SECRET # 1 CREATING A THEME, MOOD & STYLE

Having a unified interior flows from area to area with a sense of comfort and well-being. It is pleasing to the senses and not shocking or disturbing. To create a unified interior, you need to establish a theme, mood and style before you begin your decorating.

A THEME is one central motivating idea that repeats itself in a variety of ways throughout your home.

If you love the great outdoors of the west, you could go with a Cowboy theme. This can be repeated through your home by using a boot fabric, branding iron bar stools, rustic frames, cowboy pictures, cowboy hats, boots and horses as accessories. You could theme your powder bath after the Grand Ole Opry, Kitchen – chili peppers and your daughters room – horses.

A MOOD is the way you want to feel in your home. The theme and mood must flow to be successful. For example, you couldn’t have a Formal Western Home. But you could have a Formal Traditional Home or a Comfortable Western Home.

A STYLE reflects your personal preference and should fit the way you live. Some examples of Western Style could be; Americana, Rustic, Cowboy or Indian.

Some examples of theme, mood & style are:

SECRET # 2 CREATING A COLOR SCHEME

COLOR is the first thing we respond to when we enter a room. It affects the way we feel and is the most powerful decorating tool we can use.

COLOR HARMONY is essential in the flow of your theme, mood and style throughout your home. Color harmony includes the mixture of color, patterns and texture in a well-balance scheme.

A COLOR SCHEME can be created from the following:

Color should be distributed in the following way:

• Dominant Color – largest area of color, walls & floor
• Secondary Color – window treatments, bedding, large upholstery
• Accent Color – small chairs, pillows, lamps and accessories

 Some color scheme guidelines:

• Fewer colors are easier to work with
• Carry a key color throughout the home
• Use all of the colors in your scheme in the entry
• Use color to define a focal point
• Do not use equal amounts of color in each room. A dominate color should be 60% of a room.
• Connecting rooms should have a common color.
• Repeat colors in wallpaper, fabrics and accessories.

 The main goal is for your color scheme to flow harmoniously from area to area in a well balance fashion.

Your color scheme must also flow with your theme, mood & style. For Example; Black & Gold is great for Contemporary but it would be difficult for it to work for Country. As well as Salmon and Aqua can be a Desert Southwest, but not Western.

SECRET # 3 – ACCESSORIZING

Accessories make a house into YOUR HOME. They personalize a home and bring unity to your theme, mood, style and color scheme.

Some Accessory Guidelines

• -  Remember to continue your color scheme into your accessories.
• -  With the matting and framing of artwork, floral arrangements, lighting bases, candles, and bedding.
• -  Place your largest items first. Always consider the focal point of the room and do not let your accessories over-power it.
• -  Never underestimate the use of greens. They soften any area and bring life into your home. But if you do not have a green thumb, use silks.

How do we accessorize in models?

• First and foremost, all of the accessories coordinate with the theme, mood, style and color scheme. A Traditional Theme will have gold frames where a Western Theme will have rustic wood frames. Traditional may have brass swans and Western may have a Fredric Remington Sculpture. Traditional may have crystal boxes and Western may have clay pots.

 

• We also use LOTS and LOTS of CUSTOM Floral Arrangements. Coffee tables, Dining, Kitchen Island Dressers and Baths.
• We use Larger more impressive pieces which repeat the theme & color scheme. Such as plates, pots, vases or boxes.
• We also love Tablescaping. We look at horizontal surfaces as a total picture versus just placing individual pieces. We set the dining and kitchen tables.
• And for fillers we love frames and books.

Keep in mind, while all of these things look great in model homes, they may not be functional in your home.

SECRET # 4 – HOW TO USE FABRICS

Fabrics play an integral part of your homes theme, mood and style and their patterns add immeasurably to the character of your rooms.

As with your color scheme and accessories, your fabrics must also follow suit with your theme. You wouldn’t have silk damask in a Western Home, nor would you have burlap in a Traditional.

