. I put plants on the mantle, by the front door, in our bedroom, in our homeschool space, and even in the kitchen. They give a fresh look to any home. And many of my plants are from slips from friends and family. The little pieces they’ve given me have grown into full sized plants.
4. I like to move furniture around in the bedrooms more than any other room in our home. Sometimes I put the bed at an angle with the headboard in a corner of the room. Like I said this can give your rooms a whole new look and open up the space. It doesn’t work for every room but my mother found the look so inviting she did the same in her bedroom. To open up the space in our bedroom I moved a smaller dresser into the closet. In larger master bedroom closets you sometimes have enough room for this.
When you don’t have money for new but you would like a new look a few well placed changes can make it seem as if you had a professional decorator in your home. And to keep things really frugal check out Use What You Have Decorating from the Library.
Kemi Quinn is a wife, mother, church musician, and amateur cook. She loves to read about how women kept home in time’s past (aka Vintage Homemaking). She blogs over at Homemaking Organized
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