Here's a Quick Interior Facelift

Has you home lost that great look it once had. Well chances are it still looks ok but you are ready for a change. After coming home to the same thing for years it is time for an interior face lift. There are some inexpensive ways to give your home a new look without spending a lot of time and money. Here are five ways to make some changes worth coming home to.

Choose a Theme

Decide what you want the final product to look like. If you don't have a plan you will never achieve your desired effect. There are some great reference guides to help you with this and show you what is in and what is out. Elle Décor, Better Homes and Gardens, and Metropolitan Home are just a few publications you can use to get some great ideas and they really help in showing a complete home not just a room or two.

Choose a Color Scheme

During your theme research you'll have noticed that most decorating themes rely on specific color schemes to achieve the required results; those colors are standard to that particular decorating theme. What do we mean by this? Well for example Asian decorating styles and themes are dominated by the use of red, black and dark blue. Another example is tropical decorating themes which rely more on green, red and aqua colors. Your chosen theme will, realistically, follow the same basic pattern of using a fixed palette of colors for the entire decorating project.

Choose a Use for the Room

What will be the main use for the room you are redecorating? If you have most of you meals in the kitchen or great room then you may want to make the dining room or spare bedroom into a lounge or study. It is best to utilize the square footage for your lifestyle and not having a looking room that gets little use. Don't fall into using to room for intended purpose. This is your chance to make a fundamental change.

Things to Buy

Of all the items that you could potentially list here paint is the most important. Paint forms the "foundation" of any room and if you rush the paint job then everything that comes afterwards just won't "work" in the room. Another mistake many people make is to buy the cheapest paint possible. You might save a few bucks on the cost of the tin but you'll wind up kicking yourself later on when you realize it's going to take 3 coats to finish each wall instead of just one - it's generally not cost effective to buy cheap paint; it just doesn't cover or finish as well as the more expensive brands. Consider Faux Painting some of the walls or even wall papering can be a simple and inexpensive way to make a great impression.

Also make allowances in your budget for disposable overalls and any cleaning or preparatory materials you might need for your project. Decorating can be a messy business so prepare for the clean up operation before you even begin.

What to Paint With

Another important decision is whether to use brushes, a roller or foam pads. Brushes have their uses for "edging out" a room - for those tiny corners. For the large surface areas it makes more sense to use a roller or paint pads. Personally I've found rollers to be just plain old messy and now use paint pads (some stores call them speed painters) for any large surface area that needs to be painted well and quickly. Use a roller if you really have to but bear in mind that they're extremely messy so make sure both you (disposable overalls are ideal) and the flooring is well covered against splashes.

Don't forget to have some fun along the way too! For all the planning, preparation and work that goes into redecorating any room or home it should still be a fun experience for everyone involved. You'll have that added sense of satisfaction knowing that you redecorated or helped to redecorate your home with your own hands. Take some time out to relax in your new room once it's finished - especially before you start redecorating the next room in the house.

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