Guidelines in selecting patterns:

• -  If you want one pattern to dominate, choose the major pattern first, then coordinate the colors, textures and other patterns around it. Make sure a very dominate pattern is not over whelming a focal point.
• -  Invest in a large swatch and live with it for at least 30 days.
• -  A good way to coordinate prints is to choose secondary ones that are less intense, but in the same color scheme. Make sure that your patterns have a kinship. It is easier to have either formal or informal fabrics, not both.
• -  If you are unsure about selecting secondary prints, stripes, dots, checks, and plaids make natural secondary patterns.

HOW TO USE FABRICS EFFECTIVELY

How to use one fabric in a room

• Living Room – Use the same fabric on 2 chairs, 3 sofa accent pillows, window valance and drape tie backs.
• Dining Room – Use the same fabric on the chair seats, table runner, window valance and drape tie backs
• Kitchen – Use the same fabric on the chair cushions, place mats and window valance.
• Bedroom – Use the same fabric on the duster, 2 shams, 3 accent pillows, window valance and drape tie backs.

How to use more than one fabric in a room.

• Living Room – 2 accents pillows, table topper and on the window treatment.
• Dining Room – 2 arm chairs and window treatment.
• Kitchen – Napkins, Ruffle on cushion seats and window treatment.
• Bedroom – Bedspread, inserts in duster, 2 shams, 1 accent pillow and window treatment.

Don’t forget about adding the extras of contrast welting, ruffles, fringe, tassels, and covered buttons to pillows, furniture, window treatments and bedding.

Budget Model Secrets

• Use matching sheets on custom window treatments & pillows. It will give the whole room a professional look.
• If a fabric is very expensive, only cover one side of the pillow with it, use a less expensive fabric for the back.
• Use extra pieces to make runners for tables & dressers.

SECRET # 5 – FRAME YOUR ROOMS WITH BEAUTIFUL WALLS

Walls take up more space than any other single element in a room, so their treatment is important. A variety of materials is available to add interest to your walls.

Be adventurous with paint – Paint is the most popular choice for wall treatments because it is inexpensive and easily and quickly applied. Paint can change the look and feel of a room in one day.

1. -  Use paint as a back-drop for a bed or a focal point of a room.
2. -  Be bold and add color. If you don’t like it, just paint over it.
3. -  Try faux finishes. They can add an expensive professional look.
4. -  If you have a small wall border, paint a 12″ stripe and place the border in the middle.
5. -  Paint wood moldings a dramatic color and use as a chair rail, crown molding or frame a wall for a wall gallery.

Wallpaper ideas:

1. Wallpaper behind a bed or even just two walls.
2. Do something wild and crazy in your powder bath.
3. You can paper above, below or both when it comes to chair rail. Just keep in mind the scale and boldness of the patterns.
4. Use a border as chair rail.
5. Border around a wall to frame it as a focal point.
6. Borders can be placed at the ceiling, floor, chair rail, around a wall, window or door. Even above the back-splash in the kitchen. Borders are your most versatile and economical paper treatment.

Mirrors – Mirrors and the illusions they create are the grand magicians of wall coverings. You can visually double the size of a room be mirroring one wall and expand it almost infinitely by putting mirrors on two or more walls.Mirrors also add light into a dark room from their reflective quality. But, before you decide to mirror a wall, make sure you know what you will be reflecting. Is the view that will be reflected a good one? You wouldn’t want a double exposure of your kitchen or bath.

Wall Decals, Stencils and Wall Words - These are three great ways to add punch and interest to your walls and artwork galleries.  As well as being perfect DIY projects.

So now that you know the 5 secrets to decorating model homes, it’s time to decorate your home to look like a model!

