Decorating can be a challenge, especially if you're on a budget. You have to be creative with your choices in order to achieve the look you want for the price you can afford.
Clever do-it-yourselfers stretch their decorating budget by reusing, reconfiguring or upcycling items they have on hand or have found on the cheap. Reusing items that would otherwise end up in the landfill is good for the budget and good for the earth.
Earth Day Canada supports such efforts and, this year, has put their money where there mouth is. Earth Day Canada's Upcycling Challenge is offering resourceful participants prizes for the best upcycled projects that make something new out of something old. There are three individual prizes and three group prizes up for grabs.
The Contest 2011 Upcycling Challenge opens Oct. 3, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. and closes on Nov. 27, 2011 at 11:59 p.m., EST. The scoring is based on the following criteria: 1. originality, 2. creativity, 3. clear instructions, 4. environmental resourcefulness and 5. fit to contest category. Check out the official contest information at www.earthdaycanada.ca
Past projects included dining chairs that were rescued from the dump then repainted and reupholstered, a quillt made from old T-shirts, handbags made from unusual textile remnants and guitar picks made from old greeting cards.
In the decorating realm, other suggestions might include creating a pot-hanger from an old wooden stepladder, making a headboard from used wooden doors or painting a lacklustre dining table instead of buying new. Personally, I've made a pot-hanger from an old light fixture, used an old wooden ladder for display, made a plate rack from a pasta-drying rack, made wind chimes with metal tubes from a broken shoe rack and used a fishing rod as a curtain rod.
There are myriad possibilities out there so get your creative thinking cap on and get busy. If not for the contest, then for your own decor.
If your upcycling project includes painting furniture or accessories with a unique pattern, you may want to consider using FrogTape to get a clean line. This tape is specially designed to stop paint bleed and to be removed without ruining your paint job. FrogTape can also be used to spruce up existing home accessories, such as vases, mirrors and picture frames. When painting a design on a wall or accessory, having crisp, clean lines is crucial to the final appearance. If you need inspiration, visit Winnipeg's own furniture artist, Debbie Carling's 'before and after' link on her website. www.thefurnitureartist.com
On a similar note...
A friend of mine recently moved to a new apartment and was in a dilemma about how to decorate a small focal wall in the dining area. The previous owners had painted the walls in a light cocoa colour, which my friend liked, but when the previous tenants moved they left nail holes on said wall and there was no brown paint left with which to patch the white marks.
On a visit to a dollar store, my friend happened upon some large wall decals in an Asian design, which she thought might work with her globally inspired accessories and maybe cover up the slight wall damage.
The decals were long enough to hang floor to ceiling and about 40 centimetres wide. My friend hung two lengths floor to ceiling with a 15-centimetre gap in the middle. She hung three small black-framed pictures vertically in that gap to bring focus to the bar table and chairs that sit against this small focal wall.
The decals (or small murals really) co-ordinated wonderfully with the wall colour and covered up the nail holes as well as created a stunning focal wall for only two dollars. That's money well spent!
Check out your local dollar store. You'd be surprised what you might find for your decor. They carry items such as faux mirrored decals and black silhouette decals in interesting shapes, tons of decorative containers (small and large), decorative tassels, swags, linens, knick-knacks, beads and trim, photo frames and so on.
Best of luck with whatever project you consider for your home. Like Cat Stevens says in his song, I've Got a Name 'If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud.' A failed attempt is better than no attempt at all. The more you do, the more you'll learn.
connieoliver@shaw.ca
