Decorating Tips for a Shoestring Budget
Call us optimists, but we think everyone under the sun can, and should, have a beautiful home.
If you're pinching pennies, there's plenty you can do to create a stylish and inviting home for yourself and your friends.
The first step (and this is true no matter where or how you live) is to clean your home and get it organised. Doing those two things alone will drastically improve the quality of your space.
Then, on to decorating. With years of budget decorating behind (and in front of!) us, we've amassed a few helpful tips for 'making house' with a slim wallet.
1. Paint an accent wall
STAND OUT: This one wall, in the home of Melbourne designer Miranda Skoczek, brings something extra-special to her bedroom without going overboard.
Painting your walls is one of the most cost-effective decorative updates you can make to your home. But if you're on a shoestring budget, the two cans of $30 paint it may require to paint your bedroom could very well put you off.
Instead, consider painting an accent wall. One litre (which will cover around 9 square metres) or a 2.5-litre can (which covers up to 24 square metres) is likely all you'll need to cover a single wall, which can make just as much of an impact.
2. Get rid of unsightly items
FIRE THE WIRE: This clever little picket fence, designed by Karl Zahn, provides some fun inspiration for ways you can tidy up all those wires that often dominate the modern day living room.
Before you start worrying about what you can and cannot afford to buy, consider what you should get rid of, or unsightly items that you need to hide.
Dated, worn or damaged items could be doing the look of your home a disservice, and if they're non-essential, removing them can give your home a clean slate.
One of the worst offenders common in rental apartments is vertical blinds. Or how about those not-so-stylish college posters you've been holding on to? Let go, or at least put them in storage.
Keep reading: www.curtainclean.co.nz...
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.