Cheap Home Decorating Ideas
This lens is perfect for those that are just starting out or want to create a new room style without breaking the bank. Cheap chic decorating with Craigslist can be fun, rewarding, and a true decorating bargain.
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Interior Painting
Cheap Home Decorating Ideas

A fresh coat of paint can transform any room or area in an instant. Do it yourself - paint is still the cheapest update and there are an inordinate amount of incredible colors just waiting to be used. Furniture will also benefit from a new coat. Try to be a little more risky or fashion forward in your choice of hue - the worst thing that happens is that you can repaint if you don't like the color.
Thrift Shop Decorating
Cheap Home Decorating Ideas

I've started to completely ignore the financial news every day since it is just more doom and gloom. With the new year, we all realized there was no other choice than to change some habits, but there is still nothing wrong with wanting nice things, right? Being conservative tends to keep some people at home so their surroundings need to reflect comfort as well as personality. If new furnishings are not in the cards, then I suggest a trip to the local consignment shops or used furniture stores.
Use Slipcovers for Sofas, Chairs, Ottomans, and Most Other Furntiure
Cheap Decorating Ideas

We're not talking about the old throws Grandma use to toss over her furniture. Today's slipcovers are stylish and affordable. You'll feel like you bought brand new furniture just by changing the slip covers. Think about getting two sets of slipcovers so you can change them with the seasons. A warm, plush fabric cozies up a cold winter day while a cool chintz or polished cotton turns down the heat.
Slipcovers are made for all sorts of furniture in many different styles. These days you can find slipcovers for a sofa and love seat, recliner slipcovers, ottoman slipcovers, fitted slipcovers, shabby chic slipcovers, stretch slipcovers, sectional slipcovers, and the list goes on and on... You can even be creative and make your own DIY custom slipcovers.
Use Custom Framed Posters and Prints For Inexpensive Wall Art
Cheap Home Decorating Ideas

Posters are another great way to fill a space. Forget the old dorm room look - the new cast of posters are being expertly printed on quality paper, and are being used side by side with investment pieces of art - you may not even realize it is a poster at first. Great websites, such as www.artriver.com, www.allposters.com, or www.art.com offer everything imaginable and even sometimes rare reproductions. Some of these sites will offer wonderful custom framing so that you don't have to spend more on an elaborate frame. By the time you have it shipped, you may be still under $300 for a substantial piece.
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Create a Shabby Chic Apartment With Craigslist
Decorating On A Budget

If you are just starting out or are moving into your first apartment, the following paragraphs will show you how to decorate on a budget.
My goal was to help a friend decorate a cheap chic living room for under $500. Since I needed inexpensive decorating ideas, I turned to Craigslist in search of a bargain. After a few days of looking around I had a cheap chic living room furniture set put together for him. The price and results may shock you.
Below are the results of my Craigslist Home Decorating Experiment.
Shabby Chic Sofa and Love Seat
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas

In order to show you the kind of incredible decorating bargains available to you on Craigslist, a great experiment was conducted. Was it possible to decorate an entire living room for under $500 using a Craigslist community? With $500 in hand, the search began. Knowing that the main item in the living room would be seating, finding a shabby chic sofa was the first item on the agenda. After several emails and a couple of unproductive short trips, the pictured cheap chic couch and love seat were purchased for $100.
Shabby Chic Rug
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas

Once a sofa was purchased, the living room style was determined. It would definitely be more modern with cleaner lines. However, due to the solid neutral color, accessories would be needed to liven up the area.
An intriguing area rug in excellent condition was purchased for $65 and gave the room a dramatic effect.
Artwork For A Shabby Chic Room
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas

Since the area rug had rich earth tones and unusual shapes, it was time to find artwork that accentuated those characteristics. For $37, the following pieces were found:
More Artwork For A Shabby Chic Room
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas

An earth tone painted canvas. So far the tally is $202. Pretty darn good for my friend's first pad in LA.
Inexpensive Ceiling Fan
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas

So far, so good. With a budget of $500, the major pieces had been purchased for $202.
Next came lighting since it is an essential part of room decor. The living room had a large window that provided excellent natural light, but was in need of some kind of window treatment for effect and for nighttime privacy. Additionally, the room had one, ugly overhead light.
Cheap Drapes
Inexpensive Apartment Decorating Ideas

