Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Improving The Look of Your Home - Without Buying All New Furniture

By now most of us have caught on to the fact that change can be a good thing, especially if that change is positive! Our homes are no exceptions to this rule either. Some nice updating, fresh paint, and new furniture can always make an old home look brand new, but, and here is the kicker, that can be very time consuming, and often quite expensive!

With the economy the way it is, it is very difficult to go out and buy brand spanking new furniture, or even slightly used furniture. Most of us have bills and gas to worry about and can't really focus too much on things like home-improvements, especially when it isn't a must.

Luckily, I have discovered a great little trick that can help improve the look of your old furniture, and give your home an updated and fresh appearance, which can not only make your home look better, but give you a boost as well.

Step 1. Buy bedsheets! I know it sounds ridiculous right? But bedsheets are amazingly good for nearly everything, beds, curtains, and yep you got it, furniture covers! You can also buy actual furniture covers, but you have to make sure sure that you get the right sizes and watch out for the prices! They generally raise $5-$10 for every additional size, so it can get costly. On the other hand, they do look really good!

When buying either, if it is possible, go for lighter colors. White is great as it lends a wide open, and clean feel to any area, but it may not be right for your home if you have children or pets. At least try to stay on the light side if you can.

Step 2. Cover your furniture with your new bedsheets. It isn't really that hard, if your furniture has wooden or metal legs, you can use rubber bands to tie the sheets down with. If they are against a wall or other surface, they can be held in place by making sure that there is plenty of the fabric against the surface. Tuck it in! One great way that I have found to keep sheets in place is by tucking them into the couch or chair, it even makes it look nice.

Alternatively, you can also use industrial staples to hold it all in place, just make sure to staple up underneath the arms or other pieces where the staples will not show.

Step 3. Maintain the look. Luckily, it isn't hard to take the sheets off and clean them, so just throw them in the washer every now and then, and if they become wrinkled or moved, simply put them back into place.

On a side note, one really fun thing about updating your furniture and your home like this is that you can even change it up according to seasons and holidays. If you are looking for a warmer feel to the colder seasons, use colors that represent warm feelings such as red, orange, yellow. And in the warmer seasons you can use light cool colors such as blue, green, and white to give your home that nice breezy and cool feel.

Then for the holidays, if you like to really decorate, you can always interchange your covers for more festive ones that fit that holiday! Not only is it quick, easy and inexpensive, its also fun and entertaining as well.

Good luck and happy home improvements!