When I merchandise my models, my goal to make them appeal to the targeted buyer that the builder has identified and will be marketing to. Is this development priced for first time homebuyers, move-ups, second homes, retirement or maybe executive? Then I find out how much the builder has budgeted to spend. Now that amount can really vary from builder to builder and project to project. Many times the amount is dependent upon how many lots the builder has to sell, because what is spent on the models gets figured into the overall price of the development. On average what is spent on models is between $15.00 and $25.00 per square foot. Which means if the model of your home was 2000 square feet and lets say the builder spent $18.00 per square foot, they would have spent $36,000 decorating the model. I know that is a wide range, but there are many factors involved, such as the number of lots, targeted buyer, the price of the homes, and the competition. A smaller project being sold to first time homebuyers may range from $15.00 to $18.00 per square foot. A larger project targeted to move-up or executive buyers may range from $19.00 to $25.00 per square foot.

What’s included in that price is everything that you see in the models, except the typical items that come with the home. Such as flooring, counters, cabinets, lighting and appliances. Also included in that price is the designer’s fee, but being we’re buying at wholesale prices, you can still use these numbers in your figuring since you’ll be buying at retail.

Once I have my budget and who the targeted buyer is, I now look to see what trends are popular in interiors and colors, and what their lifespan is expected to be. Since most projects are open 18 to 24 months, it is important that the models are merchandised in colors and themes that will not be dated by the end of the season. It is also important that they are designed to appeal to the targeted buyer. Knowing that everyone has different likes and dislikes, we design the models to appeal to the broadest number of people that will be looking at the homes. For example, if a Retro style in bright bold colors was the trend, I might use it in a project targeted to first time homebuyers over retirees. Now I know that many retirees may like a bright bold retro look, but the majority of them probably will not, whereas there is a better chance that it will appeal to a larger majority of younger homebuyers who may be more daring, bolder and willing to design in a trend.

So the next time that you ask to have your home decorated just like a model, remember that it is more important that you design your home together. It needs to be your home when the designer leaves and not just another model home that’s been designed without your personal likes and dislikes in mind. So now that you have a little insider information on model home merchandising, what can you do to merchandise your home to look like a model?

First, have a common theme and color scheme throughout the home. If my theme is old world Italian with a color scheme of amber, russet and moss green, that theme and color scheme will be in every room of the house. By having one theme and color scheme it will make your home more harmonious, have a continuously flow and feel larger. To properly flow your colors through your home, take the colors from your color scheme and let’s start in the living and dining room; select one color as the primary, one as the secondary and the third as the accent. Now moving onto the kitchen and family room, select either the secondary or accent from the living and dining as your primary, then a secondary and then accent. What you want to do is change what is your primary, secondary and accent colors are throughout the house, otherwise your primary color will become overwhelming. If you used gold as the primary color in every room, all that you would see as the color throughout the house is gold. It would be so overwhelming you probably wouldn’t even see the other colors, plus you would tire of it quickly.

Your color scheme is essential in the flow of your theme, mood and style throughout your home and the most important element in unifying your home. Color harmony includes the mixture of color, patterns and texture in a well-balance scheme.

Some color scheme guidelines to help you:

• Fewer colors are easier to work with
• Use all of the colors in your scheme in the entry
• Do not use equal amounts of color in each room. A dominant color should be 60% of a room.
• Connecting rooms should have a common color.
• Repeat colors in wallpaper, fabrics and accessories.

The main goal is for your color scheme to flow harmoniously from area to area in a well balance fashion. Your color scheme must also flow with your theme, mood & style. For example, black and gold is great for contemporary but it would be difficult for it to work for country. As well as, blue and yellow can be country, but will not work well for a Santa Fe feel.

The next area that I feel makes a difference in models is in our accessory merchandising. Accessories are essential in bringing unity to your theme, mood, style and color scheme. Look at your accessories and determine if it is time to buy a couple new ones that will continue your theme and color scheme you’re creating. If in the past you had a traditional home and used gold frames but are now looking to go towards a Key West tropical look, it is probably time to donate your frames and buy new. Or how about keeping your old frames in your gift box and the next time that you give a picture of the kids to their grandparents, place it in one of your frames. Also, look at the colors in the matting of your artwork, floral arrangements and candles. If you’ve changed your colors, you can have easily change the mat color without having to buy a whole new piece, or switch out the dated colors and flowers in your arrangement and candles are one of the least expensive accessories, but ones that make a difference in the amount of color they will bring into your room.

