Budget Decorating Your New Home

This feels good, right? You’re in your new home, the dust has settled. Now comes the fun part – decorating. But between the home purchase, packing supplies, moving vans and all of the other costly odds and ends that come along with moving, let’s face it, you’re broke. Don’t fret. With these tips you can still get your new home dressed just the way you like it.

1.) Break Out the Sewing Machine

Create fashionable and affordable décor in the comfort of your new home with a few basic sewing items. Rather than shelling out top dollar for throw pillows, bedding and window treatments, consider making them yourself. And, no, you don’t need to be a Martha Stewart type in order to accomplish this. It only sounds like a daunting task.

2.) Put on a Comfy Pair of Shoes, You’re Going Thrifting.

Start thinking of ‘thrifting’ as a verb rather than a place. More than likely, the first thrift shop you hit won’t produce wonders, so you’ll need to carry on to a few more to find what you’re looking for. With a little patience, thrift shops are a gold mine for budget decorating. All it takes is a few bucks, a lot of imagination, and some crafting supplies to transform just about anything
shabby into something fabulous.

3.) Art Can Be Virtually Free

Art doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag to be beautiful. There’s so much you can do with what you already have.

– Pick up a few frames (they don’t have to be new), hang them on walls and place simple things like dried flowers, feathers, and leaves inside of them. It’s a great way to bring the outdoors in.

– Create colorful pops with fabric scraps or spare molding. Fasten the fabric around shallow boxes or stretch them into a photo frame. You can fasten the molding into the center for a fun, 3-D piece or leave the fabric just as it is.

– Have a beautiful set of china or painted plates? Use them as unique wall art.

4.) Hide the Clutter

Your keen eye for decorating can’t truly be appreciated if nobody can see past the clutter. Keep your home organized and neat with a desk, shelving and storage bins – all of which you can build yourself or find on the cheap at a thrift store. The difference between ‘clutter’ and ‘décor’ is just presentation, so make sure your knick-knacks match the room’s style, or hide them completely. Think woven bins that double as décor, or slide out of view under a coffee table.

Now that you’ve got the tips and tricks to make your new house feel more like the perfect home it’s time to get down to business. So get out there and start to beautify!

Welcome to Your New Home with These Fall Home Decor Trends

Prudential California Realty is Central Coast’s Real Estate experts.Our first priority is you – always. It is our goal to provide you with the most innovative real estate services on the Central Coast.

The seasons have changed since our last blog update and we are exciting for fall to begin. As the season changes and the weather gets cooler, we might also wonder how we can make some changes around the house.

Whether you’ve just moved into your new home in San Luis Obispo or North Santa Barbara County, or you’re just looking to get rid of the 70’s couch that clashes with your living room, we want to discuss fall season home decor improvements.

Colors

As the leaves change color, why not grab some inspiration? Varying hues of red, orange, and yellow make your home more connected to the season. Colors that incorporate these seasonal hues include Spanish olive, leather brown, mustard seed, Aztec gold, soft suede, and mahogany. There is a lot of room to get creative, so head down to your local hardware store and see what paints are available.

With color, simple works. It isn’t necessary to repaint your entire home just because the season has changed, rather, a few small paint jobs can make you feel like you have moved into a new home altogether. A refreshing change can come in a weekend’s work.

What colors capture your eye? That’s the first place to start.

Furniture

Chairs are the most commonly updated item in the design world. Consider taking an old chair frame that is in good shape. It can be easily repainted, reupholstered, and re-appreciated.

If you have a thrift store dresser – or one that looks like it, give it an exterior makeover by painting it using some of the fall colors we mentioned, or get even more creative and incorporate multiple colors with an aesthetic, harmonious pattern.

Open a new door to your creative license by painting an interior door and its trim (if aesthetically appropriate). You can also add trim detail that can be painted a separate color from the door itself. For example, if you have a white door, paint the trim a silver gray that isn’t too distracting or too loud of a color.

One idea we particularly love is adding an unexpected splash of color to the inside of your kitchen or furniture drawers. What was otherwise a bland white kitchen cabinet set can spring to life by painting the bottoms of the drawers an Aztec yellow or pumpkin orange.

Dip-dyed color is sticking around and showing no signs of leaving the world whether it’s in hair or furniture. Transform a coffee table, stool, or anything with legs by using painter’s tape to tape off the leg at a certain low point, then spray paint the bottom. Instantly add modernity to a piece of furniture that previously lacked it.

Outdoors

During this seasonal transition, you may feel inclined to keep your outdoor space as energized as it was during the summer. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through outdoor furniture, accessories, and you guessed it: color.

Consider a designer lounge chair and bistro set painted your favorite autumnal colors and let the addition add life to your outdoor space for as long as you want it to.

What about the mailbox? If you have a white mailbox, consider painting the mailbox’s flag the color of your front door. For example, if you have a yellow front door, paint the flag the same color. If that’s not enough, change the numbers on the mailbox to a modern font.

If you have ideas we should have mentioned, or better yet, if you have made some seasonal changes to your home décor, please share your ideas and a link to the photos in a comment below.

Have a great fall season everyone.