DECORATING
 Instead of paying for expensive entry hooks, I used spickets    These curtains are made out of plastic placemats held together with washers.  Estate sales and garage sales always have a variety of antique purses....so after the collection started, I decided to hang them on the wall.  Being in showbiz...I have a lot of rhinestone jewelry that I always kept put away so I decided to put it all in a martini glass for tabletop decor in the dining room.  I found an old gumball machine at a garage sale and I keep it in our restroom....great for potty training!  We had some extra old roken musical instruments and decided to put them on a ledge in our living room. |
  Our overnight guests who visit are asked to put a towel on, and hold a sign showing the date of their visit and then we display all of those pics on the shower curtain in the guest bath.  I did a record border on the playroom.  Use napkins for curtains for small windows. They can be changed for each holiday. Umbra's swing curtain rods work great with the curtain clips.  I bought a $3 piece of glass, cut out some favorite musicals and viola...a personalized table.  This is a retro chair I bought for $7 then put $2 worth of cow fabric on it.  Garage Sales! I found this Exit sign for $3 and I hang it over my door to the garage...just a comedic touch to decorating.  If you have an entry into a room that has no doors but is two doors wide....soften it up with some curtains and Umbra's swing rods....(Iowa home)   My old laundry room had a floorcloth in it to tie together the colors. A floorcloth is made out of a scrap piece of linoleum flooring that is sanded, primed and painted with latex paint...with a poly finish. |
| DECORATING MAKE IT FUN! When guests come to your house, do they feel at home, do they feel awkward, or do they feel comfortable and maybe walk around each corner to see what the next surprise might be? Decorate your house with colors that inspire you, don't be afraid of color. Use things that make you smile, things in your garage, things from your childhood, things that are quirky…have fun! Tammy's Examples: --Pull things from the garage inside your home that are unexpected --Use things in unique ways...think outside of the box --Curtains made from napkins or plastic placemats --Shower curtain pictures of overnight guests --Collection of purses hanging on the wall --Holidays - thrift sales are a great way to find unique items that can be used for holiday decorating |
USE THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS Go through your garage or storage area and take things you've had for years and try something new with them. Can you hang it? Paint it? Add to it? Use it as a container? A planter? Frame it? Tammy's Examples: --metal baskets as shelves --unique containers as planters or plant stands --rocks or marbles in the tops of planters --bowling ball vase, bowling balls in the garden --make an end table into a piece of artwork by adding glass & your favorite postcards or pictures |
| DESIGN PRINCIPLES &
IDEAS There are basic things you want to follow when decorating your home --use odd numbers when displaying frames or a collection of items --when displaying things asymmetrical, plan ahead --use color that compliment the rest of the room --don't have everything match perfectly…it's boring --make it personal, take B&W pics of your family and frame them --if something is stained, like curtains or a tablecloth, dye it --make up a theme for dinner guests…everything falls into place when decorating your table --or hire me to come to your home and help you refresh your home with things you already have. |
| HOLIDAY DECORATING | ||||
 I bought a beginner's chemistry set and some generic glass containers for pennies at a garage sale, then added some bugs from the dollar store and made some spaghetti with green food coloring and milk....tada...unique and cheap!  I found some old frames and put "haunted" pics in them, a boa across the mantle and added some other touches to create a simple fireplace display. |
 I bought some cheesecloth for hardly anything, rip some holes in it and dyed it with tea and coffee grounds and made it a table runner. |
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© 2005 Tammy Brice