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Learn to Work and Earn More

July 3, 2011 by

One can combine learning and earning more money by recycling and restoring items. The best and most useful items to restore are furniture.

Used furniture can be found at auctions, flea markets, and relatives’ attics and basements. Often these items need only minor work and repair. High-end furniture is like fine wine. The older it becomes, the more likely it will move into the realm of being an antique. This makes the furniture worth reupholstering, refinishing and repairing. Interior decorators often use restored pieces to obtain the look needed for a particular room or client. Combining interior decorating courses with an upholstery and furniture restoration business is a match made in heaven. Many schools offer online classes that will provide the needed credentials for furniture restoration in only six months. A garage-sized room is all one needs to begin a profitable business.

While a person completes his or her courses in interior decorating, it is necessary to do some homework to make the furniture restoration business profitable. Learn the names of high-quality furniture brands such as Ethan Allen or Bassett and know about furniture designers such as Bob Timberlake or Raymond Goins. Studying antiques and history will point one in the most likely direction of delightful finds. Developing relationships with thrift stores, secondhand shops, auctioneers and consignment vendors will produce a steady stream of pieces. Advertising as a furniture restorer will provide numerous contacts in the local area.

High-quality furniture, cheaper pricing and working on your own terms make learning and earning a pleasure.

Filed Under: Fashion, General Tagged With: , ,

Quick Fixes for Jazzing Up Your Home

February 10, 2011 by
fabrica interior design and refurbished furnit...

Image by cherrypatter via Flickr

When your home needs a makeover and you do not have the money to afford an interior decorator, you can always do it yourself. There are several ways you can make the interior of your home seem like a new place without spending thousands of dollars. The following tips are easy to do and cost a minimal amount of money. You will be amazed by how nice your home looks after a few basic changes.

• Remove all the clutter. Even though this might not qualify as decorating, getting rid of the clutter is one of the easiest ways to give your home a fresh look. Clean off the counter-tops, the top of the refrigerator and all the other “catch-all” places. Add a vase of fresh flowers here and there and your home will be rejuvenated.

• Fresh paint. A fresh coat of paint will do wonders for making your home look better. Choose light colors to keep the rooms open and spacious. Paint is quite affordable and easy to apply on your own.

• Change the window coverings. If your window coverings are outdated or discolored, change them. Avoid plain, horizontal blinds. Instead, opt for sheer or light-colored drapes. Be sure and clean the windows when you change the coverings.

• New flooring. New flooring is another easy and affordable way to breathe new life into your home. Vinyl for the kitchen and bathroom is not expensive and comes in a variety of patterns. Depending on your preference, you can install new carpet or wood flooring in other parts of your home. New floors will quickly jazz up your home.

• Reupholster your furniture. If you cannot afford new furniture, consider reupholstering your existing furniture. You can also buy ready-made slip covers and give your couches, arm chairs and dining room chairs a new look.

Use your creative side and come up with other inexpensive ways to decorate your home. For just a few hundred dollars, your home will look like a different place.

Filed Under: Budget Decoration Tagged With: , ,

The Importance of Accessories when Decorating

February 1, 2011 by
Urtepotte

Image via Wikipedia

When you a decorating your home, accessories are important. Many people focus more on the color of the paint and the big pieces of furniture. The accessories are essential because they help hold everything together. Accessories tie the furniture and the colors together, making the room flow. Without accessories, you will only have painted walls and furniture. With accessories, you will create the ideal atmosphere in the room, making it practically come to life.

There are many accessories you need for your home. Lamps, decorations and art are just a few common accessories. Decorations can include everything from vases of fresh-cut flowers to baskets of potpourri. Think of accessories as the finishing touches to each room. You can buy new accessories or refurbished ones. If you cannot afford brand new items, refurbished is a good choice. Refurbished simply means that an item has been repaired and is in working condition again. Lamps and clocks are good examples of refurbished accessories.

When you have the initial design plan of your room, including paint and furniture, you can start adding accessories. You want to add just the right amount. There is a fine line between too many accessories and not enough. Too many and your room is crowded, cramped and busy. Too few and your room lacks personality. Accessories are a great way to add your personality to a room. Do not be afraid to use a bit of flair in the form of brightly colored throw pillows or unique pieces of art.

As you add these final touches to your room, get the opinions of your family and friends. Pay attention to what they like and dislike. Although the final decision is yours, knowing what other people think will help you make the best choices. You want your home to be personal but not flamboyant, offensive or mismatched. With the right accessories, you will have a home that flows from room to room.

