inexpensive decorating ideas

alphachiohmy · #1 04-02-2002, 02:32 PM

I am looking for some cheap ways to decorate my bare apt walls.
Right now I have two ideas:

Buying bundles of flowers, drying them upside down and then hanging them.

Or decopaging (sp) dried flowers into clear picture frames.

Anyone have cheal decorating ideas for bare walls? Please share ...

Pink&Blue · #2 04-02-2002, 03:14 PM

Frame old family photos-- I took pics of my great great grandparents and bought matting and frame at Aaron Bros for less than $10 per pic and did a collage on one wall and it looks great.

GreekLetterGirl · #3 04-02-2002, 05:18 PM

AlphaChi- I am in the same boat as you. I just got my apt and I move in in August, I know that I don't want it to have that "college look" despite that fact it is a college apt. Any ideas any one has would be great...

aephi alum · #4 04-02-2002, 11:20 PM

I had a dorm room that I managed to keep for 2 years - so I put up a strip of wallpaper, a cute floral print, around the room up near the ceiling. Full wallpaper is a pain, but a strip adds some color, is relatively cheap, and is easy to hang.

Other than that - photos, posters, nice curtains around the windows, etc. If you do needlepoint or cross stitch, get some of your work framed and hang that.

cougar15 · #5 04-02-2002, 11:28 PM

Watch the Christopher Lowell Show on the Discovery Channel, he has lots of great, cheap decorating ideas! If you can stand some of his cheesy antics that is..haha..

justamom · #6 04-03-2002, 07:56 AM

If you can get travel posters you can frame them in the clear acrtylic poster frames. If you want to get fancy", you can take a razor and cut the outline of the scene and glue it onto fabric and then hang it.

If they alow anything with"weight" to be hung, you can go to flea markets and pick up unusual objects that are relatively flat and hang them on your wall-like iron work.

You can get large print fabric and staple it onto canvas and hang it wthout framing. Some of the prints at the better fabric stores are realy unique some obvious themes are jungle, sealife, birds. You can just as easily go modern or elegant. The bonus-you can get it really cheap because lots of times, it's an end piece.

LeslieAGD · #7 04-03-2002, 08:19 AM

If you have some free time, buy some sponges and inexpensive paint and sponge just one of your walls. It looks really cool and the contrast will make your room look bigger.

DeltAlum · #8 04-03-2002, 02:13 PM

Actually, this is more of a question than a suggestion.

Do college students still build book shelves, etc. out of concrete blocks and boards?

In the sixties, you didn't see a college apartment that didn't have them. They were really cheap to make and easy to build using standard concrete blocks and boards that were about 8-10 inches wide, an inch thick and 4-6 feet long. You could build them in pretty much any configuration in terms of height and length (as long as they didn't go too high and get top heavy). I know it sounds strange, but they really didn't look that bad. That's where you kept your books, stereo and TV if it was small enough.
When you were finished with them, you just threw them away or took them apart and left the materials for the next renter.

When we first were married we were so poor that our apartment living room was decorated with those shelves and rubber inflatable furniture. Oh yes, and one bean bag chair.

As our parents replaced furniture, we would inherit the old stuff.

LeslieAGD · #9 04-03-2002, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Actually, this is more of a question than a suggestion.

Do college students still build book shelves, etc. out of concrete blocks and boards?

I've never seen or heard of this...I think they've been replaced by Yaffa blocks.

nucutiepie · #10 04-03-2002, 08:18 PM

Two of my friends have exactly that concrete block and board bookshelf that you are describing set up in their room! (and I am a current college freshman!)

cougar15 · #11 04-03-2002, 08:40 PM

I love to decorate and here are a few of my cheap ideas, can't really do too much since I still live in the dorms, but next year when I get my appartment it will so much fun!

-Get cheap non-fitted sheets with neat designs or that match your colors, make swags over the windows by draping them, twist in some fake ivy or dried flowers maybe

-A few of my friends have picture boards where they covered a piece of square board with fabric then have pieces of ribbon criss-crossing so you can switch pictures/cards in out

-Cheap unfinished shelves at craft stores with framed pictures on them, get some of that tough mounting tape if you can't use nails

-Right now I have this big collage of black and white pictures from last year's calender with bright pictures of flowers from seed catalogs mixed in..very neat

I could go on and on, but I will stop now..haha.. It's all about the lighting too, get some small lamps to soften the light and give you that warm/cozy feeling..they always do that on Trading Spaces.. I watch waaayyy too many of those shows!

justamom · #12 04-03-2002, 10:03 PM

Delt Alum....UH OH WE ARE SHOWING OUR AGE!!!!!
Of course that was what we used!!! Now however, with all the throw away furniture on the market, kids seem to buy or get their parents to buy pre-fab consols. Have you seen KIA

We didn't need them because our generation was rather ingenious. (Maybe broke is a better description) Ours were only three blocks high as the apt. we lived in (chea) didn't have themost even foors! LOL!

I suggested this to BOTH my daughter and son a while back and they looked at me like I was CRAZY! Not crazy....frugile!

DeltAlum · #13 04-03-2002, 10:36 PM

JAM,

At least with the inflatable chair and loveseat, it was easy to re-arrange the room

Hootie · #14 04-04-2002, 12:34 AM

I don't highly recommend this, but I used to "borrow" street signs that were down...LOL. I have a few Speed Limit 10 sings, no parking signs, Men Working sign, and slow sign. I didn't hang them all, but I always wanted to....LOL.

Another idea is to make a collage of pictures or what I want to do is a collage of post cards I collect, and frame it yourself!

I have also bought, depending on taste, those inexpensive cute anne geddes pictures at Hobby Lobby.

Peaches-n-Cream · #15 04-04-2002, 02:04 AM

My housemate put up maps of NYC including a subway map. It was unique and most importantly free.

Someone else I knew would put those absolute vodka ads and fashion magazine covers on the wall. I bought posters from the bookstore. I didn't have those concrete blocks, but I knew plenty of people who did. As for street signs, two guys on my campus got fined by the city for stealing them and putting them up in their room.