Then never underestimate the use of greens. I love to use greens in my models and have to admit that I sometimes do overdue here just a bit, but they do soften any area and bring life into your home. But if you do not have a green thumb, use silks. Plus, we also use lots and lots of custom floral arrangements. My favorite places are the living room coffee tables, always on the dining table and master bath counter along with kitchen islands and niches.

When you’re out looking at accessories, consider using larger more impressive pieces, which again should repeat your theme and color scheme. Also remember to think of your table tops as more than horizontal surfaces but areas where you can tablescape. See it as a whole picture considering the style of the table, where it is placed and the look you’re creating. Instead of waiting for a holiday, set your dining table everyday. Add color and height to your table with a floral arrangement and by placing napkins inside your wine glass instead of next to your place settings.

Now, finally I’d like to dispel the myth that there are special model home manufacturers that make smaller beds and furniture. I have been designing model homes for almost 14 years and I have never come across one yet. If anyone out there knows of one, please share the information with me. I buy from the exact same manufacturers that you see in the major furniture stores. If in doubt, the next time you’re in a model open up a draw and look inside for the manufacturers name. Now we may buy from manufacturers you’re not familiar with as we go to furniture markets all over the country and not every store in town may carry some of the lines we’re using. The only reason I can think that people feel we buy special furniture is that we make the rooms look larger by the furniture placement and selection. In secondary bedrooms, we may place a regular twin size bed along the wall from a corner versus a full size bed straight out from the wall. In a master it will be rare that you’ll see a triple dresser plus an armoire used, unless it is a big master. Instead I’ll use two bedside chests and an armoire. Plus, if the master is small, I’ll use a full or queen over a king that you might place in your own room. Plus, you’ll see floor lamps used instead of a table in living and family rooms to make them more spacious. So please know, there are no model home furniture makers, just interior merchandisers who design the models to be open and inviting. Have fun visiting the many model homes throughout town. Remember to bring your camera with you to snap pictures of any styles, colors or arrangements that you’d like to use in your home by adding your own personal style and touch to make your home your very own model home.

First, I believe that designing on a budget doesn’t mean cheap and tacky. It is where and how you spend your decorating dollars that counts. Since 95% of us do not have unlimited decorating budgets, I’m basing this series on a fairly inexpensive, but actual model from my portfolio. Remember through the series, you can decide exactly where your budget and decorating priorities are.

As with any decorating project you need to start with a budget, so that’s where we’re going to start. We’ll look at each decorating category and what I spent; then each week go into more detail on decorating within that budget.

The model that I’m going to use is 3189 square feet with the following rooms: Living, Dining, Family, Nook, Kitchen, 4 Bedrooms, Master Retreat, Loft, 3 full Baths and a Laundry. My client had a budget of $ 15.50 per square foot or $ 49,430 and below is what I spent in each category.
FURNITURE was 45% of the budget. Furniture represents the largest pieces in your home and a category where you spend the majority of your budget. Furniture shouldn’t be bought on a whim since they are items that are not replaced for years.

DRAPERIES were 12% of the budget. Window treatments add so much to a room and frame your windows with style and color, so I don’t scrimp here. In part 3, I’ll share how to get the most from your budget with fabric, styles and added touches that make all the difference.

BEDDING was 11% of the budget. Many times I spend a little more here, but I was able to get some great store sales, so I only did custom bedding in the master.

ARTWORK was 14% of the budget. Artwork dresses your walls and conveys your theme and color scheme. In this price range all of the pieces were selected from a collection of posters that were pre-matted and framed. I find that I can purchase larger pieces with more matting and better framing then having the same piece custom framed. But it is, what you see is what you get, with no or few changes; so for some pieces custom framing is still the better option.

SILK PLANTS, trees and florals were 8% of the budget. Plants soften a room and bring nature in. Florals are still one of my favorite ways to make a home look like a model as they add an abundance of color.

