I am ready to spruce up my house but am on a tight budget and don't have a lot of money to redecorate. What are some easy, inexpensive ways to refresh my home's interior?
Rugs can be a fast and frugal way to transform a space. They can add color or create a feeling of comforting calmness. They can also camouflage flaws in the floor.
Rugs are important to pulling a room's look together, says interior designer Tobi Fairley of Little Rock.
Rugs help define or separate areas. They can anchor the color scheme in a room or coordinate with existing colors. Rugs in subtle colors and patterns can help calm a room that has busy or ornate wallpaper or upholstery, or when those elements are subdued, a rug with a lively pattern can spice up a room. Floors already full? Consider putting a rug into play as a wall hanging for a unique way to give a room a new focal point.
Fairley, who also has an office in Dallas, recommends a rug cover as much of a room's floor as possible.
"I always advise that you should buy the absolutely largest rug you can for the room," she says.
There are several ways to accomplish this while still sticking to a budget. "I have bought two of the same inexpensive rug and then had them stitched together to create the size rug I need," she explains.
Or, she says, buy a remnant from a carpet store and have the edges bound to create a rug that fits the space.
Another budget-friendly tip is to move rugs from one room to another to help refresh the look of a home and freshen its decor, Fairley says.
The wide variety of rug designs offers an opportunity to influence the atmospheres of a home. Some designs will bring a plush, elegant feel to a room, while others afford a light, airy look. Animal prints or wilderness-theme rugs can bring an exotic feel to a home.
Fairley also suggests using an inexpensive room-size rug but top it with an expensive rug in a smaller size.
"Layering rugs can give you a richer and more expensive look."
Do you have a decorating or remodeling question? We'll get you an answer from an authority. Send your question to Linda S. Haymes, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203 or email:
HomeStyle on 08/16/2014