So I go to friends homes and are amazed at how beautiful and simple they have things decorated. I have tried to work on mine but even when my living and dining room are clean the room still seams cluttered and dirty. It is hard because I don't have the funds to do much about it. We are on a tight budget and have no extra money for home decore. So the furniture doesn't match each other, I don't have really good spaces to properly display my collectables (just a couple of shelves in lue of a china cabinet) the wall art need to be hung in better locations and where to you hide all my scrapbooking supplies, DDs toys and my knitting supplies in a small home.
Its the house its self that has issues there are quirky features to it. If I had the funds I would replace the windows with ones that opened for better air flow, I would wand to add crown molding and beadboard panels under chair rail molding to give the room some fomality, I would like to do something with a fireplace that is in a corner and currently hidden. The issue with my fireplace is that its a wall fireplace that is simply located in the corner. So I am not sure how to make myself happier with my living space.
How did you start? Any tips?

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

Wish I could help you, but I am a decorating disaster! We also have a house with some quirky features, like a 2 story living room with 16 ft vaulted ceiling. Have you ever thought of painting something like that and would you be able to live with that much color in one room? So, we have white walls. We have garage sale and hand me down furniture finds in the living room and dining rooms. We broke down and finally (after 14 years of marriage) bought new bedroom furniture, because 3 kids crawling in bed with us in a double bed just wasn't working...so we got a king. Yea!! And we bought a bunk bed set for the kids room. My figuring is that after the youngest gets past kindergarten, maybe we will decide to get new furniture in the LR, but I don't want it ruined, so not now.

I know what you mean about going to friends houses and they all seem to be able to decorate so nicely. I have a friend whose house should be in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, seriously! She has a 4 bedroom house, but it's only her and her DH. They have no kids, only dogs. She keeps the extra bedrooms decorated so beautifully, just in case she has company stay the night. Her garden is absolutely gorgeous, raised beds, beautiful flowers, perfectly trimmed trees...I hate her. Just kidding.

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Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

For me its like I have rooms that don't mesh. 2 years ago we gutted our kitchen, Thus we have a kitchen that is something you would see in designer room, we also remodeled our electrical and there are new fixtures in the whole house. Our nursery is another room I am happy with the addition of chair rail and the paint with the faux clouds really makes the room just click. It is more of the contrast between nice room to the pink texture wall paper in the bath. It is hard to have a contrast between traditional modern and 1955 track home. Even the windows in my house don't match as most of them have been replaced here and there.

I so want to strive toward the Better homes and gardens home. I don't think it will happen but I can dream.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

Apparently you have the know-how because you've done it in a couple of rooms already.

My suggestion is to invite one or two of your 'flow' friends over to give you ideas. You might even suggest that you and the friend(s) play designer on your living room and dining room. You might borrow some pieces from other rooms to do this. It could make for a fun afternoon. Even if you don't like it, it will give you some ideas.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

You should send pictures and then it would be fun to think of ideas for you! I am no decorating genius, but I am good at designing the spaces we live in. Dh does most of the color-coordination and accessory selection in our house, but I have designed every square inch of space that we use. We completely gutted and remodeled a 1928 home, and I literally designed everything, including the walls, the windows, how rooms flow, transition points, etc. I LOVE doing it and it turned out as the perfect space for our family. As a result, I feel more at home here than I have anywhere else in my life! It's great. And we have a definitely small home (currently about 1000 sq.ft.)

So... as for your house, I think Cookie2 is right and it sounds like you already have a knack for this stuff - it's just that you haven't made it all through the house yet! I might start with some simple things that we have planned too (but also haven't yet accomplished... one thing at a time!)

1) Get slipcovers for the furniture so they match. They don't all have to be the same design, but maybe a striped one for the couch and matching solids for chairs or whatever. Target has low prices, and I just got some I like on sale at Pottery Barn online.

2) White ties things together really well. Go with white curtains or paint old wooden furniture white and this will bring light in the house and tie different rooms together. (but then you would want color on the walls)

3) If you can see from one room to another (i.e. LR to kitchen, etc.), give yourself a view to look at. From our armchair in the LR we can see into the kitchen (pretty cabinets) and into the hallway and toward the stairs. We put a nice wall lamp in the hallway to make the view toward the stairs prettier.

4) Find a paint color you like and use it everywhere. I plan on making the LR, DR, hallway and stairwell all the same color. This will create uniformity and make the spaces flow together better.

5) Hang wall art centered at eye level. Many people hang pictures too high, and it doesn't balance the space well. Also, make sure the wall art is balanced with the room. If you have a tall wardrobe on one side of the room, the other side will need something on the wall to balance the space. Rearranging furniture will often redefine balance, so if you have the space to rearrange, give it a try.

