| You can have a classy home on a modest | | | | Join ebay and auction off all the clutter in your |
| budget. A beautifully modern home, tastefully | | | | home. From the old rugs that just don't match |
| done, is possible. Even on a prudent budget. Start | | | | the decor, to the old sofa that looks like an |
| your home makeover with simplicity. A crowded, | | | | eyesore. Hey, it is an antique right? So it should |
| cluttered up room full of decorations and | | | | fetch some money on ebay. |
| furnishings and furniture looks tacky in comparison | | | | All those white elephants-- well meaning gifts from |
| to a simple, almost spartan home. | | | | friends and family, impulse buys and all, sitting on |
| The trick is to go minimalist. | | | | the shelf or hidden in the store room can be sold |
| The time for lavish spending on white elephants is | | | | for cash. |
| over. Now is the time to learn from the Shakers | | | | With the proceeds of all these sales, and having |
| and go simple. Form and function. Everything | | | | gotten rid of the clutter, you can now buy key |
| should have a reason to be in a room. Everything | | | | items for your home, that actually go well with |
| in the room should go with the decor and the | | | | your decor and which you will actually use. |
| color scheme. Pare down your furniture and | | | | Take stock of your now less crowded home. |
| furnishings to the bare minimum. Keep only the | | | | Choose your color scheme. Should it be warm |
| best items which go with your color scheme and | | | | and woody? White and spacious? Pink and girly? |
| with the style of your home. | | | | Floral and feminine? Green, brown and masculine? |
| To deal with a smaller budget, you can do two | | | | Give the walls a fresh coat of paint that will go |
| things: | | | | with your intended color scheme. |
| 1. Cut costs by buying only the best. The best | | | | What else do you need? |
| meaning, what looks best in your home, which is | | | | What else does not go with your color scheme? |
| the most useful and fits best with your lifestyle | | | | Conduct a second round of garage sales and |
| and home decor. If anything does not fit all these | | | | ebay auctions to pare down your home even |
| criteria, walk away. Spend only on the very best | | | | further. |
| things -- furniture and furnishings, for your home. | | | | Is your home strewn with books, magazines and |
| 2. Bring in more money by selling off the clutter. | | | | newspapers? |
| Pare down your decor. Go simple. Get rid of | | | | Would a classy magazine rack be enough? Or |
| clutter to reveal space. Your room will look more | | | | would you need bookshelves and cupboards as |
| spacious and classier when the surfaces are bare. | | | | well? Don't settle for something third rate. Go for |
| When the mismatched furniture and furnishing are | | | | something you really love. Fewer items, but really |
| gone. Better to have less in pared down room | | | | good ones, will still cost less than lots and lots of |
| that looks simply chic, than to have more in a | | | | cheap stuff you don't like that much. |
| cluttered up room that feels crowded and makes | | | | What kind of chairs and tables would you prefer? |
| everyone in it feel claustrophobic. The money | | | | A leather sofa and wooden tables? |
| from selling off the excess will come in handy | | | | A fabric sofa? |
| during the recession. | | | | Rattan furniture? |
| Start by selling away the excess. Hold a garage | | | | Glass table tops? |
| sale to sell off all the white elephants as well as | | | | Pick a theme that goes with your home and stick |
| anything that does not fit in with your intended | | | | to it. |
| decor. | | | | |