How To Save Money By Painting and Decorating Your Living Room Yourself
Upgrade Your Home’s Look with New Colors and Coordinated Accessories
© 2011 by Magdalena Ehnes; all rights reserved; content may not be copied, rewritten, or republished without author’s written permission
The cheapest way to redecorate your living room is to by painting. Of course you can pay someone else to do the job — it’s likely to be done faster that way. But by doing it yourself you will save a lot of money.
Paint is relatively inexpensive — although it is worth pointing out that buying cheap paint is a false economy as it will need several coats and will therefore cost more money as you’ll need to buy more paint.
But still, painting is quicker and easier than wallpapering which needs to be stripped, often damaging the walls when it is pulled off, and then put up again.
Another benefit of painting the walls in your house of course is that if you decide to change the color, you can simply repaint. However, before you start you’ll need to ensure that the walls are in good condition.
If you have plaster walls, you will need to plaster the wall where there are holes or uneven places and this will definitely be expensive. If your walls are drywall you might need to skim with drywall compound or apply sheetrock patches.
Consider Where and What Colors Work in Your Room
You will not get the finish you want if there are any problems with the walls. Make sure you cover all your expensive dining room furniture and leather sofas before you start painting, so nothing gets stained.
If your walls are paint-ready however you can quickly change the feel and mood of your room. To bring it up to date, consider painting alternate walls in contrasting colors. Or choose one feature wall and paint this a different color to the others. Often you’ll paint this a darker color.
Try to choose the wall that your sofa sits up against, or if you have a fireplace, choose that wall. Avoid using window walls as a statement wall. Once you’ve finished painting it is easy and cheap to further extend your new color scheme into the design of the room.
Finally, Decorate with Coordinated Accessories
Pick out one of the colors you’ve used — the color of the statement wall if you’ve chosen to do this, and choose lamps, cushions, or picture frames in the same colors.
If you’re after something a bit bigger, there are plenty of accessories you can buy to introduce new colors into your living room design such as vases, flowers and picture frames. By adding accompanying wall art you can create a whole new modern and contemporary look; especially if you use large patterns or geometric prints or graphics.
About the author:
Magdalena Ehnes provides tips to consumers and homeowners about home improvement and interior design with sofas and dining room furniture.
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