Small Budget Ideas That Add Big Value and Style to Your Home

Post contributed by Lucy Massey on behalf of Empire Carpet.

If you have a small budget and big home renovation dreams, start with a handful of small projects to add value and style to your home without overspending.

1.  Upgrade the Flooring in Key Rooms

The first way to add value and style to your home is to upgrade the flooring in one or more key rooms of your home. Keep costs down by working in one room at a time, or renovate several areas to bring a consistent look and feel through different rooms.

When deciding on what type of flooring to install, consider the ages of all your family members, the climate where you live, and your preferences for color and easy maintenance. Families with youngsters may fare better with hard surfaces such as wood, tile or laminate (especially if someone has allergies or asthma). Rainy or snowy climates are hard on carpets, and tiling high traffic areas may lead to dingy-looking grout lines. Rich colors are available in almost all types of flooring, but carpet offers a rainbow of hues you won’t find in natural materials.

In September of 2008 I introduced you to Fusion Tables when I wrote an article titled Pool Table & Dining Table Combo.  Well, I was lucky enough to purchase one recently for one of my clients and wanted to share some photos with you.  These photos were taken with my phone, so please pardon the poor quality.

The installation process took about 3 hours from start to finish. My client’s (a younger couple) absolutely love the table and use it for dining and playing pool quite often.

Interior designers and home furnishings manufacturers at the High Point Market discuss the importance of color to homes and product designs. In 2012, expect products hitting retail floors to offer more texture, patterns, and colors.

TANGERINE TANGO

According to the official announcement, the deep red-orange color is intended to give us all a big energy boost; a refresh and a recharge. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Institute tells us more about the choice for 2012:

Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.

And keep an eye out for the Color of the Year beauty collection, part of a new partnership between Pantone and cosmetics retailer Sephora. Launching in March at Sephora stores in North and South America, the limited-edition collection will include eye shadows, lipstick, lip gloss, and nail polish.

Have you ever wished that you could instantly change your decor?  Using an all-white living room set as their canvas, the Dutch lighting team of Mo Assem and Ruben van Esterik (a.k.a. Mr. Beam) make the impossible… possible.

Enjoy!

To me, a dining table’s value is directly linked to the many uses it can provide with a minimum of maintenance and worry.  This is especially true if your dining table is your “everything” table like it is in our home. It’s used for eating, artwork (including glue and paint with my niece and nephew), wrapping and occasionally a pedestal for our thunder scared dog (don’t ask). The table we currently have it made of reclaimed oak and the more scratches and wear it gets, the better it looks.

But if you’d like to take it a step further and not even worry about scratches, stainless steel is a great option and this one fits the bill.  It’s the Quentin Dining Table  by Bernhardt Hospitality, which means it made for restaurants and hotels, another tip-off to its durability.  I enjoy the contrast of the traditional weathered driftwood finish trestle bottom with hammered top. Modern and classic all at once.  It retails for $1,210 which is pretty reasonable for this unique look.  Do you think you could make it work in your home?

I know it’s been a while so I hope you’ve all been enjoying your summer.  I’ve been very busy with lots of design projects and updating my Lorrie Browne Interiors website, which are the things I normally juggle.  But you know what really keeping me busy?  Dog Rescue work!  We adopted our dog, Roxie, from Big Dog Ranch Rescue last year and I loved the group so much I started doing some fundraising.  One thing led to another and now I am helping them with their website, fundraising and I have a foster dog named Brewster sitting in my office!  But that’s how life goes sometimes and as I get older, I am learning that rolling with it is not only a more healthy attitude but more fun too!  So I knew you wouldn’t mind if I took a little summer vacation from My Design Secrets.  But now I am back so let’s talk about Paint!

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Selecting multiple paint colors can be pretty tricky if you have a home with an open floor plan or many rooms close together. Some of you are willing to take your time and do your homework and that’s why I wrote my Paint Primer post a while back.  But I know that many people are overwhelmed enough to shelf the project and go have a fruity drink (which is also a very good option, but it won’t get any closer to you goal!)  So since it’s a quick weekend project and the makeover potential is awesome, I’ll share some tricks to get you on the fast track to coloring your world.

Easy but Effective Approaches to Selecting Paint Colors

Same Color, Many Shades - Living and Dining areas with an open floor plan are a good place for this method.  I know many people are tempted to choose 2 complementary colors but that can really chop up the space and make it look smaller.  Architectural details (columns, moldings, corners) allow you a logical place to transition from one shade to the next.