WALL TREATMENTS were 4% of my budget. When I’m working within a limited budget, I look to paint to add my color. But I still like to use wall treatments to bring in a strong theme. In this price range I’ll only do two to three borders, in the kitchen and then the secondary bedrooms.

ACCESSORIES are the finishing touches and what makes a house a home. On this project I spent 5% of the budget. When working within a budget less is more, so one nice piece for $35.00 is nicer than three at $12.00.

LIGHTING was only 2% of the total. When decorating on a budget lighting becomes a truly functional item. You keep with your theme and color scheme, but you can purchase great lighting packages for a fraction of the cost of even one table lamp.

So to get started and work along with me in this series. To apply this to your home, take the square footage of the area you want to decorate, whether a single room or the whole house and multiple it by $15.50. Then apply the percentages above for each category to establish your decorating budget.

In the next 5 columns, we’ll look at each of the categories in more detail. I will also be posting all of the columns on my web site as they are published in case you miss one. Now it’s time for you to do some homework.

In the living room make your upholstery your impact pieces. If you are afraid to make a color or pattern commitment on a large piece, select the neutral color from your color scheme and put the impact into the pillows and accents. In the living room as well as the dining room, these rooms are more for show than for everyday use. So this is where I would go for the look versus the quality.

In the dining room spend the money on the chairs instead of the table and re-cover the cushions, it is easy and inexpensive to do yourself. An inexpensive table can be given a WOW look with a great floral that won’t break your budget.

The family room and kitchen nook are where we spend our time, so I would invest in the best quality you can afford. If you can’t afford the best sofa, get a good heavy durable fabric and purchase a sturdy nook table and chairs

For your master bedroom I recommend you wait and get exactly what you want, when you can afford it. This is a room where the furniture gets very little wear and tear, so it can almost last forever. Instead of the traditional matching night stand, use a secretary. Place a small chair in front and now your night stand also functions as a desk with additional storage. Use a 30″ round decorative table and a small chair. Plenty of room for the functional bedside items you need, along with a place to sit, write a note and have a cup of tea. Also, do not to buy the whole matching suite of furniture. I know that it’s the easy way out, but having five or more pieces in the exact same style and finish is predictable.

For your secondary bedrooms or accent pieces, consider consignment shops, yard sales and furniture clearance centers. You can find great prices on pieces that might just need a little touch up. If you have children look for pieces that can grow with them, instead of ones that are very juvenile in design.

Let’s go back to our model home example that was designed for $ 15.50 per square foot and look at what the furniture cost in each room and what pieces we purchased. Our overall budget for the home was $ 49,430 and we spent 45% on furniture, so our furniture budget was $ 22,244.

Entry – 1.72% or $383 for a decorative console table.

Living Room – 13.97% or $ 3,107 for a sofa, 2 upholstered chairs, coffee table and 2 side tables. This is a fairly small parlor living room so the furniture needed to be smaller scaled and therefore was less expensive.

Dining Room – 16.80% or $ 3,737 for a wood table, 4 side chairs, 2 arm chairs and a buffet piece. I splurged a bit more in this room since the living room was smaller.

Nook – 3.24% or $ 721 for a 42″ round iron and glass table and 4 iron chairs with upholstered seats.

Family Room – 19.10% or $ 4,249 for a sofa, 2 upholstered chairs and matching ottomans, sofa back table, coffee table and 2 side tables. The room had a TV niche so I didn’t need a TV unit.

Guest Bedroom – 3.33% or $ 741 for a full mattress set, bedside chest and a bistro table set.

Master Bedroom – 23.52% or $ 5,232 for a queen mattress set, wood poster bed, dresser, 2 bedside chests and an iron bench.

Master Retreat – 5.86% or $ 1,303 for a chaise, TV armoire, table and 2 leather arm chairs.

Loft – 8.36% or $ 1,860 for a loveseat, chair, ottoman, TV armoire and a pub table with 2 bar stools.

Girl’s Room – 2.12% or $ 472 for a twin mattress set, dresser and night stand

Boy’s Room – 1.98% or $ 440 for a twin mattress set, chest and night stand

Now do keep in mind that this is a model and we do not spend a lot on the mattress sets, which should be an investment consideration in your budget.

