Seven Ways to Rejuvenate a Room Without Much Cash

With remodeling costing thousands of dollars per room these days, many of us find ourselves in a predicament: mortgage the home to update it, or find cheaper ways to make it look different. The latter being the best option for most of us, write down the things in the particular room that bug you, or that definitely need updating, then try and find cheap solutions that will modernize the room for now, and allow you to save for larger remodeling jobs later.

One thing that instantly improves the look of any room is to rid it of junk. Things that have been sitting around forever, like stacks of magazines, old vases, tattered throw pillows and other clutter can make a room look stale. Set your frame of mind to rid yourself of things you absolutely don't need, and of things that are adding to the despair of the room. You don't necessarily have to throw out the items. Give some away, store some stuff in the basement or garage, or even have a yard sale.

Another thing that will cost nothing but certainly brighten the room is to be sure it is immaculately clean. Check to see if overhead light fixtures need cleaning, clean baseboards, launder window treatments, and freshly polish everything. Rearranging the furniture might be in order as well. A different placement of the furniture can make the room appear remodeled, especially if you remove excess furniture or even have a piece upholstered.

Paint or further decorate the walls. Nothing says "new" like a fresh coat of paint, and with some of today's new decorating techniques, the room can truly have a new look with little cost. Very narrow strips of newspaper, affixed to the wall with decoupage adhesive or wallpaper paste, can give you fabulous stripes for next to nothing. Or, purchase one large rubber stamp for a couple bucks, then stamp the image randomly, all over the walls - or on one wall only. The rubber stamp technique can be used to enhance just the door and window frames, just the baseboards, or can be used to make a particular pattern on each wall.