Mom Needs Decorating Imput

As a retired military wife, who moved over 22 times during my husbands career, white works wonders and the curtains made out of sheets. Do not cut the sheets, just fold as needed, then on the next move you can use them again as curtains or sheets. Accent the white with colored pillows, green plants. The girls rooms will change with each move, so again using sheets is a lot cheaper, especially now with Annas, or Big Lots, for inexpensive sheets.
M.

Try picking up some bright colored throw pillows, Anything should blend with the browns and beiges. Also go to WalMart and check out the clearance aisle. They have great things in assorted colors. Glass colored in bright colors, a nice colored, patterned throw would add to the mix. Pick a color family. Don't go over board, keep it suttle.
A couple of pillows, a throw for the couch, a disjplay of bight y colored vase, jars. HOpe this helps, I am a grand mother, but I've been there myself.

There is a pretty good website for color ideas. If you go to Lowes.com and go to the paint section you can pick the color closest to your furniture color and then hit the suggestion box and it will give you some color recommendations to go with it. I say go a little bolder on the walls then you would think. Color on the walls is much cheaper than buying new furniture. It's also hard without knowing your taste but you can look at there pictures based on style like country or contemporary. Hope that helps a bit. Good luck!

start calling decorators in your area..be upfront about what you want to pay.....you'll be surprised!

R.,

I know what you are going through. My husband is also in the middle of a tough residency... and we are only here for another 2 1/2 years as well! We are also military. I have a very modern style and my house is filled to the brim with color. Simply put, I am not afraid of color! I would love to help =)!

Something I found the other day, completely by accident, was at Walmart and I wish I had known about it when we were military.

If you go to the "paint center" at Walmart, behind the counter on the shelves with the other paint is a section with "mis-tinted" paints. I recently redecorated my daughter's room, and she wanted pink walls. We got the paint swatches and she picked the pink she wanted. As we were looking for the type of paint we wanted, she found these "mis-tinted" paints. There were tons of colors there! She found a pink similar to what she had wanted. It was one of the most expensive paints Walmart sells, usually over $20 a gallon. Because it was mis-tinted, we got it for just less then $10!

The reason the paint is called mis-tinted is not because there is something wrong with it...it's because it wasn't the color the person originally wanted.

If you put some paint on the walls (just coordinate with the furniture you already have) you can always buy candles, wall hangings/pictures (which, btw are on sale 50% off at Hobby Lobby), and small pieces of furniture (coffee tables, candle holders, lamps/light fixtures) from thrift stores and Goodwill.

**Another way to add character to the house is to use your digital camera and get candid shots of the entire family. Use a paint shop program to make the pictures black and white, or black and white with one object having some color. Walgreens, Walmart and a few other places (I use Walgreens because they seem to be cheaper and better quality) can print these out in various sizes. Then you just get nice frames and hang those. It's a great way to personalize your space.

This is a great way to decorate the house without investing a ton of money. At this point, this is how most of my house is decorated. It fits us, as it isn't super fancy but looks really nice. I've also added pillows to the couches by using fabrics from JoAnn Fabrics. (This is also where I got my curtains.)

I'm no interior decorator, but I do enjoy finding good deals to make my house look nicer. I hope I've helped you.

Hi R.,
I know what you are going through- I've been there myself. We are military but have been here in San Antonio for five years now. We have at least another 2 1/2 years while my husband completes a fellowship program-believe me-i understand crazy!
As far as decorating, area rugs are great especially if you have tile or wood floors. It will really define your space. Lowes has a special rack in the paint section where you can buy discounted paint (customers were not satisfied with the color)- a great bargain. Also, if you need to update furniture you can strip it down and restain it. I redid all my pine bedroom furniture into a dark mocha for under $100 but alot of hard work too! Good luck and hang in there.
M., mom of 3 girls ages 4, 7 and 10. Married to great guy for 12 years-and military family.

I am curious to read the responses! We have been here for 7 mos. and are in the same boat as fas as decorating goes.

Are you describing my house..... I felt the same way. Every single wall in my house was some sort of tan cream color.I wanted to change it but my fiance liked the light colors (he said it felt clean) So what I had to do what bring the house out.... I got some oriental rugs (maroon color) arranged the sofas around that. Most of the furniture was wood and cherry oak so that helped out alot. For the curtains I went to Annas Linens and bought some really elegant maroon color curtains to match the rugs. I went to Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls and Ross for most of my picture and things like that. I love angles so a lot of the pictures were of angles and nature type things. I found that if I use dark colors (not to dark) it would stand out with the lightness of the room. When people would walk into the house they always felt clean (so they say). THe only rooms I repainted were the office area with a blue for my fiance (he wanted to feel like he had a ROOM) and the kitchen an elegant burn red color (that ws my ROOM). Well good luck on your house and yes that is really true I wouldnt put too much into it if you know that you are going to be moving again (painting wise), with the other things pictures and other decorative things why not you can always use them @ your other house.
T.

We are now retired and I love the fact that I can decorate with a sense of permanency! I can infuse colors from rugs and other items we have collected over the years of travelling overseas. I kept some of the common downstairs areas wall colors fairly neutral (soft gold, greens and blues can be also neutral with tan/beige base). My color comes into play through fabrics and textures. Upstairs I was more liberal in selecting alternative and bold wall colors. Now a days most floor plans are very open and you want things to flow and be cohesive. In all my "temporary" home decorating projects I used accessories, fabrics, pillows, and area rugs to define rooms and make them reflect our personality. Many times I used household items such as pins and velcro to hold things in place without overdoing it with nail holes in all the walls (which need to be filled when moving). I have taken my fabric curtains with me to Europe and cut them down to the size of the windows over there and saved myself considerable money on each future decorating project. There are some really wonderful color combinations out there now - you can see them in magazines, Target and most department stores. A clue in the trend is watching the color combinations of bedroom and bathroom accessories. Ie., If you can't find a purple trash can that means the purple is no longer fashionable and it would be difficult to decorate if you can't find accessories in the colors you want. I find that moving over the years allowed me to experiment and have fun with decorating. As the children grow; your style and tastes will too. Even with a small budget and some creativity it can be fun and rewarding! Good Luck. If you want to chat some more - send me an email...

Hi R., I am in Boerne. Are you in Boerne or San Antonio? I have a pretty good eye for decorating and I am a bit of a "cheapskate" not really, but I love a bargain, in fact won't buy it unless it's a bargain! you can go to "Ross" at the Rim for some great deals! also have you looked in Kirklands and TJ Maxx Home also at the Rim and there is an Anna's Linens a little further out. I Would be willing to come to your home if you are in Boerne or very North San Antonio. I don't know SA very well. I have completely remodeled a large home up in MA. and A couple other homes her in Tx. My current home is a big brand new home and the walls are a bit "clean" but I compensated with darker furniture and acsessories and people always tell me they like the way I decorate. I always decorate in- expensively. We don't have money to waste!