6) I see you are in Tacoma - which means you are near an Ikea. Go get a few pretty cardboard storage boxes that you can store your hobby stuff and dd's toys in. If all else fails, stick with plain white and put them on some shelves. Ikea also has cheap and simple white Roman blinds. They have a simple clean line and might be a nice solution for all the mismatched windows around the house. Putting the same window treatment everywhere will make them more uniform.

Well I don't even know if any of these ideas are meaningful to your house or whether they interest you at all, but I LOVE thinking about this kind of thing and making space work and feel good!!! So attach some pics and let's get more specific!! I think for less than $100 (maybe less than $50?) each month you can start doing one step a month toward more enjoyable space in your home! (or in whatever time chunks it takes you to save up for the next project)

How did I start... I bought a few books and poured over them for hours looking for things that I liked, reading about how to design space for living, and keep going back and re-reading everything. I hope that I'm getting another one I picked out for mother's day... let's hope dh got the hint!! I'm a big fan of Sarah Susanka and the "Not So Big House" (Not So Big) and I love her ideas.

was that too long?!

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I am OBSESSED with her!! I have her whole series. Mama-abroad, I really wish we could get together and play! It sounds like we have very similar interests! You gave some great ideas!!

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Mommy to Bryce 2/20/2005 and Skye 3/4/2008

I TOTALLY agree with you Shannon/Bryce, and MammaAbroad!!!
I would have posted the same tips! I also love the theory behind the "Not so Big House" books...Though, I have only looked at Sarah Susanka's website. Question: Which book did you feel was the most inspiring for designing your own home????

I have read a lot of articles about how smaller spaces are going to be the next big thing. Already, in cities I see friends and family members moving into small loft condos with VERY limited space. I am always amazed at how well these people manage to decorate and create storage space at the same time. It is VERY inspiring. I have found that some of these smaller spaces are even more cozy than other friends HUGE homes. Mostly because, those with the HUGE homes have a hard time deciding how to decorate large and or do not have the budget left to do so.

Here are my tips, some might be the same kind of.

1. Paint: I agree that you should find a color you love and carry it through out.
Or, what I am planing to do with my next home (we close on it at the end of the month) is, I want to paint a very neutral color in our continuous livingroom/dining room and hallway....then, since I can see the kitchen entrance from these rooms, I want to use another paint color that is complimenting to the one I choose for the rest of the house. I LOVE Blue, so I am going to use some nice sky blue color in my kitchen and a kahki or light grey-ish green in the rest of the house. I want it all to be very soothing.

You can check out websites for paint online and most of the major brands have programs you can down load to play with paint colors in virtual rooms. It's kind of fun and gives you an idea of what will look good.

2. Reduce the Knick-knacks! Only leave out the ones that really add to the space and compliment.

3. Buy a binder and save pictures from Magazines in it of spaces you think look great! While you are trying to save a little money for this-n-that, you can spend time day dreaming about your ideal space. I do this EVERY DAY! LOL

4. Watch HGTV.....great tips on these shows!

5. I agree with the slip covers. It seems that a lot of couches you can buy in the stores even sell brand new sofas with covers as their "look".

6. Search Garage sales!!! I just found some REALLY cute airplane fabric at a garage sale that I am going to use for my son's new big-boy room. It has become my inspiration for the room.

7. Art work......it's expensive for the big fancy stuff. So, what we have done at our house is we take good pictures of our son and blew them up along with our wedding pictures from Vegas. Then, buy a series of black frames and have your prints done in black and white. Make sure the frames come with mat's it gives the frame and picture a more custom look! Group these in the room and walla!...art work!

If you need a large piece of art......then go to T.J. Max stores and or Good will and Garage sales!!! Cost-Plus sometimes run sales on their prints too.

8. Learn to sew.........nothing fancy. You can take a class at the local fabric store to learn the basics. Then buy a sewing machine for less than a hundred bucks. Then, you can get creative with curtains and pillows. You only need to sew a straight line to make these!

9. Clearance aisles at Walmart, Target, and Kmart. Search these often. Sometimes you'll find a treasure that will go well in your home! Don't be tempted to buy something "just because it is cheap". Be sure that it is going to work well in your house.

10. Wood........unless it is done well and done right don't mix wood colors in one room.
Try to keep your tables all close to the same wood color. This will keep things more uniform! If you have a nice table that is not a color you like...you can always sand it down and stain or paint it!

That'll be my top ten.

Ditto. I have mismatched furniture and not a lot of space, but very little "stuff" around, so it looks more clean and open.

I have gotten great ideas from Roger Hazard on Sell This House (A&E). He does amazing things with $300-400! If you don't get A&E look up the show's website. They show room before and afters.

Paint has been mentioned...I think someone suggested painting furniture white. That's a great idea because your pieces don't have to match at all. I myself have chosen to paint alot of our furniture black (endtables, bookcase, chair) We have a little bit muddier looking colors in our home so the black actually goes really nicely. Same idea as painting everything white.

Can you post a few pictures? Maybe we can brainstorm with you.