Do we always have to be frugal to decorate our home?

[homesteadmamma]

I've been changing some of my thoughts on always being frugal in the decorating of my home. I'd probably shock some in what I plan on spending over the next few months.

Are you always frugal when you decorate your home or do you splurge? And if you splurge, what do you splurge on?

[leeleeaub]

I try my best to always be frugal. I do everything in themes though so usually it is easy to be frugal. Chickens, coca cola, trees, outhouses, maps etc. I can't remember the last time I splurged on something.

[marym]

I think that being frugal does not mean that you have to buy cheap. I always try to buy quality things, I do try to get them on sale or wait for a sale. Furniture is one thing I think you should spend up on. If you buy cheap furniture it looks good at first, after a few years the fabric wears the cushions sag and you end up trying to put covers on them and it looks ugly. Our home is our haven and it should be comfortable, beautiful, clean and nice. It does not have to be a show home. I wouldnt be comfortable living like that. You can find good buys if you take your time.

[guest32]

I think it is all relative. I scrimp and save on some things so I can splurge on others. We have been slowly updating our furniture and we've been buying pretty nice stuff. Not *high end*...but certainly not junk or cheaper type stuff. We bought a nice oak mission style dining table on clearance 1/2 price, but I got the heirloom Broyhill windsor chairs I wanted to go with it. I will not buy cheap paint....I but the best paint I can. Makes the job easier and the results look better. Cheap paint is not a bargain in my experience. I will spend less money on window treatments because I get tired of them and change them out. But I made the investmanet of 2" wood blinds throughout our home, so I can just change out the over treatments. We invest in good appliances and floor coverings. Those things get used the most and I want them to last, and keep looking good. We just save up until we can get what we really want rather than buy something to get by....

[midwestgal]

I have found the best starting place for decorating is first a clean, uncluttered home. It's amazing what a difference that can make! In my homes, I have used white paint a lot on the walls to create a serene background. But I have also used some warm yellows as a "neutral" paint as well. I never use wallpaper. It can be beautiful, but I find it a bit too busy and harder to change than paint. We have invested in some good pieces of furniture in our marriage that have served us well for years. Try to avoid faddish pieces and get furniture that will stand the test of time. Then, I work around those investment pieces with good quality used furniture that I have found at estate or garage sales. Most often, these pieces are solid walnut, maple, or oak and can be refinished and spiffed up. The construction is solid, and I end up with a much better piece than if I had bought medium quality furniture. I like to fill in with wicker pieces. A few years ago, I bought 2 lovely white wicker armchairs at Pier One Import for about $129 each. We use these in our bedroom. I also bought 2 darker wicker chairs and an ottoman at Crate and Barrel, and we use these in our living room. We will have these wicker pieces forever; all I need to do is change the cushions if we redecorate. I love the airy look of wicker coupled with some solid wood pieces in a room.

To accessorize, I bought some simple white ceramic lamps years ago that I have been schlepping around for ages. They never go out of style. I keep the windows bare if there is privacy. Otherwise, I like to use 2 inch wood blinds in white or natural at the windows. It's a clean, classic look. I usually buy the middle quality from the Penney's catalog on sale, and DH trims them to size because I buy standard sizes, not custom By the time I add some framed family photos, milk glass pieces from my collection, books, a few plants and inexpensive botanical prints for the walls, it's a very cozy place. My mantra is "Less is More!" I think that makes a very comfortable, peaceful home.

[thrifty gal]

No, I don't think you always have to be frugal to decorate your home. As for my home, I try to decorate frugally, but if there is a piece that I just fall in love with, and can't find it or make it cheaper, I buy it.

[PrairieRose]

In years past I always decorated frugally with only a few, small splurges. This time I've splurged quite a bit. We bought a nice, higher end, leather living room set b/c it was such good quality and honestly looked like money. I'm more determined to have what I want, buy the best I can possibly afford and enjoy it all to the extreme now in this phase of my life. Now, having said that.... I want granite countertops. I don't have the $5000 to spend on them so I'm going to paint mine and make them look just like what I could buy for that price and put a resin finish over them. IF they don't turn out like I want them to (which they will b/c I'll practice for days on scrap lumber before I start) I've lost $100 in paint-max. Should that happen I'll get new laminate that looks like granite and start a change jar for my countertops..... I can always figure out a way to get what I want. I'm sure you're the same way Cj.

[canadian gardener]

Quality matters and it lasts, way longer than some of the cheaper things, so with stuff that takes a lot of use, buying quality is frugal even though the initial price is a shock.

But for each person, what is a quality buy, and what we can skimp on and still get away with might be different.

Quality:
Couch and chairs, dining table and chairs, hutch. Chairs period.

the next couch I buy will have an ultrasuede fabric and I will be buying ready made to fit covers in cotton duck that is easy to wash.

good paint-- it goes on better, smoother with less drips, runs and spatter, and it wears better, and washes better and lasts longer.