The Easy Way to find these colors? The Benjamin Moore Classic Colors.  When choosing your colors,  I would skip a shade or two in between.  For example:  482 and 480.

You probably learned this in art class when you were young. If you keep adding white to any color, you get lighter and lighter shades which eventually lead you to a pastel tone.

Different Colors, Same Family - One of the best ways to paint closely located rooms but add a little drama is go with a color family.  Use the darkest color in the brightest space and the lightest color in the low light areas. It helps even things out.  For example:  My living room has 2 full walls of French doors so I went bold with a medium brown on the two remaining walls.  But my powder room, which is very small with one window, is a buff color which opens it up a bit.  It’s a simple to way to get a designer palette without the stress of choosing multiple colors.

The Easy Way to Find These Colors? -The Benjamin Moore Historical Colors. You will see more of a distinct change from color to color unlike the classic colors that offer subtle steps of color.

If you want to go a little bolder, the Historical Colors allow you to find complementary colors but each still has a distinct tone.

Wall color is a critical element in a well designed room but I think many times, homeowners take things a bit too far.  The terms “Bold” and “Fun” are warning signs and it’s easy to grow tired of these colors quickly.  Don’t lose sight of your original goal: to pull together all of the furnishings in the room.  The walls should not take center stage but rather provide a lovely backdrop.

Whether you gravitate toward blue, brown or pink there’s a world of color that will get you where you are going and leave room for colorful accessories and most importantly, some updates down the line. I hope these tips help you choose wisely!

As a designer, one of my ongoing challenges is finding the perfect lamp and I bet it’s not easy for you either.  Lots of people have sad, non-committal lamps that they bought because they would “go with everything”.  But the right lamp is such a critical accessory. So I am proposing that you consider making an investment in a lamp that you love.  Nothing crazy or outlandish, just a beautifully balanced lamp with good bones and a little bit of wow factor.  This type of lamp will be around for years to come so here’s how to find one…

Lamp Basics

Size & Shape

• To keep things proportionate, your total lamp height (including shade) should be approximately the same height as the table it is sitting on.
• Tall and thin tend to be more modern. Wider, bulbous shapes are more traditional.

Shades

• Your shade height will be about 3/4 the height of a traditional lamp base.
• Shades for modern lamps are more extreme and may be as small as 1/2 the height or as large as 2x the height of the lamp base.

Color & Pattern

• I tend to favor solid color lamps in everything from ivory to fuchsia.  Use pattern on the shade for a change.
• Base patterns are great but don’t try to match your fabric. Go for a smaller or larger pattern.  Texture is always nice too.

And the shape of your shade will change the look dramatically so you may want to consider buying them separately.  Either way, I think it’s time you bought a lamp that you love and will hold onto for years to come!

Here are some of my favorite online lamp stores:

Mottega – Design your own lamp and receive it 2 weeks.  Sleek styles and bold colors.

Layla Grace carries Jamie Young lamps. Very hip and wonderful shade options.

Candelabra has a wonderful selection of modern and earthy Arteriors Lamps.

The latest CB2 catalog features some really cool end tables that will easily give your room the shot of color you’ve been dying for.  End Tables are super handy and can easily travel from room to room. While you certainly want them to be sturdy, you don’t need to spend the money you would on a cocktail or dining table which both take a lot of abuse.  This opens the door to bright colors and funky design which are a breath of fresh air and some of them are indoor/outdoor for easy summer entertaining. The ones shown here are available with free delivery right now, so jump on it!

Enjoy your weekend!

This laser cut screen is a bargain at $260 and comes in 2 styles and 3 patterns.

In many smaller homes and apartments, you open the front door and “surprise” you are in the living room.  While you’ve go to make every square foot count, I still think a well-designed transition helps round out your space.  This got me thinking of all the inventive and attractive ways you can create a mini foyer. Decorative screens and room dividers provide lots of options.

1. You can choose a laser cut screen for a classic look.
2. Modern hanging designs create a bold statement.
3. Simple cubes complete a simple modern look that also provides built-in storage.

When you start considering your options aim for something that is either low (36″ high bookcase) or that’s somewhat translucent (screens and hanging dividers).  That way the space will feel open from both sides and allow people to be seen coming and going.  It will be a stylish spot to great your guests and a cozy little home for your keys, umbrella and purse.

Click on the photos for details plus here are some other great sources for screens.  Let me know if you have some of your own!