Filed Under: Budget Decoration Tagged With: ,

Minimalist design as a cheap lifestyle

January 20, 2011 by

It may seem like a silly notion, but reducing the amount of clutter and stuff filling the nooks and crannies of your abode can be the quickest and longest lasting cure for money shortages.

Let’s face it; there are some things we can not go without. We aren’t going to get rid of the refrigerator and the television and internet are probably here to stay.

However, do we really need a cabinet in the corner of the dining room to hold the collection of milk glass butterdishes we’ve fished out of antique stores across America?

Or how about the storage shed out back. That was meant to hold the lawnmower and now it’s stacked with the totes full of comic books and electronics chords. And we are probably going to consider purchasing something in the near future which will end up hidden amidst the rest of the detritus.

Instead of this cycle take one easy step towards a new philosophy on usage and needs versus wants. Inspect each room in your home and consider its use. If it’s a bedroom, should it also have a table? If you need that table to hold stuff you never use, could that space be more effective left empty?

There is a prevailing philosophy in the world that a cluttered existence without can lead to a cluttered reality within. So having to slowly open the drawers in order to prevent a cascade of nick-knacks might be gradually leading to a more stressful existence. Clear the top off those furniture items. Get rid of the ones you don’t use.

Likewise when you are choosing new furniture items, try to reuse something that old or choose something that will last. It’s the same philosophy behind using a metal razor instead of a disposable, in that it reduces the amount of waste and wasted energy in the world.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Restoration Tagged With: ,

Making old furniture look like new

January 6, 2011 by

Saving money sometimes can take determination. It’s a skill many homemakers hone over the years and doesn’t come easy to some. Besides pinching pennies where normal expenditures like groceries and utilities are concerned, there are also the major purchases to consider.

It’s no cheap consideration to outfit a formal living room or dining room. And some people can’t settle for mismatched or apparently thoughtless rooms thrown together will all function and little or no form.

With just a little elbow-grease and some time, however, making any room in the house look like it was designed by a professional is possible without the high cost. A lot of the time a certain room might work but doesn’t because the finish on the different pieces of furniture don’t match.

That’s where staining and painting can come in. With so many varieties of color and mat available it’s suddenly possible to make a mismatched room match.

Finishing some wooden items can be a bear. It’s going to end up being a lot easier to just paint everything either uniform color, or perhaps two colors which compliment the room together.

However, for those who are willing to put in the effort the payout of stripping, sanding, staining and varnishing a nice wood item is typically worth it. Just remember when you are using paint stripper to remove paint to use it in a well ventilated area. If you are removing several layers of paint, let the stripper do the work by applying it with a brush or rag (USE GLOVES!) and then letting it sit for a bit. After that a putty knife and some steal wool should do the rest.

It may seem like a lot of work but older, solid furniture items which are brought back to life and reused are often them most cherished.

Filed Under: Restoration Tagged With: ,

Redecorate while recycling, reusing, and reducing

January 4, 2011 by

If you are thinking of doing a bit of redecorating in your home, but are concerned about creating more waste, you can be environmentally friendly while giving your living spaces a whole new look.

Here are five tricks to help make the old look new again.

1. Squeaky clean and brand-spanking new

Make your floors and carpets look brand new with a good cleaning. If your budget is too tight to afford a professional cleaning, there are many products you can buy that work as well, with a little more work.

Stripping a hardwood floor of old paint and then varnishing the floor will give it a new look. Use oils from time to time to nourish the wood, and it will look like new for a long time.

For homes with pets and children, there are rug-cleaning products safe to use that get the job done. Do your entire rug periodically, and use the spot cleaners when your furry friends and kids make messes.

2. Spruce up old chairs and love seats

Furniture covers come in all styles and colors. Choose fabrics with different colors and patterns that you can purchase at lower prices at different times of the year. No one will know how long ago you purchased those pieces.

3. Add inexpensive extras

Also available at reasonable prices, are cushions and pillows. They come in all sizes, colors, and styles so finding those that match the covers you used, will give the furniture a whole new look.

4. Tables and chairs

A new coat of paint on dining room sets and coffee tables is all you need to freshen up your old sets for a new look.

5. Throw something over it instead of throwing it away

Use a large soft rug or blanket to cover up your scruffy cozy sofa. You can always wash the covering.

Try to come up with other ways to refurbish what you have, instead of replacing the old with the new, which will be good for the environment.

Filed Under: Restoration Tagged With: ,

Redecorate while recycling, reusing, and reducing

December 7, 2010 by

If you are thinking of doing a bit of redecorating in your home, but are concerned about creating more waste, you can be environmentally friendly while giving your living spaces a whole new look.

