Decorating and Design - simple things to help

hi i'm 14 and my mom and i live together in a small one story house. we don't have a lot of extra money to spend on decorating, but i'd really like to have people over a lot and our house isn't that interesting right now so i don't really want to. i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions that would help even a little. My house has a weird setup. theres like a long hallway with three rooms that we dont know what to do with. also, there's this one room connected with the living room that has large windows. its hard to decorate because its right when you walk in the front door and it doesnt have any doors or anything. well i was wondering if anyone can help. im a pretty creative person and could probably do most of the work, i just need a little help. thanks!

Hi,

It's hard to say what to do without a look, or a photograph. What kind of home do you want to create? What style is your furniture?

Perhaps a good idea is to give a look on decoration sites, magazines, houses'photographs and look for ideas, styles that you find interesting. Then we will be glad to help you to DIY

Good luck!

One of the most important things about decorating is furniture placement. Look in magazines or go to the library and look at decorating books. Find a room that you like and try to organize your furniture like the picture. Keep rearranging the furniture until you are satisfied. This is good exercise. Group collectables together to give them punch. Also hang pictures in groups. Group things in odd numbers. Like 3 pictures or 5 nic-nacs. This odd number is more pleasing to the eye and helps balance the look. Mix up the size of things. Instead of putting 3 small items on a table, chose a tall, medium, and small. For example a lamp, a bowl, and a little vase.
If you want to paint and don't have much money, try to save 50 cents or $1 a week. It takes time but you can use that time to decide on the perfect color. Imagination is the best tool you can use.
Have fun.
CFrana

Sounds like the room connected with the living room with large windows was probably a porch that was enclosed or a Florida room (meant for plants, somewhat like a semi-greenhouse). This room could be great for lots of plants, or like a reading-room. If the windows don't go all the way to the floor, look into putting benches under them if you have enough room for a comfortable seat height. If not, then consider low benches for plants. Place lots of lamps for reading areas and comfy chairs or a loveseat. Don't forget the footstools! I have one I made from the spool that electrical wire comes on! I padded the top nice and thick, minimal padding on the bottom and a big button on the top. I have another spool that I am going to try putting legs on. It's amazing what a little fabric can do! When grouping your items for display, recall what the skyline looks like - uneven heights and thickness - and use the odd number grouping as suggested by CFrana! Even an old scarf stapled to a picture frame can be hung on the wall as a nice 'picture'! Remember that glass can be painted, turning those flea market finds into jewels! My best inspirations come from browsing through magazines like pmgca suggests, finding what I like and then looking at what I have. With enough brainstorming, you can figure out what you can do to get you close enough to be happy with those pictures and not have to dump everything you already have! Let us know how things are going!

Remember you get the most for you money out of a can of paint! It can completely change the room. For "new to you" things , now that the weather is getting nice try your neighborhood garage sales. It's amazing what you can find for very little money. I'm a little confused about the three rooms you tried to describe...if they're not really being used for anything...then make them into something! A place to study...could be a nice chair to read in , a table with a lamp and a shelf for books (all of which could be found at yard sales). I agree with the plant idea for the room with the windows! They're a cheap way to decorate and again yard sales are a great place to pick up pots to plant in. Good luck and let us know how you do!