Decorating in a Downturn – Part 2

In the next week, we have a three-part series on decorating on a budget from guest blogger Debbie Wiener. Debbie is a DC-based interior designer and author of the top-selling book, “Slob Proof! Real life Design Solutions.” She has also recently partnered with Crypton to develop the Slobproof! Collection – a colorful line of Crypton-covered furniture designed with busy households in mind.

You can find more information about Debbie, and links to purchase Slobproof! furniture at www.slobproof.com

1. Follow the three R’s! Re-mat, re-frame and re-arrange your art and photos to update wall and table-top displays. Replace white and off-white matting with something fresh and colorful- grass green, pumpkin orange or periwinkle blue. Try a few new frames to give new life to your photos. Check out the assortment at www.exposures.com 

This room has a gallery look from a day of re-matting, reframing and re-arranging at a do-it-yourself frame shop. 

2.  Toss It! If you can’t afford to change the sofa and chairs, change your toss pillows! Soft, down-filled pillows in unexpected patterns and colors will make the seating look new and feel luxurious. My favorite sources include www.blissstudio.com and www.companyc.com.

It’s the pillows that make this window nook an inviting place to sit.

3. Light it Up! Nothing makes modest rooms look impressive like good lighting. Start by lighting up room perimeters to make small spaces look large and dramatic. Inexpensive canister uplighting, purchased in home stores, fits inside floor plants and behind furniture to add Hollywood style accent lighting along room walls.

Battery-operated flameless votive candles use LED bulbs for realistic and long-lasting candle light that’s perfect in groupings. Add them down the middle of a long dining table, along a fireplace mantel or on shelving for soft, zen-like room lighting. Upgrade the standard bulbs in your recessed lights and lamps to halogen to ensure you’re getting the brightest, whitest light possible from your existing fixtures.

Debbie Wiener is an interior designer in Silver Spring, MD and head matriarch of a house full of slobs. She’s also the author of the top selling book, “Slob Proof! Real life Design solutions” from Penguin Press. You can send Debbie your designing dilemmas by visiting her website www.mydesigningsolutions.com

Stay tuned next week for more of Debbie’s design tips on a budget….