A good decorating plan is essential.
Let's talk about a your decorating plan before you start moving furniture out of the way.
First, choose a theme for the bedroom. Or put another way, what person, place, thing,
feeling or idea will be your inspiration piece? A nursery might be decorated with a circus theme.
An older child might insist on a room featuring a favorite cartoon or movie character. Sports
themes are popular, too. An adult bedroom could be designed to evoke feelings of serenity and peace, or perhaps to be a tribute to a tropical vacation of years ago. Just about anything can be
your inspiration piece as long as it means something special to the occupant of the room.
We should also think about the psychological effect of color. Generally speaking, red is a
visually exciting and stimulating color, especially in its clear tones. Do you really want your
child's room to be stimulating and intense? On the other hand, blue is considered restful and
calming, which is why it has been the most popular color for bedrooms. Green, too, is calming and refreshing, while dark green often is used to imply wealth. Pink is romantic and tranquilizing- which seems a contradiction, doesn't it? Purple is sophisticated and romantic, but can feel
artificial if overdone. Yellow is considered a cheerful color, but did you know that people tend
to lose their tempers more in bright yellow rooms? Babies cry more, too, so think about that before painting the nursery yellow. If you'd like to learn more about the effects of
color, check out the advice in decorating with
Colors For Your Every Mood
by Leatrice Eiseman.
I know you're probably eager to get started, but we have a couple more things to think about. Is storage an issue in the room? It's easier to plan for storage now than to try to cram it in later, especially if the decorating budget doesn't have a lot of give. Closet organizers are
available in all sizes and price ranges, and it's surprising how much a well-designed closet can
hold. There are some nifty storage ideas at 
Stacks and Stacks.
Click on the "bedroom" category. I especially like the underbed storage bins.
Okay, we've got the theme and some ideas for color and storage, so all we need now is lighting.And accessories. And something on the windows. Maybe a rug or floor cloth? You can plan allthese out now or you can set aside some room in your budget and see what you find when the timecomes. If you're into planning, the American Blind and Wallpaper Factory has a good site with lots of ideas. They have a neat color search feature that lets you findwallpaper, borders, window treatments and lots of other items based on the colors you choose. It's a lot of fun to play with; I'm sure I spend more time with it than is strictly necessary.
Of course, since this site is concerned with budget decorating, you'll need some idea of how much is in your decorating budget. Be honest with yourself here. It's also a good idea to set aside some amount for a cushion to cover those unexpected expenditures that always seem to occur. The good folks at the
Frugal-Money-Saver
website have some great ideas about saving money. Check them out and who knows, you may end up with a bigger decorating budget. Always a good thing, right?
Are you ready to begin? Go for it! Have fun with the process and send me a picture of the
finished project. I'll post it and you'll be famous- sort of.
If you want to look around a bit more before jumping in, that's good, too. I have lots of information here on creating beautiful budget bedrooms, but if you don't find what you need, send an email to
Decorating Help
and I'll try to get an answer for
you.
Templates are an excellent and easy way to plan your furniture arrangement. For a bit more information, take a look
here.
Do you stress over the thought of choosing a color scheme? Lots of people do. Maybe
this page will help.
There are certain situations when you might want to opt for a more neutral color scheme. To learn more,
hop over to this page.
Need a little boost to the decorating budget? You might be surprised at the
money lurking in your so-called clutter.
And while we're on the subject of clutter, you might be interested to learn
the side effects of clutter.
Clutter to Cash | Color or No Color? | Color Tips
Effects of Clutter |How to Buy a Paint Brush | Templates
