Decorating on a budget is one of my most favorite things to write about.
Some people might consider a limited budget for interior design to be a
hindrance, but I think it opens avenues for endless creativity,
opportunities for you to personalize your space, and the chance to take
pride in the fact that you are the author of your own home.
Sandra Sciacca, a blogger with the Burlington County Times in New
Jersey, shares my interest in this field and has developed her own
interior decorating philosophy known as the 3 R’s: Repurpose,
Recycle, and Reupholster.
How to repurpose
Repurposing means you take an item, often worn out or no longer useful,
and repair it or redecorate it so that it serves a different function.
Sciacca gave a few examples of how you can incorporate repurposed
furniture into your home: “[Turn] an old storage chest [in]to a coffee
table, a wood fruit box mounted on the kitchen wall for shelf storage,
or antique chandelier globes as candle sconces.” In her own experience,
she found that she could use old wood pallets to create rustic,
distressed picture frames with a nautical feel perfect for a
beach-themed house. All she had to do was cut and glue the old wood to
existing frames.
Utilize Pinterest
Pinterest is a great source for all kinds of repurposing projects. I
found one person who had repurposed a large, wooden wire spindle into an
end table with space for books. Another person had removed the fronts of
old dresser drawers, repainted them an accent color to match their
decor, and then added a couple knobs so that they worked as key
hooks/coat hooks. Yet another really creative person with a penchant for
old cars had save the door to the bed of their truck and used it as a
back rest on a wooden bench. There is really no end to the creative ways
you can repurpose things.
Recycle and reupholster
Recycling decorations can be similar to repurposing furniture, except it
more often refers to items that originally weren’t your own. People
often go to thrift stores and look around at donated items to see what
could work in their own homes with a little TLC and a coat of paint.
You’d be surprised what people donate. There are often old chairs and
couches which people get rid of when they buy new furniture which are
really in quite good condition. They might just need reupholstered,
which is Sciacca’s third R of interior decorating.
You can also participate in recycling by keeping the cycle going with
your own outgrown or outdated furniture and decorations. Don’t just
throw them away—donate them and let someone else discover them and
repurpose them. You’ll keep trash out of landfills and enjoy the warm,
fuzzy feeling that comes with giving back to the community.
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