This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Leviton for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a pet peeve when it comes to painting a room…I can't stand the look of a switchplate that doesn't match my wall color.  Think about it…a white switchplate on a chocolate brown wall kind of catches your attention and not in a good way!  So, everytime I paint a room, I paint the switchplate although it chips off easily over time.

Thank goodness the folks at Leviton have created a product called  Renu, and that means I'll never have to paint a switch plate or electrical outlet again!  Renu is a collection of switches, wall plates, dimmers, outlets and more that comes in 20 different colos to compliment your room!  Even better, changing is a snap – it's a simple diy project that won't take any time at all. 

More good news, follow @Leviton and #Renu to participate in twitter events, and you just might win a Home Depot gift card or tickets to a Broadway event.  The next twitter party is May 2 at 9 p.m. (EST).

Don't forget to like Leviton on Facebook.

 

 

Add a festive and frugal touch to your sofa by “gift wrapping” your pillows! Simply cut a piece of ribbon or scrap of fabric five times the width of your pillow, and then “gift wrap” your pillow just like you would wrap a present.

If you don’t have a scrap of fabric, most fabric stores keep a “scrap” table, and you can pick some up for just a few bucks! Metallics, gauzes and tulle are my personal favs for this project!

If you want to give your home a new look but you don’t want to spend a fortune or get the paint brushes out, there is an easier way!
Changing tired and dated architectural hardware (handles, drawer pulls, window fittings and door knobs) in your home can really give your rooms a new lease of life – and it’s so cheap and easy to do.

Everyone knows that renovating a kitchen can be one of the most expensive household jobs that you can undertake, but a tired looking kitchen doesn’t always need to be completely ripped out. If you’ve just moved to a new home and you’re not keen on the kitchen you could consider painting your kitchen cabinets or changing the doors and adding new knobs and drawer pulls.

The best part about choosing the right knobs is they can make a cheaper kitchen look much more stylish, and all it takes is a screwdriver and a little elbow grease!

There are so many options for knobs and drawer pulls that you’re certain to find something for your taste and budget. If you want a more modern look, choose stainless steel handles in sleek shapes. For a pretty look, why not choose traditional round wooden handles decorated with a delicate flower design – perfect for a country kitchen.

If you enjoy searching for treasures then you can often find odd handles at flea markets, antique fairs and thrift stores. Choosing odd handles is great for creating an eclectic, bohemian look and you’ll pay just a few dollars. However, if you like your handles to match but you still want a traditional feel then you could choose reproduction antique door handles. It will cost you a little more but you’ll get all the character of old fashioned handles, but made to modern specifications and all matching!

If you want your handles to stand out from the crowd choose something more unusual that reflects your personality. There are lots of amazing bespoke handles available online – including animal shaped handles, hand shaped handles or even jewel encrusted handles for a truly opulent look.

How Do I Fit My Handles?

Once you’ve chosen your handles it’s really easy to fit them, all you need is a screwdriver. First, unscrew the existing handles. This will leave holes so you won’t need to drill new ones. Then simply fit the new handles and screw them into place using the existing hole. Make sure you screw them as securely as possible.

If you need new holes in your cabinet then you will have to get the drill out. However drilling the holes is a fairly easy job as long as you measure accurately where the holes need to be placed. The best way to do this is to place some masking tape where you think the handle will go. Then take a pencil and mark the screw holes through the handle. You can then drill straight through the masking tape in the right place and remove the tape when you’re done. Your cabinet will then be ready to have the handles fixed into place.

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written by: Lucy Pitt

Lucy Pitt is an online marketing consultant, copywriter and blogger who writes on various subjects across the web.

You don’t have to take a course in interior design or have a large budget to create a beautiful living space. Interior decorating is really about expressing yourself. When a house reflects your personality, it begins to truly feel like a home. Check out design websites, home decorating magazines and model homes for inspiration. When you find a room that you absolutely love, spend some time analyzing what it is about the space that makes it so appealing. Consider everything from the color scheme to window treatments, flooring, furniture, lighting, accessories and how everything is placed in the room. This should give you some ideas that you may be able to incorporate into your own home. Here are some tips that can help you get it right.

Match style to the type of building:

Take a cue from the architectural style of your home or apartment. While a city loft may look great with sophisticated ultra-modern décor, the same décor would look out of place in a restored Victorian house with ornate original features. You can also take a cue from your home’s natural surroundings. If your home is located in a forested area, you can bring the outdoors inside by using natural fabrics and materials, earthy colors and plants.