Your furniture is the largest percentage of your budget and are investment pieces no matter how little you may spend on them. Take your time during this step and plan your purchases because they are not items that you will quickly replace or change out. Shop with your budget and inventory list and try not to impulse buy here. If you have an impulse, do it with an accessory piece that should not break your budget. Next in our series will be window treatments.

In our model home, we spent 12% of our total budget of $ 49,430 or $ 5,932 on custom window treatments. There were a total of 20 windows, which comes to a mere $297 per window. I know this may sound like a lot if you’ve not had custom window treatments made, but an average window normally starts at $500 per window opening. So when designing on a budget you need to be very careful with the design as well as the fabric selection. So here’s what I did in each room to save money but dress the windows with style:

Living & Dining Room – I had three windows that I treated with top valances and added stationary side panels to the dining room windows only. The valances were straight fabric mounted on a board with tabs on the bottom. But I added pizzazz by running an inexpensive decorative iron rod through the tabs.

Nook and Family Room – There were three windows where I wanted some extra color and pattern. The nook window was a sliding door so I did simple straight panels. Straight panels are inexpensive treatments as it is just straight sewing. In the family room I went with a shaped cornice box. Cornice boxes are good treatments when you have a more expensive fabric as they use less fabric then a gathered treatment. The labor is a bit more but the tailored look gives an expensive look over a cute ruffle treatment.

Master Bedroom, Retreat and Bath – In the master suite I had five windows so I had to be extra careful with my design. Three in the master bedroom, one in the retreat and one in the bath. The windows were also fairly wide so placing valances on each would have eaten up my whole budget. So I had simple valances and panels made and used ring clips to hang them from a decorative rod. The top of the treatment was sewn straight, but by using ring clips you get a swag look without paying to have it sewn in.

Guest & Girl’s Bedrooms – In these secondary bedrooms I did simple shirred valances on continental rods to keep the labor costs down. I made the valances out of the matching sheet which came with the bed set. It gives the room a custom look, without the custom price.

Boys’ Bedroom – There was just one window and I did a rolled stagecoach with the matching bed sheet. His theme was space ships and robots.

Hall Baths – In the extra baths, I do one single width panel mounted at the ceiling on a board. A single width means one width of 54 inch fabric, which gathers down to about 16 – 20 inches. When I have a larger budget, I’ll use two widths for more fullness.

The last room was the loft. There were four windows in this room, which is a lot of windows to treat on a limited budget. I kept it simple with a mock roman valance. A mock roman valance has the look of a pulled up roman shade, except that it is not operable, it is one of my favorite treatments.

You can be very creative with window treatments, but be aware as labor costs will increase with the complexity of the treatment. Custom window treatments are an investment, but one that I feel is well spent if you invest wisely when designing on a budget. Just like on a basic black dress, a little splash of color and style can go a long way.

In my model home example, I spent 11 percent of my total budget of $49,430, or $5,437, on bedding. When designing a model on a budget, I spend the majority of the budget on custom bedding in the master bedroom. In the secondary bedrooms I use ready-made or a combination of custom and ready-made. When designing on a budget, I do not include headboards in the secondary bedrooms as they normally get covered up by pillow shams.

So, how did I design the bedding and where was the budget distributed?

Master bedroom: In the master suite there was a beautiful carved wood California king-size bed. If you don’t have a headboard or poster bed, consider setting the bed up higher; it gives a more impressive appearance and actually makes the room appear larger. Of course, if you already have one of the high pillow-top mattresses, you might need a ladder to get into bed.

When dressing the master bed, I had all of the bedding custom made. I used a duvet cover made from a beautiful tapestry fabric, leather tailored duster, three leather Euro shams, two king-sized shams, two standard-sized shams, two pillowcases and three accent pillows.

The duvet was filled with an inexpensive comforter, which is a trick you can do. You don’t have to buy an expensive down filler, just wait for a sale and purchase a bed in a bag and use the comforter as your filler.

