REDO, REFINISH, RECOVER AND REPAINT

The easiest way to get the fastest return on your money is to repaint something.  For under $100 you can't ask for a better bang for your buck.  Even if you just paint one wall in your home the change is amazing.  I love to add a chalkboard wall, sometimes framed in like a piece of artwork with wood trim, in a busy families kitchen.  Great impact if you never use it for anything other than the kids doodling or the weeks menu.  I also think it has tremendous PUNCH in a teen's room as their headboard wall.  Their friends use it to write funny things, homework due?, Mom's To Do List, whatever makes them happy.  Most teens want a "black" room if for nothing more than the shock value.  A black chalkboard wall solves this debate.

Recovering furniture, even if it's just the desk chair you are reading this blog in, makes a welcome change.  If the furniture is easy enough for you to do yourself, great!  If it has sentimental value or it is well made, 8-way hand tied, kiln dried piece of furniture, it would be worth the investment to have it recovered.  A chair runs about $350 in labor and averages 8-10 yards of fabric.  I don't like slipcovers as much as reupholstering because of the constant adjusting you have to do.  If the family is very young and a white slipcover is the desired look then think painter's drop cloths.  They are cheap, easy to use and you just throw them in the washer to clean.  Make sure you preshrink them before cutting!

Refinish something!  Maybe the top of the dining room table has seen better days but the rest of the piece is in excellent condition.  Try gold or silver leafing.  Easy to do, it is basically adhering the foil to a sticky surface and filling the space up till its all covered.  Change the hardware and you have a new piece of furniture to show off.  

Redo all the above and you are on your way to that great space you have only dreamed about before.

Happy Decorating!