Budget Decorating Part 1

Part 1

Everyone is watching their pennies during these uncertain economic times, but that doesn't mean that we don't crave new styles and items for our homes. We here at Chamberhouse want to offer some advice for beautifying your home without blowing your budget.

Rearrange What you Already Have

Take an inventory of the large furniture and art pieces that you already have. Rearranging the art in your home is great way to to make your rooms feel new again. For example, switch a painting or two from your living room with those in your bedroom to give both rooms a different look without spending a dime.

Also, take a good look at your furniture arrangements. We tend to arrange our furniture one time and then leave it for years without considering if there might be a better way. When arranging (or rearranging) furniture, first determine what the main purpose of the room is. Do you want your living room to be a place that promotes conversation and interaction? Or is it's main purpose to watch television? The purpose of the room will dictate the best layout. Arrange seating so that people will face eachother to promote conversation. If you're working with a large room, you might want to create two different furniture groupings to make the large space seem warmer and more intimate.

If watching T.V. is the main activity, then make sure every seat has a good view. A rule of thumb is that no seat should be more than 45 degrees to the left or right of the front of the T.V. Most people want to prop up their feet while watching television, so examine the placement of ottmans to make sure that at least most of the seating has a comfortable place to put your feet.

Another rule of thumb that applies to all seating arrangements, is to make sure that every seat has a comfortable place to put a drink. Make sure every seat has access to either a coffee or an end table. One thing we see a lot of are floating coffee tables. A coffee table placed three feet away from the sofa doesn't serve any purpose. Make sure the coffee table is close enough that a guest can comfortably lean over to pick up their mug of coffee (Hence the name "coffee table"!). According to Interior Design principles, the coffee table should be about 18" away from the front of the sofa.

Next, examine the foot traffic patterns in your rooms. Try to arrange furniture so that no one has to walk through the middle of a seating arrangement (or walk between a husband and a football game). This often means letting your furniture out of "jail," as Oprah's interior designer Nate Berkus says. He's refering to the fact that we tend to push our furniture up against walls. Doing this creates traffic patterns that go through the middle of the room. Don't be afraid to pull your furniture, especially your sofas and chairs away from the walls and towards the center of the room. Doing this will allow traffic to flow around instead of through the center of the room.

In your bedrooms, make sure that the paths from the bed to the door, and from the bed to the bathroom are clear. You should be able to wake up in the middle of the night and walk to your bathroom without tripping over an accent chair or bumping into the side of the dresser. Make sure the sides of the beds are far enough away from the wall. I heard one woman in the nail salon say that she was back for the 2nd time to get her broken nail fixed. Both times she broke her nails trying to make her son's bed. Making the bed should not cause minor injuries! Make sure that there is at least "18 between the side of the bed and the wall. If someone needs to walk between bed and the wall, then make sure there is at least a 3 foot clearance.

Take another look at the picture above. This picture is taken from Jane Seymour's book "Make Yourself At Home." Her Malibu living room exemplifies many of the principles we've talked about. Notice how she has created two distinct seating areas. The large living room feels warm and inviting and is conducive to mingling and conversation. Also notice that every sofa and chair has access to either a coffee table or end table. And not a single piece of furniture is up against the wall!

Rearranging your furniture according to these principles can make your whole home feel new again. Don't be afraid to experiment. You can always move it back!