• Remnant slab granite for a table top with sale bar stools for legs or on top of an old beat up table or an inexpensive table
• Buy inexpensive glass table tops (AFW, Glass and Mirror Craft); place on top of any creative bases you can come up with (decorative pillars, 2 small side tables, bar stools, benches)
• Buy precut wood "rounds" at hardware store, throw on top of any base (even a folding card table), cover w/a pretty tablecloth, and you have an instant breakfast table, bedside table, foyer table, etc

Bookcases

• Alternative to expensive built-ins, buy inexpensive bookcases from the unpainted furniture store to fill the space, then tie together with paint-grade base & crown moldings. Paint (w/a sprayer) the whole thing one color and get an expensive custom look
• Paint the backs of your bookcases or cabinets an accent color, wallpaper remnants, or craft paper for a quick & easy custom look

Art

• Blank stretched canvas can be stretched with fabric and changed out, fabric circles traced from bowls can be glued on and sealed with Modge Podge - decoupage.
• Fabric abstracts with fabric scraps - framed
• Vintage wine labels, ticket stubs, foreign money put into a frame at angles, overlapping as a collage
• Collection of letters in different sizes and finishes to hang on the wall in a grouping
• Frame wall paper, wrapping paper and fabric samples
• Frame calendar pages or old coffee table books that you can tear pages from (e.g., a series of botanicals).

Accessories:

• Area Rugs: Carpet remnants & bind edge for an inexpensive alternative to area rug or wall-to-wall carpeting. Inexpensive sisal rug & paint a border stripe in your wall color to customize for your room

General:

• Add paint grade wood (e.g., when adding moldings) less expensive than staining higher grade wood for crown & chair rail moldings; molding kits that come with pre-made corner pieces so you don’t need to hire carpenter to match corner cuts
• Spray paint is your friend.
• Stove paint can cover dated brass on fireplace inserts and shower surrounds.
• White or black spray paint to transform inexpensive picture frames and decorative items at flea markets, garage sales, etc. for a unified, clean, contemporary look when displayed together.
• Spray paint an antique (or just old & ugly!) chandelier or light fixture white, black, or even a fun, dramatic color & add small shades, for a cool "custom" fixture.

Labels: Interior Design

posted by Team Design Matters