5 cheap decorating tricks

Home and Garden

Less money doesn't mean your home has to look shabby minus the chic. The Orlando Sentinel canvassed the Web and some "Cheap Chic" sources to give you five ideas that can pep up your decor without cleaning out your wallet. Prices range from $12 to $249.

Sure your budget is tight these days. Isn't everyone's? But less money doesn't mean your home has to look shabby minus the chic. The Orlando Sentinel canvassed the Web and some "Cheap Chic" sources to give you five ideas that can pep up your decor without cleaning out your wallet. Prices range from $12 to $249.

This floor lamp ($249, West Elm) with a drum-style pleated shade hikes the room's hip quotient. Another great idea is the way the art is displayed. There are several small pieces of art, but the impact is big because they are hung on a larger background. You can achieve a similar look with a piece of plywood, a staple gun and stable fabric that won't stretch out of shape. Add your existing art, frame pictures from a coffee table book or magazine. ($14-$19 art, 12-$44 frames, West Elm).

An interesting table lamp or pair of lamps can also add pizzazz to a room that is beginning to look dated. This Bulatan zebra lamp is 24 inches high and can help a room look more eclectic. It sells for $45 at Pier 1 Imports.

If your bedroom looks like some of those on the HGTV "before" scenes because you don't have a headboard, here's an answer for $60. Check out the mid-century Gothic headboard made out of stencils that were designed by the Savannah College of Art interns. They are available from Blik in three color combinations ⿿ Aruba/Gold, Beige/Teal and Light Gray/Tomato.

Even something as simple as a colorful new clock can pick up the style in a room. This 10-inch square wooden wall clock ($24.99) is from the new Sami Hayek Collection for Target. It's battery powered and can be cleaned with a dry cloth. Hayek also has designed a bed spread and shams, pillows, lamps and storage boxes that coordinate with the colors in the clock. (Hayek, who infuses his native Mexico into his work, is the younger brother of actress Salma Hayek.)

You may not have the artistic acumen of the decorators on "Trading Spaces," but you can get help from products such as Gila window film. The film, available in a variety of sizes, mimics custom glass including stained glass, textured and etched. It can be used on doors and windows or the underside of a glass table. The micro-thin product is made of polyester or vinyl and is mounted with Gila's EZ-Mount adhesive and can be removed easily. ($17-$30 a roll at Home Depot and Lowe's.)

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Sure your budget is tight these days. Isn't everyone's? But less money doesn't mean your home has to look shabby minus the chic. The Orlando Sentinel canvassed the Web and some "Cheap Chic" sources to give you five ideas that can pep up your decor without cleaning out your wallet. Prices range from $12 to $249.

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