Drapes or blinds, doesn't have to be top quality, but good fabric wears, looks and feels better and good hardware lasts better. Don't cheap out on this one, you open and shut them at least once or twice a day.

Scrimp:
lamps, ceramic vases-- they can be up to the minute in colour or style and when they chip, or break, I can change and keep it fresh.

MDF furniture (paint it if the wood grain looks extremely cheap and or change the hardware) for things like TV stands or some bookshelves or extra dressers and night stands.

I got Billy bookcases from IKEA in a good oak veneer, cheap, but look really nice.

feather filled cushion squares that I can cover and recover, and always feel and look full and rich and feel comfy. Pillow forms in other words, I got mine from IKEA and they cost no more than a cheap fiberfilled pillow anywhere else.

Sewing cushion covers or buying new ones from IKEA are MUCH cheaper than buying cheap ready made cushions with fiberfill that flatten almost instantly and always look cheap.

[canadian gardener]

I agree with many of the above points.

buying second hand wooden furniture, often antique or near to it, with good dovetail joins, and sturdy workmanship is always a bargain.

Our dd's bedroom furniture is beautiful painted maple, well constructed and bought at auction by my inlaws years ago. It's worn well, no sign of wear and honestly it could go another 2 or 3 hundred years.

Ditto with our son's desk.

Antiques as long as you don't pay too much, will keep their value and you can resell them but you need to know what you are looking at so you don't get taken.

I'd avoid stuffed furniture simply because of horror stories about bed bugs and creepy crawlies.

At least with a dresser, you can check inside the drawers and the case for insects.

[FrugalMomof3]

While I dont think you have to decorate frugally, you surely can if need be.

I usually try to decorate how I want, if I feel the item is a bit pricy I wait till it goes on sale, but if theres that one item I just have to have, I get it (without the use of a CC). I make sure I have the money to buy it.

~Tracy~

[staceyy]

I spent $20,000 to decorate my living room but to me this was frugal because I invested in quality furnishings that will never go out of style or wear out due to our misuse. I have not needed to buy one single new thing for the past 6 years in this room and don't plan to for many more years to come. When I do re-decorate out of boredom, I will simply change the paint color on the walls and change the throw pillows on the couch. I will probably also re-arrange the furniture.

My sofa and wing chair are about 15 years old. When we moved 6 years ago,I simply had new custom slipcovers made for them both. We have hardwood floors so I had them re-finished and we do not have to worry about carpeting. I had custom window treatments made and bought new furniture in a classic style that will never go out of style. I bought a large round table that sits in front of the window, the bottom is made of pressed board. I placed a table cloth over it and then a glass top. Nothing in this room wears out as the room is rarely used. We're not home much.
One day I guess the window treatments will dry rot but thats about it.

The point is we spent a lot, but for the rest of our lives we hardly have to spend anything. Everyone says the room looks like something out of Architectural Digest.

A relative of mine (who does have young kids, mind you) buys cheap furniture and due to poor construction and the wear and tear she lets her children get away with, has to purchase new furniture every couple of years. We were raised as children to respect our things to show appreciation and to make them last longer. Our parents loved quality things and would always buy good quality used in lieu of poor quality new. This is how I lived for many years after I was out on my own.

Interior design has always been a hobby of mine and even when I decorated my living room on $20,000 I recovered my sofa and chair instead of buying new and found other cost saving techniques for decorating. Now when I re-decorate I look for small, low cost ways to add a lot of wow, such as changing door knobs, switch plates and throw pillows.

[KimSecret]

I'm always frugal in decorating. I use a few hand-me-down pieces of antiques from family, and we bought a used (nice) sectional for the living room. I bought some nice oil paintings a few yrs ago from goodwill.com.
My home is newly remodeled, but nothing super fancy...but at least its uncluttered and clean...thats all that matters to me at this point in my life.
I may splurge a little once the children have grown and moved on, but it wouldnt be a good idea to do so at their ages now.

[SAHMWannaBe]

I try to be as frugal as possible, but that does not necessarily mean not spending money on something. If there is something that DH or I have our heart set on then we start a pillow stash (putting money aside) for that item. I think frugal is more about staying out of debt than it is never spending.
mel

[momof42003]

Decorating doesn't mean being frugal, but in my case frugal is the only way to go... I have four kids who are total slobs, and I will not have anything "nice" until they all learn to clean up after themselves... I also need to wait until the youngest (almost three) is quite a bit older... She still spills, has an accident or two, etc., etc., etc.... On that note, I have bought high end items for hundereds not thousands of dollars too... My entertainment center is solid oak, and retail would be about 1200.00 I got it for 100.00.. Both my almost brand new couches would have cost me at least a thousand, I got free... And the list could go on... No decorating doesn't need to be frugal, but it is nice when a home looks like a million when only pennies were spent....