Budget Paintings for your Home

We all know how searching for paintings that match your walls, furniture, carpets, and most of all your personal style is a very time consuming task. For those of us who can afford it, looking for wall paintings can be wonderful and fun, but what do you do when:

a) you don’t have a lot of time or money
b) all the cheap paintings in the stores just don’t match your home/style
c) everyone seems to already have them
d) that blank spot over your fireplace is really starting to depress you!

After a long conversation with my interior designer sister-in-law, she let me in on a very important decorating tip. Whatever you can’t find ready-made within your budget, just do it yourself. There are tons of ideas out there on creative wall art ideas, but if you’re interested in hanging up more traditional canvas paintings around your home, then here’s what you do:

1) Go to your neighborhood art store or do a search online and purchase a couple of blank canvases (not a roll of canvas - you should get it already stretched and primed). You don’t need to purchase the highest quality canvas, so they should run very cheap.

2) Buy acrylic paint and brushes. Now here’s the important part; make sure that the acrylic paint colors you purchase match the color scheme of your home, but include one or two extra colors as unique accents. You’re already half way to creating your modern art masterpiece.

3) Make sure you set up the canvas on some sort of drop cloth. Once your floor is protected, you can drip paint onto the canvas, spray it, use cups or any other tools to make interesting designs. You can also paint the canvas a solid color first depending on what look you’re going for. Be creative; there are no set rules when it comes to creating your own canvas art!

4) Let it dry. You can hang your paintings up on the wall as they are, or if you like, add a small frame.

Stay tuned for more budget decorating ideas. Next we’ll be discussing creative wall art by covering canvas with fabric for a unique effect.

Creative Shelving Ideas

As traditional styles of home decor give way to more modern designs, one of the areas which have enjoyed a burst of creativity is shelving. Where once homes were filled with standard bookshelves, today there is no end to the variety of shelving styles that complement the walls of any room, including kitchens and bathrooms. There has been a conceptual shift from standard, vertical, solid, wooden bookshelves to shelving made from any number of materials in any manner of shape, as long as it is capable of holding objects.

There are obviously some highly impractical designs, but just like in the world of fashion, the new concepts eventually trickle down into the department stores which then carry a more ‘reasonable’ variation of the original. So for creative shelving ideas, we’ve collected some of the more interesting designs and then moved towards more practical modern shelving.

This chair isn’t exactly standard or comfortable, but it is definitely a creative way to store books. In shelving, we generally see the designs split into two groups: shelving based on the ground and wall shelves.

The next design is also ground-based yet is a brilliant manipulation of wood to simulate fluidity whereas most ground shelves give off a very rigid, stiff feel.  Though the design isn’t so practical and wouldn’t exactly work in everyone’s living room, we can still take from the general idea when decorating a room in our home and think more in terms of bended wood rather than strictly vertical or horizontal.

Here is another example of a bookshelf based on a similar concept, though slightly more practical. This unique shelving concept bends the wood entirely to create circular shaped shelving. Although it may be strange to the eye at first, it is a very creative use of shelving and can potentially complement any modern living room.

Moving on to creative wall shelving ideas, we have here a set of shelves suspended off the ground simulating running. This is a very creative concept, though I’m sure the pricetag on this type of setup wouldn’t be so cheap even though it would add tremendously to anyone’s home. People are willing to spend so much money on artwork; here we have an example of the shelving itself becoming the art.

A more practical (and probably more affordable) single unit of wall mounted shelving can also add to a room. This smaller unit has a very dramatic design and would have a pronounced effect on any wall it is placed on. Notice that on these types of shelves, stuffing them with all sorts of books is not exactly the best use. A delicate blend of novels mixed with modern accessories will help keep them from looking cluttered and maintain the contemporary feel created by the shelves themselves.

Creative Decorating Ideas

When it comes to room decorating, we are always searching for new ways to make ordinary parts of our home look new and exciting. Getting ideas from super creative people is one to get you thinking out of the box. Below are a few pictures of some of the most creative room decorating ideas I’ve seen on the web!

This beautiful tea-cup chandelier is a really creative and adorable lighting fixture. Though it might not be so easy to “do-it-yourself” without the proper wiring skills, using household items in unique ways is something anyone can do. Plates, cups, silverware and bowls are not only for food but can also add a touch or decor to any room.

This funky bedroom is not only stunning, but it also breaks the barriers of regular room design. The “dresser” is located in the middle of the room on wheels and gives the impression of being a bunch or randomly stacked boxes. This room contains unique shapes and modern edges that give it a contemporary appeal that is definitely one-of-a-kind.

The ordinary boundries of the sink have definitely been overstepped with this incredible sink/fish tank. This original and extremely cool design embodies the idea that no household item, product or appliance has to be limited to standard definitions. Each area of your house can embody things you love and find beautiful, even if you can’t afford a mini aquarium in your bathroom!

Although this may look like regular colorful wall decor, it’s more than meets the eye. This wall paper is actually “scratch and sniff”! Not only does it give your room a sparkle or decor, but it doubles as air freshener adding a nice scent to your home (well…at least if you scratch it!). Hey- what kids wouldn’t love this?

I hope this helped you find some creative decorating inspiration! Dream away!