Frugal Decorating
Styles Tips
Art Deco
Accessories - Mirrors, glass vases, anything shiny.
Colors - Lots of silver, black and green.
Shapes - Uses a lot of geometric shapes and curved surfaces.
Cottage Style
Accessories - Homemade items look best, such as
needlecraft and quilts. Pictures are usually botanical prints.
Colors - Lots of white. Bold, cheerful colors,
and lots of floral prints.
Floors - Wood with area rugs.
Furniture
- This is an eclectic style. You can use pieces from all the
periods. The feeling needs to be casual and comfortable, as opposed to
formal and stiff. Wicker is cottage style. Woods are lighter, and
similar to country style.
Walls - Wallpaper is popular as well as stenciling,
on both the walls and on furniture.
Country Style
Accessories - Pottery, baskets, homemade crafts,
braided rugs, sconces, candles, anything from nature. Fabric is a
natural fiber, like cotton or wool, and stripes and checks are popular.
Colors - Tend to be muted, like the colors produced
by our ancestors. No shiny fabrics.
Floors - Wood with area rugs.
Furniture - Lots of wood furniture in casual wood
tones with lots of grain and rustic appeal.
Feng Shui
See
Feng Shui Decorating Tips
French Country
Accessories
-
Ironwork, roosters, herbs hung from the ceiling.
Colors - Blue and yellow, reds, greens, and gold.
Furniture - Lots of wood, weathered and crackled, and upholstery with
checks and toile. Lots of trim work fabric items in the way of tassels and
beads.
Shapes - Elegant curved lines.
Italian and Tuscan
Accessories
-
Pictures of the lush countryside, tapestries, marble, stone, terracotta,
ironwork, pottery
Colors
-
Warm earthy colors like yellow and gold, oranges and terra cotta,
greens, browns, and deep red.
Furniture
-
Wood, leather and chrome.
Shapes
-
Rounded and arches, soft curves.
Oriental
Accessories - Lots of texture, water features, and other feng shui
elements (see above)
Colors - Light neutrals
Furniture - Bamboo, wood, stone and metal
Shapes - Horizontal lines
Shabby Chic
Accessories
-
Delicate accessories of varied materials, such as pewter, wicker,
ceramics, iron, glass and wood.
Colors
-
Soft pastels with floral fabrics.
Furniture
-
Things that are old or look old but have stood the test of time.
Shapes
-
Straight and curved, but worn with no hard edges.
Victorian
Accessories
-
Lace or velvet drapes, elaborate trim on drapes and pillows, marble
table tops, sconces, oil paintings in gilded frames, candle holders, doilies,
crystal, and frilly items.
Colors
-
Rich Jewel tones, such as burgundy and purple, as well as greens, and
lighter shades of pink like mauve.
Furniture
-
Ornate carved dark wood furniture with upholstered seats with velvet,
brocade or embroidered fabrics.
Shapes
-
Lots of curves
