Designed For Love Furnishing Your Home Frugally

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By Mia Bolaris-Forget

So you’ve finally decided on a love shack to settle into but before you can put your feet up you’re going to have to get something to put them up on.

The key criterion (however) is keeping your feet firmly planted on the floor. Ottoman’s are expensive and so are most other home furnishings. Even if you both lived on your own, and don’t have to start from scratch, making a house a “couple-friendly” home is a valuable investment…but doesn’t necessarily have to be one that devalues your bank account.

And ladies and gentlemen, the first lesson in domestication is getting comfortable with other “D” words, like discount, and do-it-yourself.

Book A Private Tour Of Some Of The Hottest Homes:
Take a trip to your local library or bookstore give yourself a FREE education. Peruse the pages of the most popular books and magazines, familiarize yourself with the latest trends and get a good idea of styles, colors and design schemes that you’ll love for years to come.

Be Thrifty:
Remember, what’s old is new again, making antiques “hot”…but hot is often synonymous with high-priced. Consider thrift shops “second hand” stores, garage sales and flea markets for some quality vintage items at below present day prices.
Besides basic bargaining techniques, experts suggest visiting venues such as garage sales and flea markets later in the day, when vendors are more apt to drop their price so as not to have to worry about left over merchandise.

Go Door To Door:
Besides shopping around for the best deals, ask family and friends for some handy hand-me-downs. Obviously everything won’t be to your liking or taste but if you keep and open mind your just may be able to capture some classic collectables with a retro or vintage appeal.

Think Two For The Price Of One:
Now you can have fun with “Transformers” too. Consider purchasing items that serve a dual purpose or that easily transition from one location to the next. For example, opt for sofa bed until you can afford both a bedroom and a living room set or consider a folding table that can serve as a kitchen dinette and a “coffee table” or appliance stand.

Market Your “Trade” Secrets:
If you rent, sell yourself or your services to you landlord. In exchange for a rent “decrease,” offer to make renovations to his/her property (your apartment) or to take care of the grounds (i.e.: mowing the lawn or shoveling the snow).

Slip Into Something More Fashionable:
Dress up old sofas, dining chairs or even “lawn” and patio chairs that you may want to use indoors with great slipcovers. They are fairly inexpensive and creative types can really work magic with material.

Get To The Art Of The Matter:
The bare essentials of home décor are not leaving walls totally bare. Want an inexpensive alternative to pricey painting and pictures. Consider cutting out some of your favorite cartoons (from the Sunday paper), pictures from a book or magazine and framing them yourself. Or get (patterned) dollar store dishes and display them strategically throughout your house or apartment.

Tinted Love:
For wall-to-wall ambiance consider painting walls colors other than white. Vibrant hues are a cheap, easy, do-it-yourself substitute to expensive enhancements. Also consider sponge painting, using stencils or rubber stamps (purchased from your local art store) to create interesting borders, edges, and “murals”.

Find Yourself A Good Outlet:
Remember, while it’s true you often get what you pay for, you don’t have to pay for what you get…at least not full price. Outlet stores and chains such as Ikea offer excellent alternative to their costly competitors for style that’s functional and affordable.

Enforce Your Right To Bear Alms:
Register for all those little extras that make a home extra special. Then, think outside the box…break open all those gifts you got and turn your house into a “home couture”.