Interior Design on a Budget

As featured at TheFamilyCorner.com

More style than money? Here's how to decorate your home on a tiny budget.

"The poor need not only bread. The poor also need beauty." So said a wise man named Hildebrand who went on to become Pope in the year 1073. Now whether or not a desire to live a frugal life in 1999 necessarily qualifies a person as "poor", I'm going to assume for a while that you're not the happy possessor of buckets of cash. Nothing left over in the budget for extensive renovations to your home, no money to landscape your yard or buy expensive furniture and art work. How, then, do you fulfill what Monsignor Hildebrand considered one of life's necessities?

You do it by adding little pockets, or islands of beauty to your home and garden. Somewhere, no matter how small, that your eye can pause for refreshment. One small island of beauty in what might otherwise be an ocean of mundane. Creating little islands of perfection throughout your home will not only enrich your home life, it can be done cheaply and quickly. And best of all, the effect is cumulative. Sooner or later, depending on how fast you work and how much you tackle at one time, you will have created whole rooms, whole gardens, that send a shimmer straight to your soul.

Of course, all this has to be done on a budget. So start small. One perfect flower, real or silk, on the coffee table. Spend a few extra dollars and get a perfectly proportioned vase that does it justice. We're not talking Ming Dynasty, here, though. You can find attractive containers in most craft stores, discount department stores and dollar stores.

Or you could head off to a florist supply store and buy about five dollars worth of floral marbles. These are beautiful glass beads in a variety of colours that look wonderful in a glass bowl. How about one perfect china or ceramic ornament on the mantle? Look in gallery and museum gift shops for unusual and beautiful objects you can display. Remember, though, you're looking for "Beauty", not "so-so". Get the best quality you can afford. After all, you're only buying one for now.

As well as simply purchasing a tiny amount of perfection, you can also add beauty to your home by shrugging off convention. Look for beauty in Nature's bounty. Pile some bright green limes in a white ceramic bowl on the counter or table and add cheer to the dullest day. You could also try lemons, red bell peppers or Granny Smith apples. Or you could plant a herb garden in baskets and cluster them in a sunny location in your kitchen or dining room for a little double-duty decor. The trick is to allow your imagination to wander. Think about everyday objects in new ways. Frame a postcard from a museum or gallery giftshop. Better yet, frame four of them.

Experiment. Have fun.

Later, you might want to expand your scope a little. If you're artistically-inclined, make a stunning flower-arrangement, or purchase one. Remember, just one at a time! I like good-quality silk flowers, they're almost indistinguishable from the real thing nowadays and you don't have to keep replacing them. Maybe consider a wonderful picture frame. Try antique and junk stores or garage sales. The more ornate the frame, the more easily it can be revamped with a coat of gold, silver or bronze spray paint. Head back to the gallery gift shop and buy a print or a calendar with wonderful pictures and you'll have art work for a fraction of the price.

Or you could try and tackle one end table. Pay attention to the details and create a still-life. Decorator tables, those inexpensive circles of wood, can be easily dressed up with a lovely tablecloth, a lamp, a photograph in a wonderful frame and flowers or a plant to add greenery and life. When you're creating a display, think in groupings of three or five. An asymmetrical arrangement usually looks better and is easier to work with. You're not tackling the whole house, now. Just one end table! Give it some thought.

Instant gratification can be a real boost. One of the best things about starting small is that the projects can usually be accomplished in an hour or so at most.

Unless of course, your desire for beauty extends to, or originates in, the outdoors! Still, if you're a gardener, you already know the results of your effort and patience will be well worth it. It can often be very expensive to landscape a whole yard in one season. But it's easy to apply the same principle of starting small and creating "islands". Tackle one flower bed a season, or just the lawn. The following year, you might plant one barrel, one container with the prettiest flowers you can find. Plant another container or another bed as soon as you can and eventually you'll have a whole garden of flowers. Of course, this idea works best if you plant perennials. Annuals are usually cheaper up front, but you have to replace them every year, draining not only your cash reserves, but your time as well.

The important thing to remember is that although small touches like these can seem inconsequential, hardly worth the bother, once you get started, the effects build quickly. Sort of like compound interest. Which reminds me, I have a savings plan I need to work on...

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