Here are five tricks to help make the old look new again.

1. Squeaky clean and brand-spanking new

Make your floors and carpets look brand new with a good cleaning. If your budget is too tight to afford a professional cleaning, there are many products you can buy that work as well, with a little more work.

Stripping a hardwood floor of old paint and then varnishing the floor will give it a new look. Use oils from time to time to nourish the wood, and it will look like new for a long time.

For homes with pets and children, there are rug-cleaning products safe to use that get the job done. Do your entire rug periodically, and use the spot cleaners when your furry friends and kids make messes.

2. Spruce up old chairs and love seats

Furniture covers come in all styles and colors. Choose fabrics with different colors and patterns that you can purchase at lower prices at different times of the year. No one will know how long ago you purchased those pieces.

3. Add inexpensive extras

Also available at reasonable prices, are cushions and pillows. They come in all sizes, colors, and styles so finding those that match the covers you used, will give the furniture a whole new look.

4. Tables and chairs

A new coat of paint on dining room sets and coffee tables is all you need to freshen up your old sets for a new look.

5. Throw something over it instead of throwing it away

Use a large soft rug or blanket to cover up your scruffy cozy sofa. You can always wash the covering.

Try to come up with other ways to refurbish what you have, instead of replacing the old with the new, which will be good for the environment.

Filed Under: Budget Decoration, Lifestyle, Restoration Tagged With: , , ,

Live large on a smaller scale

December 5, 2010 by

If money is tight and a small abode is all you can afford, you can still make the rooms in your home look as if they belong on the cover of an interior design magazine. Additionally, you do not have to spend exuberant amounts of money to make it so.

- Combine essentials

Furniture needs not cover every inch of wall space in small rooms. If you have a television, a stereo with speakers, DVDs and Cd’s, find an entertainment center that will accommodate all of these things. A separate piece of furniture for each will clutter up a small room and make it look even smaller.

- Mirrors

Placing a mirror high up on a wall in a small room, acts as an optical illusion and will make the room appear larger. A small room with a large window, decorated with light and airy curtains gives the feeling of openness and takes attention away from the small size of the room.

- Small rooms demand small furnishings

Measure the dimensions of a small room and take the tape measure with you when you go to shop for furniture. Buy small pieces of furniture for that room. The advantage to buying smaller furniture is that more often than not, smaller furniture looks more elegant.

- De-cluttering is key

Do not store or collect anything in a small room that does not have to be in there. You should only keep enough magazines and newspapers that will fit inside a small magazine rack. Moreover, only keep a few books on a side or coffee table.

- Go soft on walls and windows

Choosing a soft color on the walls is best for small spaces. If you prefer wallpaper, stay with small prints or patterns. To keep it from looking too plain, choose a patterned, darker color for the window treatments while keeping the walls one color.

The old adage, good things come in small packages, applies to small rooms, too.

Filed Under: Budget Decoration, Fashion Tagged With: , ,

Making old furniture look like new

December 1, 2010 by
Fire place in the dining room of The Simmons-B...
Image via Wikipedia

Saving money sometimes can take determination. It’s a skill many homemakers hone over the years and doesn’t come easy to some. Besides pinching pennies where normal expenditures like groceries and utilities are concerned, there are also the major purchases to consider.

It’s no cheap consideration to outfit a formal living room or dining room. And some people can’t settle for mismatched or apparently thoughtless rooms thrown together will all function and little or no form.

With just a little elbow-grease and some time, however, making any room in the house look like it was designed by a professional is possible without the high cost. A lot of the time a certain room might work but doesn’t because the finish on the different pieces of furniture don’t match.

That’s where staining and painting can come in. With so many varieties of color and mat available it’s suddenly possible to make a mismatched room match.

Finishing some wooden items can be a bear. It’s going to end up being a lot easier to just paint everything either uniform color, or perhaps two colors which compliment the room together.

However, for those who are willing to put in the effort the payout of stripping, sanding, staining and varnishing a nice wood item is typically worth it. Just remember when you are using paint stripper to remove paint to use it in a well ventilated area. If you are removing several layers of paint, let the stripper do the work by applying it with a brush or rag (USE GLOVES!) and then letting it sit for a bit. After that a putty knife and some steal wool should do the rest.

It may seem like a lot of work but older, solid furniture items which are brought back to life and reused are often them most cherished.

Filed Under: Fashion, Lifestyle Tagged With: , , ,