Begin your written plan by choosing one room to start with. This helps keep you and your budget focused on the project. Which not only guarantees it's completion, it's going to save you money. Why? Remember impulse buying, well it's less likely to occur if you've planned and written down items specifically for that one room.
Think about it this way; You go to the grocery store without a list, what happens? Everything looks good, so you end up buying extra things you do not need and probably forget a few essential items.
Tip: A large notebook or blank writing journal will help make this process easier. This will come in handy for jotting down ideas, measurements, color choices, keeping track of purchases even drawing out a layout of your room. Also, if your purchasing any large items furniture, lighting, carpet etc. this is a good place to keep track of stores that carry things you've seen and the prices.
Now that you have chosen the room, the next step is to think about how the room is used. Sound like a strange thought, well not really. This will determine the direction your decorating goes in.
For Example: Lets say your looking to make changes in your living room. Is this the main area used for entertaining, family gatherings or watching TV and movies? Do you have children with friends hanging out at your home. How about pets, are they normally in here with you?
Sound like home, if so than practical, less fussy is the direction to go. There are endless ways to make your room function well and still have great style.
A few ideas might include:
1) Durable easy clean fabrics, like removable, washable slipcovers
2) Baskets or plastic stacking crates are perfect for remotes,
3) DVD'S, CD's and games. This makes for easy pick up at the end of the day, or when company suddenly shows up.
4) Possibly fewer pieces in the room, giving you more floor space.
Tip: Look for pieces that will serve double duty. Many ottomans today have build in storage, do you get extra seating plus some place to stash things quick.
5) Large floor pillows for TV or movie watching (kids, for some reason love laying on the floor).
6) If space permits, a table and chairs for playing games, doing craft or homework projects.
7) Washable latex paint for easy clean up.
The final step is to be realistic about your list of changes. Choose things that fit comfortably into your current budget, overtime more things can be done. So for right now, just remember, simple savvy changes can make a big difference
This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2005 Bonnie Carrier
Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home Decorating & Savvy Outdoor Decorating. She is the mother to two grown daughters and a very spoiled 4yr old Blue Merle Sheltie named Toby. Stop by both site for indoor and outdoor decorating ideas. http://www.savvy-home-decorating.com
http://www.savvyhomedecorating.com
AP - The reality that the nation is indeed in recession and that the downturn may well be prolonged sent Wall Street plunging Monday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 700 points and wiping out more than half of last week's big gains. All the major indicators fell more than 7 percent, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index down nearly 9 percent.
AP - President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bush administration holdover Robert Gates on Monday, and said he wants to consult with military commanders before settling on a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
AP - The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday. The NBER — a private, nonprofit research organization — said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December.
AP - India demanded Monday that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly Mumbai attacks, and Washington pressured Islamabad to cooperate with the investigation.
AP - President George W. Bush says history will judge him, but he is getting his own crack first. Bush is using his final 50 days in office to tout his legacy, hoping to leave a lasting impression of overshadowed progress. On Monday, World AIDS Day, Bush was heralded for his leadership in fighting the disease, a point that even his Democratic critics readily concede.
AP - The parents of the television anchorwoman who was beaten to death said Monday there is evidence their daughter also was sexually assaulted, and that she broke her hand fighting her attacker. Five days after a suspect was arrested in the Oct. 20 beating of KATV anchorwoman Anne Pressly, Guy and Patti Cannady said on NBC's "Today" that the family still has many questions about the killing.
AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Georgia voters to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff in an election eve appeal that underscored her popularity within the Republican Party and the GOP's efforts to stave off erosion of its shrinking Senate numbers.
AP - Plaxico Burress was led out of a police precinct in handcuffs Monday after surrendering on a weapons possession charge, and authorities said that teammate Antonio Pierce is being investigated over his role in an accidental shooting at a Manhattan nightclub.
Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defense secretary in a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership role in the world.
Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as news pointing to the deepening economic slump around the world erased much of last week's sharp gains, with financial services companies and retailers among Wall Street's biggest casualties.
Reuters - India demanded Pakistan take decisive action over deadly attacks in Mumbai it said were carried out by militants from its nuclear-armed rival, while the West urged cooperation to ease tension.
Reuters - President George W. Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and told ABC "World News" in an interview airing on Monday that he was unprepared for war when he took office.
Reuters - The U.S. economy has slumped into a recession, the nation's business cycle arbiter declared on Monday, while European leaders clashed over how much public money to spend tackling a deepening downturn.
Reuters - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package that one Democratic aide said was likely to cost around $500 billion.
Reuters - Thai protesters prepared to end their three-month occupation of the Prime Minister's office on Monday to consolidate their grip on the main airport ahead of a court verdict that could dissolve the elected government.
Reuters - Federal authorities arrested the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday in a corruption probe surrounding a massive sewer bond debt that has forced Jefferson County to the brink of bankruptcy.
AFP - Barack Obama on Monday nominated Hillary Clinton to be his "tough," "smart" secretary of state as his former foe vowed to give her all to steer America through a storm of international crises.
AFP - India on Monday formally accused "elements" in Pakistan of being behind the devastating Islamic militant attacks in Mumbai and demanded that Islamabad take "strong action".
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