Decorating on a shoestring

Decorating on a shoestring - Tips for new Home Owners

Congratulations - you`ve purchased the house of your dreams! Unfortunately, between the mortgage and the movers, there isn`t much left over to turn your bare rooms into a haute-couture space worthy of Architectural Digest.

No need to despair. By combining a pinch of strategy with a dash of imagination and a whole lot of elbow grease, you`ve got the recipe for creating stylish rooms that are filled with personality.

Perking up a space is often as easy as slapping a coat of colour onto the walls. The trick, said Montreal artist and interior designer Michael Thomson, is to choose the appropriate shade the first time around.

"People often don`t realize they`ve chosen the wrong colour, until they are halfway through painting a wall," he said with a laugh. "By that point, you can`t return your gallon of paint to the store."

While purchasing mini test cans is one way to navigate the problem, Thomson has an even more economical method. Simply pick up a few co-ordinating tubes of acrylic paint and begin experimenting with them on a test wall. Once the perfect shade has been created, paint a strong solid swatch onto a piece of sturdy white paper. A local paint store should be able to computer-match the colour to customized perfection.

Thomson, whose commercial and personal clients range from Planet Hollywood and Halle Berry to homes in Westmount, is also a big advocate of the glazing effect. By mixing a can of paint with water, walls can be coated with a translucent shade that will add warmth at just pennies a square foot. One litre of paint, he said, can cover the interior of an entire house.

Paint can also be a cheaper alternative to expensive lighting fixtures. A dark and gloomy room is instantly lightened and brightened with a lustrous paint colour that contains a little shine.

Homeowner Dorothy Long also knows a thing or two about decorating on a shoestring. An avid reader of home-decorating magazines and a viewer of HGTV, Long admits she`s been perking up spaces as long as she can remember.

"Even when I was a student and didn`t have too many things, I always made an effort to add my personal touch and make my space a joy to come home to," she said.

Long, who is presently decorating a new home in Point St. Charles, advises those on a budget to get a little crafty.

"Don`t ignore the dollar store," she said. "They have good basics that you can turn into something really special."

She loves their shadow boxes, for displaying different types of collections.

"All you have to do is take out the back, remove what`s inside and add your own personal touch.

"Hang the boxes in the bedroom to display your brooches or in the dining room to show a collection of spoons," she said.

Pinching pennies hardly ever means passing on style. Long admits that when she tiled her front entrance hall with vinyl instead of slate, visitors barely knew the difference at first glance. She received so many admiring comments that she continued the trend and tiled her kitchen and her bathroom in exactly the same material.

While she might be willing to save on some decorating elements, Long refuses to scrimp on items such as lighting fixtures and faucets, whose longevity seem to be directly in proportion with their price.

But while investing $125 in a faucet might seem a little steep, Long suggests taking a course at a local YMCA or Home Depot to keep costs within a reasonable limit. The initial investment of time and a few dollars will be rewarded by skills that can keep the sky-high visits of plumbers and electricians at bay.

Waiting to purchase furniture at sales prices is one responsible way to cut financial corners, but both Thomson and Long advocate hitting the streets for some truly eye-catching finds.

"Dumpster chic is back with a bang," Thomson said. "So many people don`t realize what they are throwing away. You should really pay attention to what you can find on a street corner."

Thomson knows what he is talking about. While driving through Cote des Neiges, he spotted an eye-catching trio of items on the curb, and then quickly did a double take. Slated for the trash were three Eero Saarinen-style Tulip chairs, iconic designs dating back to the 1950s, and a matching table. Thomson promptly lifted them from the trash and, after a little bit of refinishing, they now serve as a main centrepiece in his home.

Long confirms that she has done the same thing.

"I`m not shy," she said with laugh. Nor, apparently, is her boyfriend. She once had him jump into a dumpster in order to rescue the spindles from a baby`s crib. After sawing them in half, she used them to create a headboard.

The joy of dumpster diving and garage sales can also be found in the transformative capabilities of the furniture.

Thomson bought a $5 table, researched a few Louis XIV motifs, turned them into stencils and produced a beautiful rococo table that now sits in his mother`s home.

After wondering what to do with a gorgeous wood door that she found in her back shed, Long put her woodworking skills to use and built an armoire around it. The piece was so well received that friends and acquaintances asked if she`d be willing to recreate her work for a price.

In the end, decorating on a budget is really a matter of perspective. Fortini chandeliers and pricey overstuffed sofas might be out of the question. But that doesn`t amount to being forced to live in a sub-chic space.

The style and warmth that you create won`t be coming from a pocketbook but from creativity and personality - and those things, of course, are priceless.

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

Name: The Gazette (Montreal)

Date: October 27th, 2005

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