Color scheme:

When choosing your colour scheme, consider the room’s function and what emotional impact you want it to have. Color stimulates an emotional response. Yellow is bright and cheerful while red is energizing. Greens, blues and browns tend to be calming and restful.

Imitate nature:

Many designers base the a room’s color scheme on drapery or upholstery fabric, an oriental rug or a piece of art that they want to feature in the room. To achieve a balanced look when choosing color for walls and flooring, imitate Mother Nature by using your darkest colors for the floor, medium shades for the walls, and the lightest colors for the ceiling.

Try before you buy:

Before you buy paint, upholstery fabric or window treatments ask for a sample or a fabric swatch and check out what the colour is going to look like in the room you are decorating under various lighting conditions, both artificial and natural. You may find that the color looks very different in your home than it does in the store.

As a rule of thumb, choose neutral colors for large pieces of furniture, like couches. Accessorize them with colourful pillows and throws.

Don’t leave large areas of the walls empty; fill them with art. You can easily create your own works of art. Scour garage sales for old art books and magazines and cut out the images that appeal to you. Matted, framed and grouped attractively on your walls they can transform your room.

And finally, when it comes to decorating your home less is sometimes more. Avoid having too many large pieces of furniture in a room. Go for quality over quantity. And when accessorizing, edit yourself. Feature a few key accessories and knickknacks and switch them up every once in a while. Decorating your home should be an ongoing process, as the décor changes and grows with you.

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About the author
This post was written by Alex from CentralScotlandJoinery – makers of premium quality case and sash windows.

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Image courtesy of: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Happy Fourth of July!

Looking for an “instant” & inexpensive patriotic centerpiece for your Fourth of July party?

Start with a glass container…use whatever you have! A large glass vase or hurricane works well, but a simple mason jar or even an empty pickle jar will do the trick.

Fill your glass container with red & blue m & m’s or red, white & blue jelly beans. Yum…now you have an edible centerpiece!

The m & m’s make the perfect base to display all sorts of patriotic paraphernalia!

• A small American flag on a wooden stick.
• Sparklers…to be used later in the evening.
• An artificial red flower like a big, red gerbera daisy!
• A red, white & blue pinwheel

Let me know how your “instant”, inexpensive & edible Fourth of July centerpiece turns out!

You don’t need to hire an expensive interior designer to make your home look like it jumped of the pages off Better Homes and Gardens. You just need to follow these 10 simple diy decorating tips. Yes…you can do it yourself!
 
 
10 Simple diy Decorating Tips for $100 or Less!

1. Copycat Decor – When you’re flipping through magazines, cut out pictures of your favorite rooms and then duplicate the look for less! Garage sales, flea markets and consignment shops are a budget decorators dream!
2. Rearrange – Remember how much fun it was to rearrange your bedroom when you were little? Have some fun and refresh a room by simply rearranging the furniture. It’s FREE!
3. Paint – A coat of paint is an inexpensive way to change the look of a room! Thanks to new software programs, most paint stores can take a photo of your room and show you how it will look in different colors…what fun!
4. Pillows – Add new throw pillows to your sofa or bed for a cozy and welcoming addition. Try Homegoods, T.J. Maxx or Marshalls for great prices!
5. Knobs & Pulls – Change your cabinet knobs and drawer pulls in your kitchen and bathroom for an instant update!
6. Lamps – Add a lamp to your kitchen & bathroom counters for nice change from the harsh overhead lights. Every room looks better in lamp light!
7. Candles – Fill your empty fireplace with pillar candles for a beautiful glow without the blazing heat! Even better, try the battery powered candles!
8. Baskets & Trays Add a tray or small basket to your coffee table to collect remotes.
9. Flowers – Pick fresh flowers from your yard to brighten any room…a fun activity for children! Don’t forget about blooming branches or gorgeous greenery!
10. Treasure Hunt – Dig through your cabinets and discover a great accessory waiting to be shown off. Do you have a beautiful silver pitcher that could be filled with flowers? How about some old books that you can stack on a table or in a window sill? Take a look, I’ll bet there are some treasures in there!

 
Get started on your diy home decor today! Please leave a comment to share your favorite budget decorating tips.

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Image courtesy of: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With more sunshine and bursting buds just outside your windows your home is filled with spring decorating potential, and you’ll love these home decorating ideas on a budget. Open the door, come on in and discover 8 easy and inexpensive decorating tips to brighten a room!

