Budget Decorating Comparison: Real Life vs. TV

Have you ever watched those tv decorating shows, you know, ones that promise to help you redecorate your home on a tight budget? Were you ever amazed to then find, by tight budget they mean $500, or even $1000? I have, and I don’t know about you, but their budget is WAY out of my budget! Now don’t get me wrong, these shows have great ideas, I watch them all time for ideas myself. But I thought it might be fun to do a breakdown of a simulation of a typical show, and then show you The Budget Decorator’s way!

Typical Living room re-do on tv:

Paint$25 Fabric for Curtains$80 Accessories$100 Extra Furnishings$150 Rug$150

Grand Total$505

Typical Re-do for a Budget Decorator (Not unlike yourself!)

Paint$15 (Decent brand on sale) Fabric$12 (Sheets on sale, stamped or stenciled yourself, even extra for pillows!) Accessories$10 (A few dollar picture frames filled with garden catalog photos, ceramic pitcher from kitchen filled with flowers, books stacked, dollar store candles on homemade candleholders, plants from cuttings, you get idea!)

Halloween Tidbits

By now, many of us have ideas decided upon for our Halloween decorations. Our yards and front doors, porches, decks, etc. are bearing colors of Season and are displaying pumpkins, apples, gourds, and other seasonal delights. All pumpkins do not have to have a Jack-O-Lantern design to shine into night and welcome little trick-or-treaters. Try carving star shapes, squiggles, circles, bats, cats, and witches. Metal cookie cutters with Halloween designs work too. Just use a soft mallet to pound cutter into flesh of pumpkin until you can easily remove it with flesh intact in cookie cutter. You can bake these shapes in an oven (350) until tender with some cinnamon sugar or butter sprinkled over. You have a wonderful pumpking creation as well as Halloween "garnish" for mealtimes. *************************** Cutting out Halloween designs from black paper or cardboard painted black and put in windows will "light" up when we turn our inside lights on. These shadowy figures will be emblazoned in windows - and your creativity did it. **************************** Decorate an "old" pail or bucket - hope you didn't throw it away just because there was a small "hole" in it and it couldn't hold water - all kidding aside, paint your bucket brown or orange and contrast with a pumpkin design or other Holiday emblem. Stencils work great - Fill with apples, gourds, baby pumpkins, fall flowers, and foliage, and tie raffia strands at either end. ****************************** Stuffed animals can be included in our Holiday planning as well. A cat especially can be dressed in a pointed hat, and cape and a simple dowel stick with tied yarn in yellow or orange makes a great broom. Felt can be cut into two triangles and glued or sewn together for a hat, with a band of orange material around circle brim. A felt cut out of a bat or other accent can be attached to hat.