Hi all, I just moved into my new place and I need some help with decorating. I can't paint the walls, which is fine with me because I don't really want to paint them anyway. I do however need to add some color. I'm dying from all of this whiteness! I don't know what to do that would be fairly inexpensive, (I'm poor now that I've moved). I've been hitting the thrift shops and good wills, but I haven't found much that has peaked my interest as of yet. Does anyone have any ideas? I can't really sew, but my boyfriend's mother can, so I could ask her to help. I was actually going to ask her to make us some slip covers for our loveseat and chair, but I have no idea what else to do for the living room. For the living room I like pink, orange and red (yes together). I dunno, anything but purple or blue, I'm not in the mood for those colors. I don't know how to incorporate the colors. I guess throw pillows, any other ideas? I love to make stuff even though I suck out it and it comes out looking silly. It is still mine! I also need help with my bedroom. I was thinking of doing a grass green color simply because I think that is such a beautiful spring time happy color. I can't afford sheets or a new bedspread or anything, I was thinking of what I could do with the walls. I have this huge mostly empty room. I'm not sure. Any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks bunches!
Howdy. Unfortunately, I don't have much of an answer for you; let's hope other people post. I've got a similar problem on my hands with moving into a college dorm with my friend. We have decided that we want to put many different kinds of plants and foliage around the room (grow some salvia divinorum and various other plants, like morning glories). This would likely add a nice touch to your rooms. Unfortunately, I don't have any good suggestions for nice plants to grow. =P If anyone does, let me/us know!
Yikes! Dorm rooms are really hard to decorate because they are so small, at least the ones at UD were small. Then you have the whole roommate situation to deal with, hopefully you will agree on decorations with your roommate. Plants are a good idea, I was going to do some plants around out on the patio and the front porch, but I don't really want to spend a lot of money and all of the plants I have seen are expensive. I love plants, they make everything feel so full of life. Maybe I could get some real ones and some fake ones so I don't spend as much. Just have to remember not to water the fake ones ! heheeh. One good thing is I do have a lot of holiday decorations, for harvest time, halloween and Christmas because I got them free from my work. I also love candles and making them so I have tons of candles around. Still seems kind of bare and boring though. I need something for the walls.
You can make it ultra-modern and have te walls all white , then get really bright colored slipcovers for your furniture (lime, lemon, fushia, turquoise), and have lava lamps and such, I always thought that was a totally kickass way to decorate. Or just get lots of posters and tapestries...If you paint, you can make a few paintings (really colorful) and hang them up...Sorry, that's all I got
That is a good idea sunburst, thanks! I thought of painting some things then hanging them, but maybe I will get someone else to do it, because I'm lucky if I can draw a stick figure. I'm quite terrible at things like that. Unless I did some abstract art. I just don't have any supplies. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg there. I'm going to a couple of other thrift stores this weekend so hopefully I'll find something there. Thanks again.
~*whew ~ i'd come on o'er there and help if i could ~ i just *LOVE* decorating.. moving furniture... YAY! i had a small lil apartment with white walls a few years ago ~ got me some huge wall hangings (funky blankets will do) to help soundproof as well! i did the whole poster til you drop thing on every leftover square inch of the place... some beaded curtain there... some throws on the futon here... big pillows, rugs, anything like that i could find at any thirift store for super little moola. i as well had a ton of plants that really filled in the space and made the whole tapestry feel of the apartment really nice and cozy. the minimalist thing is a great idea too ~ just pick a few choice things you love (books, plants, musical instruments) and do it up all monochromatic. oh what fun! good luck and the best of wishes & dreams!*~
Oh gosh, how I envy you! You can do anything you want. I have too much heirloom like stuff to change my decorating style much and after watching all those design shows on TLC and HGTV, I would love to have a blank canvas (or walls in your case) to start on. I like the post above - bead curtains, tapestries, lava lamps, pillows, rugs. Go have fun!!!!
Yeah, I think abstract art is my favorite type of paintingThat would look beautiful, it adds instant inspiration and creativity
when i was living in my parents attic, i couldn't paint the walls either, but i kept finding new ways to make it my own space. discount and remnents are an awsome place to shop (plus keep your eyes open at garage sales and stuff, you never know what you'll find). i got a ball of hemp twine and used cheap wooden beads and natural things (like the huge box of sea shells a friend gave me) to make natural looking beaded curtains. their are all sorts of thigns one can used (and i have used over the years) for beaded... beer caps, beads, homemade beads (magazine, clay, etc), and so on. when a friend was moving away for college we tye dyed her sheets and pillow cases. that way its colorful and cool looking, but you get to choose the colors. i've dyed all sorts of things like that, in multiple different ways and patterns. i've used plain material, dyed it, then made it inot whatever i wanted it to be. you can also take inexpensive (already have, garage sales, clearance, reduced, close out stores, family no longer want, etc) pots, jars, vases, wooden boxes and whatever else and paint them. you can just paint them colors or paint stuff on them. you don't have to be an artist to make them look cool. if you want something more specific on them use a stencil or find a talented friend to help. i'm currently working on a few collages, so it proves that you don't have to be able to draw or paint like an art major. sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. i am a lover of garage sales, because you can often find some of the coolest things that seem just off of the beaten path. other ideas (hoping to be helpful): redecorate lampshades, hang something from the ceiling (mobiles, homemade or otherwise, b/c you are never too young), inexpensive throw pillows (clearance/remnet racks even if you have someone who can sew), you're own art work (everyone should have a right to creatively express you and what they are), rugs, found artwork, making your own or decorating old picture frames (for more color and personalization), and so on. let me know how it goes.
i used to live in an apt with a very strict no paint policy too. so what i did was buy a lot of silky/see through fabric, anything that hung nicely/rippled, and tacked/nailed it too the wall along the ceiling. i had red curtains at the head of my bed for a while which really added a nice big area of color to the room. that's what i'm planning on for my dorm too. that and painting some pictures before i go. hope that helped?
If you are in to hanging art on the walls old calanders are a good way to get free art. Or if you want some origional art splatter painting is fun and comes out looking cool even if you are not an artist. You could get some really big paper and do a big splatter painting in red pink and orange. Throw pillows are a great way to add color and if you want to get them for free use old t-shirts or sweaters, or get some from goodwill in colors you like for cheap.
Thanks all for helping me. I think I have an idea of what I'm going to do, I might post it at some point when I hook up my scanner. You all rock! I have one quick question though, does anyone know if there is any such thing as like fancy nails? I have seen this picture in a magazine of this material that seems to be hung with nails, you can tell that they are nails, but I didn't want to just nail up some fabric, that might looks sort of chinzy. I was thinking if there was some way to dress up the nails. I found some great fabric at the devil store (Walmart), I might break down and buy it, just because it is so damn cheap. I'm doing a green/yellow/blue lily pond frog theme, because I collect frogs and fairy things. Green will be the main color, then I just want to make 2 yellow and 2 blue throw pillows out of faux fur, I have the directions for that. Still looking for pictures for the walls. Thanks again everyone you are all wonderful!
Hm, I'm not sure really what to suggest... I know that IKEA is such a great place for ideas and fun things to decorate any room with... sometimes just 1 or 2 items make the room... and TONS of plants! They'd go great with your green walls...
hey there you should check out www.Freecycle.org you can get so much free stuff. Possibly material or curtains or artwork! Definitely check it out basically it's a site where people post items they would normally throw out or donate to salvation army. Just things they don't need, and you can go pick it up It's a great way to re-use things that would otherwise be headed to a landfill ~peace & blessings
