redecorating and reviving a living space with $0 budget

[jenmkat]

I've grown tired of my surroundings. They are nice enough, and I enjoy all of the things I do have. They have just not moved in a couple of years. There's a couple of rooms that are stagnant because the furniture and windows and radiators and electrical outlets don't allow much of a different, efficient floor plan.

But this doesn't make me not want to re-do something. I can not buy new things at this point. I'd like to be able to give my living areas' spirits a lift.

How do you fall in love with your home again?

[Getcrafty.com!]

[yardenxanthe]

I heard that one way to do it on no money is to rearrange things and use items you already own in different ways than you currently use them.

Another way is to give your home a good cleaning.

Dumpster diving is free, or, if you have a very low budget, you can thrift for new stuff.

[mrs_stroozi]

Do you have friends who may have some spare paint they'd like to get rid of/ volunteer to give you? A quart could paint one wall at least.

[Chelsea]

Cleaning really well helps me a lot. That and re-arranging. Move a few pieces into different rooms.

I know you said you had no money, but the last post reminded me of the cans of "oops paint" at stores like Home Depot. They can be pretty cheap and I've found a few really great colors. :)

[melimade]

Can you switch bedrooms around, maybe turn an office into a living area, or take away the areas that are not being used well(for example, a desk that just gets piled up with crap or the corner you throw all your laundry into).
When I get sick of things, I move everything, CLEAN, and then move it all somewhere new/rearrange/reorganize. I recently took a tv stand and turned it into an end table, then moved things around so the TV was someplace completely new. It made the whole room different.

[brdgt]

One tip I learned last time I moved: You probably buy a lot of things on certain themes and put them all together - well maybe you could divide them into several themes and put them in separate rooms. For example, I put all of our outdoor prints (Adirondack mountains, etc.) in the living room and all of our travel prints (an artist's redition of Old Montreal, Boston Skyline, etc.) in our bedroom.

Rearranging and cleaning/purging is great too - plus it can make you money. Go through your books/dvds/cds and sell them on half.com for example - then you have room for nicknacks on your shelves and money to buy something else.

Do you have clothes that you keep just because you like the pattern (maybe it's too small or has to be mended?) Use the fabric to make something like a throw pillow, lampshade, or print for the wall.

Finally get around to framing those pictures/putting them in photo albums.

[brdgt]

Oh, and I've never seen this show but I've seen ads for Design Remix where they supposedly don't spend any money and just use what you have.

[spiderlady]

There's also a great show on HGTV called "Freestyle" where a designer comes in and rearranges what the homeowner/renter has to make it work better. Zero budget and great style ideas.

[the-kitschen]

Do you have anything in storage that you could display? What about things you hadn't thought of as display worthy? (a vase of knitting needles, beads, marbles, or colored pencils)

How about fresh flowers? I feel extra luxurious when I put some cut flowers in my bedroom. You can get bunches pretty cheap at the grocery store.

Look at what you have. Do you have anything you were planning to get rid of? Repaint or decoupage it. Could you make some throw pillows out of scraps or old clothes? Pop out whatever is in the frames you have and make your own art for inside.

[greengirl]

I find plants help a lot, plus it is easy to get cuttings, offshoots etc from friends. You can plant them in almost anything too which is great.