Move your Furniture

Decorating doesn’t always mean buying new furniture, it can be as simple as looking at your existing furnishings in a new light. Especially with the change of seasons where the home is less centered around the fireplace, and more centered around the outdoors. How’s that for decorating on a budget – it’s FREE!

Reuse the Fireplace

Why don’t you place a large silver or copper platter in your fireplace filled with pillar candles to brighten your room with a beautiful glow?

Spring Arrangements

Make use of some of your branches by spray painting and arranging them in a large floor vase. You can paint them white for a fresh spring look or any colour which takes your fancy, or matches your existing interior. Don’t forget about filling your vases with flowers from your yard!

Accent Accessories

Updating just a few of the accessories in your home can be a good investment. A little shopping will yield big results!

For example, rather than investing in a whole kitchen make over, look at just upgrading the knobs or the handles on the cupboards.

How about new curtains in fresh spring colors, and you can then swap them each year with your heavy winter curtains for a new look. You can also do the same thing by stocking up on throw pillows in vibrant spring colours.

Brighten a room with simple accessories such as candles, vases of flowers and plants.

Even changing the photos in your photo frames around your home can give your decor a makeover, with little cost or effort.

Feature Wall

Feature walls are a tried and tested interior design feature which may officially go in and out of style with the magazines, but will always remain an affordable and effective way to update the look of a room. Pick the wall – in any room – to which your eye is drawn first, and it is usually best to choose a wall which doesn’t have any windows or doors.. If you want to test the feature wall look, choose a paint colour just a few shades lighter than that of the rest of the room. Plus, rather than repainting your whole house, you should be able to do a feature wall with just one tin of paint.

Open Up Your Windows

You have probably already been tempted to throw open the windows and let in the warm breezes and fresh air but what is standing in the way of this spring sunshine? Your heavy winter curtains of course.

Removing your heavy curtains in spring and opt for sheer curtains for a fresh and floaty feel. You can even hunt down some ribbon and tie your sheers to the side, or twist silk flowers or muslin over the curtain rod for a no-sew spring valance.

Don’t Forget Spring Cleaning

As the possibilities for affordable spring decorating ideas abound, make sure you don’t forget about the spring cleaning portion of the refresh. Simply getting rid of the everyday clutter in your home and organising yourself and your family to keep your home de-cluttered, will make for a truly fresh spring feeling around your home.

Start at the Front Door

Make a welcoming entrance by repainting your front door or adding a new handle. Don’t forget flowers along the front path or on the porch to welcome your guests and spring into your home.

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written by: Alban

Alban is a regular contributor in several personal finance blogs.

Save Your Money – Make Easy Centerpieces

You’ll begin with a handful of inexpensive supplies, and you’ll end up with a centerpiece that can easily be changed for any occasion or any season! Once you make the base, you’ll use these centerpieces for Birthday Parties, Baby Showers, Holidays and more!

Centerpiece Supplies

• Terra Cotta Pots – 3″ or 4″
• Sand
• Zip Loc Bags – sandwich size
• Ribbon
• Wooden Skewers
• Greeting Cards, Die Cuts or Printables (TipJunkie.com has loads of free printables for all occasions!)
• Double Stick Tape
• Shred or Any Filler
• Tulle
• Spray Paint, optional

Step 1

• Fill a sandwich size ziploc bag about halfway with sand and zip closed.


step 1

Step 2

• Stuff the sand filled ziploc bag into the terra cotta pot.


step 2

Step 3

• Using double stick tape, attach 2 front sides of a greeting card together or 2 die cut pieces. Insert the wooden skewer between the 2 pieces.


step 3

Step 4

• Poke the skewer into the sand bag.


step 4

Step 5

• Use shred or any type of filler to cover the sandbag.


step 5

Step 6

• Tie a ribbon around the terra cotta pot.


step 6

Step 7

• Place the completed pot on a “nest” of tulle.


step 7

Once you’ve made the base (terra cotta pot and sandbag), think of all the centerpiece possibilities!

• Baby Shower – spray paint the terra cotta pots white, use baby blue or pink shred, tulle and ribbon.
• 50th Birthday Party – there are so many funny greeting cards for “old people”! I made the centerpiece in the picture for a 50th birthday party.
• Thanksgiving – TipJunkie.com has so many festive free printables! How about candy corn for the filler?

Please click on the title of this article to share your easy centerpiece ideas!