Improving Less Expensive Furniture

We all know buying furniture at Goodwill or any thrift store will save us money. Not everyone has the time to find these precious few pieces. I watch so many shows on decorating, then put my twist on it. What I have found is you can take anything, even a old dresser you're not using, and put it in the kitchen (for linens) or add it to the living room to hold DVD's, other games, and things that need a home. Gives it a whole new look.

Night stands in the bathroom also work well and look great. They serve a purpose and are easy to find without investing too much money. So, always think outside the box, that is what makes your home yours.

The cheaper furniture, like from IKEA or Big Lots, can be beautiful with a little work. You can spray paint to change color, add fabric to door panels, or the change the hardware. You also can create an expensive look by changing the hardware.

Go online or to the library and look at how trimming the doors on a cabinet gives you a totally new piece. Think how you can take something you may not need in bedroom and use it in another way. Personally I don't like the "show room" look - make it yours. You'll have one of a kind furniture without the one of a kind price.

If you have, or find, left over nursery furniture it can be changed to fit elsewhere in your home. A changing table makes a wonderful side table or even a bar with a little work and imagination. That one table you have to hold a lamp in small child's room is one thing you shouldn't pass up. Take it and change the color. If it has hardware, change that. What a great addition to the bathroom!

Always look in the back of stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, and Kohls. My friends, great finds are hiding there at super great prices. In big box stores, usually these items are in the middle of the store. Check furniture stores when they sell what have been floor displays. All of this is brand new furniture, quite often name brand at marked way down prices.

Hotels and motels have auctions when they redecorate. You can get beds, dressers, and night stands for little investment. Some even have desks. So make sure you do not make fast purchase. Saving money is so much joy. With a little work you have your own one of a kind look.

I got these ideas by reading magazines, shopping at thrift stores, and I love decorating shows. This is how I have redone my whole apartment. I get compliments always, with nobody knowing it was used, found, or refinished.

By Luana M. from San Diego, CA