Spent all your money on your down payment? Time to get creative! In the second part of our piece “Decorating Your First Home On Your Last Dime,” here are some Decorating On the Cheap ideas to dress up your dining room!
Revamp A Flea Market Find: So you didn’t win a dining room set on The Price Is Right? Don’t fret. An old farm door makes a not-so-shabby dining table. Or polish grandma’s oak tabletop, then scour the thrifts for mismatched wooden chairs. Adorn the chair backs with finials and upholstery tacks, then spray paint them copper. Add silk seat cushions and you’ve got a glamorous “matching” set for under $100!
Turn Mass-Produced Into One-of-a-Kind: With a little elbow grease, even Wal-Mart furniture can be unique. Tack leather to the back of a bookcase, add bar stools, and start pouring the martinis from your custom-made bar. Decoupage vintage botanical prints to the cabinet doors of an unfinished-wood buffet, then stain the whole thing to create an instant antique. Or just add old-fashioned crystal doorknobs to an ordinary dresser to store your linens. Talk about kooky chic!
Bedazzle Your Lighting: Even a budget dining room deserves panache, so replace that frumpy light fixture with a glitzy chandelier. Yes, you can afford one, if you know where to look. EBay has a variety for under $100, and Salvation Army often has a crystal cast-off waiting to be rewired. If your preference is dining alfresco, bring a lamppost indoors (only $60 at Target). Then paint the ceiling midnight blue, spritz it with gold-glitter spray paint, and dine under the stars every night.
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