Found these drapes, in excellent condition in the free section of Craigslist.
Looking in the free section secured a ceiling fan with a light fixture as well as a set of neutral draperies.
Entertainment Center For A Cheap Chic Living Room
Inexpensive Apartment Decorating Ideas

Having spent only $222, another large piece of furniture was possible. For only $25, a wood entertainment center became the last part of the cheap chic furniture ensemble. Although it had a few nicks, the general appearance was excellent, the construction was solid, and the style was perfect.
A Shabby Chic Decorated Living Room For Under Five-Hundred Dollars.
Cheap Apartment Decorating Ideas
In these hard economic times, there is no need to give up beauty and style. Logging onto Craigslist is the perfect way to make your outdated or tired room into something new again. Decorating on a budget, if done right, can really pay off. Imagine what I could have done with the whole $500. Now he had money left over for a home decorating party
Tips For Finding Great Deals On Craigslist
Some Pointers To Help You Avoid Scams and Other Pitfalls on Craigslist
Site:http://yourcity.craigslist.org/keyword
* Use filters such as max/min price to remove redundant items from the list that you would not be interested in.
* Set your max price a little higher than your "real" maximum price because many times people on Craigslist are willing to negotiate if they know that you are serious.
* Be sure to ask detailed questions about the item. How old is it? How much use has it had? A photo can be deceptive and you wouldn't want to waste your time or gas going to look at something that is completely different than what you had imagined.
* Always get a photo first. If they do not have a photo posted - ask them for one. It is best to be as knowledgeable as possible about the item before you ever leave the driveway.
* Don't try to decorate the whole house all at once. Monitor the new items posted daily. Chances are you will see fab items added all the time that you like.
* Jump on the great deals. If you see a great item at a great price, jump on it. Just the other day I found a guy giving away a one-year old leather sofa in mint condition. He even offered to deliver within 20 miles. Ofcoarse this piece was gone within ten minutes and I had just missed out.
* Keep up with the free section. The old adage, "one man's trash is another man's treasure", definitely applies. Sometimes people do not know the value of what they are throwing out and sometimes they just don't care.
* Map it out ahead of time. Before you go to look at an item, check the neighborhood on Google and make sure it is a relatively safe place to go.
* Take a friend or relative with you. Not only is it safer, but sometimes friendly advice is needed before making the final purchase.
Waiting to Hear From You
Please use this feedback module - I accidentally made two :)
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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- NFL jerseys NFL jerseys Oct 20, 2009 @ 1:58 am
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- home-interior-decorations home-interior-decorations Oct 5, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
- Good lens especially during recession . Keep up the good work !
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- AppalachianCountry AppalachianCountry Sep 25, 2009 @ 7:42 am
- Fantastic lens and tips. Thank-you for the great ideas. 5 stars*****
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- AdnanMasood AdnanMasood Aug 23, 2009 @ 11:20 am
- Great tips. It is amazing how much cheap and nice furniture and home decor you can find on Craigslist.
I just created a lens for the Craigslist Reader. It is a Craigslist search app that lets you search multiple locations and categories at once. It is a great way to find good deals on Craigslist with ease. There is a free 3-day trial if anyone is interested.
Once again, great lens. Haha you make me want to start redecorating again.
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Have you used Craigslist for Decorating?
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- Maureen Maureen Nov 1, 2009 @ 12:00 pm
- Hi.. great ideas. In the picture directly under "Create a Shabby Chic Apartment With Craigslist
Decorating On A Budget" Can you tell me what the slate blue crinkled looking fabric is underneath the cotton throw, draped over the front cushion? Is just a few yards of fabric (and if so, what kind) or something else you found?
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- NFL jerseys NFL jerseys Oct 20, 2009 @ 1:58 am
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- susannaduffy susannaduffy Aug 14, 2009 @ 8:55 pm
- Blessed by an Angel today (squidoo.com/more-angel-blessings)
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- StyleEstate StyleEstate Dec 31, 2008 @ 12:15 am
- You are very welcome. Thank you for the compliment.
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- StyleEstate StyleEstate Dec 21, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
- Thanks you very much for the kind message. Squidoo is a very fun website and although I have just launched my own very neat website, styleestate, I find myself spending more and more time here trying to perfect my lenses. This is very addictive :)
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