You should splurge on your bedding because your room should be your sanctuary. This master suite was very rich and, yes, I spent $3,197, about 58 percent of the budget.

Guest bedroom: In the guest bedroom, there was a full-size bed. I like to spend a little more money for the guest room than the other secondary bedrooms. I often use custom bedding, but I found a great sale on a beautiful set; it was marked down 50 percent. So, for $875, I purchased a full comforter, shirred duster, four standard shams, five accents pillows, a throw and all of the pillow fillers. The bed was fully dressed and looked amazing for less than $1,000.

Girl’s bedroom: In the girl’s room there also was a full-size bed. Her room had a fun flamenco dancer theme; it was very bright and colorful. I used a patchwork quilt, two gathered dusters which were layered for a ruffled effect, two matching standard-sized shams, two pillowcases and two crocheted 18-inch-by-18-inch square pillows. Then, I splurged on pillows that were custom made out of old Mexican tablecloths and tapestries. The total cost was $685 and worth it.

Boy’s bedroom: The boy’s room had a full-size bed and I was a bit more frugal here and used all ready-made bedding. I purchased a comforter and sheet set all in an outer space robot theme. The total cost was $345.

Along with the material costs, I also had about $300 in shipping expenses.

Just like window treatments, bedding can be an investment. How you live in your rooms will determine where you will use custom bedding, if any. For those rooms where custom is not an option, here are some budget-conscious and creative ideas.

• If you like to sit on your bed, buy a ready-made comforter, two shams and an accent pillow; then have only the duster and two accent pillows custom made.
• If you like to sleep with your bedding, make a duvet out of matching sheets. Instead of using plain lining on the backside, make it reversible with another colorful sheet. Use your pillowcases as part of your ensemble, which makes your bed easy to maintain and make each day. This is one of my favorite real-life bedding options.
• Have an old headboard? Give it a new look with paint or make a slipcover from matching sheets. Sheets are easy to clean and all you do is sew up three sides and slip it over the top of the headboard.
• Layering pillows of various sizes and contrasting fabrics gives a bed a luxurious look and feel.
• And finally, don’t forget about the placement of your bed. If you have the room, angle it in a corner for an extra romantic feel.

As with everything in your home, make your bedding work for you.

I used a combination of preframed pieces which ranged from $19 to $140 and then, for where I really wanted to convey my theme and color scheme, I splurged on a few custom pieces averaging $300.

Over the years, I have found that people do one of three things with art: They put nothing on the walls, place very small pieces on large walls or completely fill every single space with something.

First, the walls are part of the room’s overall décor, so include art in your budget. Second, it is better to wait for the right-size piece than to place a small piece on a large wall. Third, white space is OK; your eyes need someplace to rest in order to appreciate the art you have. So, if your wall area is less than 30 inches, it does not need a piece of art.

Shelves are great items to add to a wall gallery to visually expand the space as they add to both horizontal and vertical space. Shelves allow you to alter the look of your wall gallery by just changing the items you have on them.

Mirrors are considered functional decorative artwork, so watch what they are reflecting. Unless you are desperate for light reflection, you do not want to see the bathroom, kitchen or a messy area reflected in the mirror. Instead, you want to reflect an attractive image. Think before hanging a mirror over a fireplace. Always ask yourself, “What is it reflecting?” Since it will be higher on the wall, you’re probably only seeing the blank wall and ceiling across from it, and at night it is nothing but a black hole.

Now, let’s consider the other wall treatments I did.

When decorating models, straight paint colors don’t cost me any extra, so I take advantage of this and added a lot of accent paint. I know you have to pay for the paint and maybe a painter if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, but don’t underestimate the power of a great accent color on a wall.

I also spent just 4 percent or $1,483 on wallpapers and borders. I used borders in a bathroom and a bedroom; wallpapered one wall in the boy’s room and one wall in the hall bath; and fully wallpapered the master bathroom.

