In any house, the living room is the one place that sees the most action. You spend time with family, swap conversations with relatives, share beer with pals, and entertain guests here. That’s why homeowners invest a lot of time in designing their living rooms. Honestly, there is no dearth of ideas for designing living rooms, if you have the resources, means, imagination, initiative and of course the money to do so. However, when you are strapped for cash, you have to fall back on budget ideas to decorate your living room. But, cheap ideas don’t necessarily translate into ‘cheap’ ideas, if you know what I mean. I managed to give my living room a pretty good face lift with these budget ideas.
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Get Rid of Clutter
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve read this tip in every interior decoration magazine and you still can’t see what the big deal is about. Well, it’s just a matter of what the eye can (or rather can’t) see. When you de-clutter a room by getting rid of all that junk, you do two things – you open it up in terms of space and also change its look drastically. Try it once and see the difference.
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Bring in Some Greens
Plants are one of the most reasonable budget ideas to decorate your living room. They literally infuse life into the room and make for beautiful corner arrangements. Place a few potted plants in the living room, and make sure you choose a corner that receives enough light during the day.
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Arrange Your Furniture Differently
Most people tend to place their furniture along the wall. What is this – a military line up? A living room is meant to be a cozy space that brings people close to each other and facilitates conversation. So, spend some time thinking of interesting arrangements for your furniture and for God’s sake, stay away from those walls.
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Throw a Spotlight on the Conversation Area
Area rugs are among the more popular budget ideas to decorate your living room. They jazz it up real nicely and also help cover up dull floors and blah tiles. For a more intimate look, choose a dark colored rug. You can pick up several reasonably priced ones at bargain stores for no more than $20-$30.
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Become an Artist
If you are the creative kind, you can easily spruce up your living room by letting your imagination run wild and displaying your artwork on the walls. If you aren’t that blessed in the creative department you could still put together a collage of pictures, dried flowers or leaves. Another great idea is to frame interesting pieces of cushion covers or fabric to get your very own tapestry like hanging.
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Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.
Do It with Drapes
Not too many people realize the importance of drapes in making a room look alive. Pick up some in fun prints or bold colors that match the overall theme of the room. For a little more oomph let Christmas lights trail along the length of the drapes and switch them on the evening for a magical look. You can do all this well under $30-$35.
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Throw in Some Accessories
I am not asking you to spend a year’s salary shopping around for expensive crystals, paintings, sculptures or showpieces. You can use simple things to add beauty to your living room, such as vases filled with colored water, a selection of beautiful shells or rocks in a bowl, decorative candle stands or interesting photo frames. You can easily pick these up from flea markets and jumble sales. However, take care that you don’t end up cluttering your living room, or you’ll be back to square one.
Hopefully these budget ideas to decorate your living room have been of some help. At the end of the day, the living room is a reflection of your personality. If you put your mind to it, you can come up with half a dozen interesting ideas of your own to pimp up your living room at reasonable costs. Got any brainwaves you’d like to share with us?
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