If you like wallpaper, know that you don’t have to do a whole room. You can get a lot of mileage out of just wallpapering the headboard wall in a kid’s room. Or, if you have a separate sink area from the shower, just paper the wall opposite the mirror. The mirror reflects the wallpaper so it appears as if the whole room is papered.

Here are some other things that you can do at home.

Stencil unexpected accents around mirrors, framed art, windows, doorways, arches and even switch plates. With the many layered stencils out on the market, you no longer have to worry about adding the highlights or accents.

Special paint techniques are a wonderful way to dress up walls. There are many tapes you can buy or classes you can attend in order to do it yourself.

I also really like using rub-on words. On the Internet you can find places to have any word or saying done in any font, any size and color for a reasonable amount. It gives a custom effect.

If you don’t have the confidence to paint a mural freehand, use an overhead projector to project the image on the wall and then draw over it. Or, have the image enlarged, tape it on the wall, place carbon paper between the paper and the wall and trace over the image.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to decorate your walls. Art can make a room and is a personal reflection of you. Take the time you need to wait for a piece you love that is the right size and style because once you fill the wall, experience has proven that you won’t take it down for years, if ever.

In my model, I spent a total of 15 percent, or $7,415, with 2 percent or $989 on lighting, 8 percent or $ 3,954 on plants and 5 percent or $2,471 on accessories. Keep in mind that this was a budget project and would be considered low for most homes.

Since the finishing touches are a very important part in making a personal statement in your home, let’s look at what you can do when decorating on a budget.

Lighting can really make or break a room. The proper placement of lighting should make your home inviting and welcoming. Along with being a decorative item, its main purpose is function.

Lighting does not have to be expensive, but it needs to coordinate with your color scheme, theme, mood and style of your décor. You can be creative with a simple lamp base and then dress up the shade, hang a tassel on the lamp or use a decorative finial.

One thing that I’ve notice during the last couple of years is that attractive and interesting lighting has become more affordable. So, do a little shopping and spend some time looking for a lamp that you really like, as lighting is not one of those things that is changed out very often.

In my model, I only placed one lamp per room; you’ll need at least two or three to properly light your rooms.

In my plant budget, I only used silk plants that included small and medium counter greens, trees, floral arrangements and plants for the pot shelves. Plants bring a room to life, bring the outside in, soften the lines and hardness of furniture and are great fillers.

When buying plants, look for the best that you can afford. The quality of silk plants has come a long way over the years. What you want to do when buying silks is to ask yourself, “Is this a plant that Mother Nature grows?” If not, don’t buy it because it won’t look real.

Floral arrangements are still one of my favorite ways to make a home look like a model as they add an abundance of color. But unless you have a real flair for floral arranging, have them custom made.

Accessories are your personal touches; they reflect your personality and bring life to your rooms. Whenever I talk about accessories, there’s one thing you will always hear me say: You should have at least one thing you love in each room. It could be something that sparks a favorite childhood memory, a special item brought back from a trip, a gift from a friend or just a great find on a shopping trip. These are the things that make your home unique and distinctively yours.

In my accessory budget, I included frames, books, towels, kitchen items for the counters and above the cabinets, place settings for the nook and dining tables and a few theme items in the more visible areas and the children’s rooms.

Along with your special personal items, here are some general rules to keep in mind.

• One larger piece is better than a bunch of smaller ones.
• Accessories should reflect your colors, theme, mood and style.
• Group accessories in odd numbers using height, texture and color.
• Group your collections together versus scattering them around.
• Vary the height of the accessories on a table. If they are all the same size, use books or glass blocks to raise them up.
• If you grow tired of your accessories; rearrange them, swap some with a friend, consign them or refinish them.

Even though lighting, plants and accessories was last in the series, they are a very important part of your decorating plan. When putting together your plan, make sure that you have at least 10 percent to 25 percent allocated in your budget for them. Think of accessories as jewelry for your home — one nice piece on a basic black dress is more stunning than a bunch of your smaller items worn together.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and are ready to start decorating your home step-by-step in the new year. As with everything you do in your home, remember to have fun, be creative and happy decorating!