1 Train your eye: Know what great high-end design pieces look like so that you can have them in mind while hunting at discount or big box stores, flea markets or thrift shops.
2 Be patient: Wait for floor sample sales (usually July and/or January) to get good deals and don't feel like you have to race to finish your space. You want to find the right thing at the right price, not just anything at the right price.
3 Paint a piece of furniture (or a few) glossy black. This works on junk shop finds or new pieces with cheesy finishes.
4 Spend some money: All on-the-cheap rooms just look cheap, not chic. Every room needs a few splurges - special pieces that announce their quality. Decide what “splurge” means to you and do it!
5 Just say no to boring mass produced “art”. Instead, get creative with large collages made from wrapping paper, wallpaper scraps or maps. Paint a large canvas with leftover paints. Pop kids art into off-the-shelf frames with mattes. Hang a beautifully patterned fabric from wooden dowels.
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We saw a wonderful chest of drawers in a boutique in Stratford that was painted black with great glass knobs $745.00, and replicated it with black paint, glass knobs and italic stencils with the words Dance/Love/Opera/Paris one on each drawer in gold- total cost $35.00- it looks fabulous!
Thanks to Alexus for posting your note about the painted black chest of drawers - it gave me great ideas for refinishing a piece of furniture that I've been trying to figure out what to do with for awhile!
I found awesome scrap book prints and framed them on the wall...the color of the prints on the paper helped inspire me re: other accents colors i could add around the house..the cost for the prints...less than a dollar!
oups Margot sorry I don't understand this as a cheap chic...I go for chaby chic myself...sorry for spelling I am dislexic... shaby chic is when you REALLY don't have money...I get a lot from the spring cleaning week...I go to my neighbours and have found a Muskoka chair blue...paint heavaly worn off for the frunt door of my home...I found what is now my blanket bench that is under the window with a beautiful tree in front of the window so the cats Sweat Pea and Lady can relaxe while bird watching...It gets rid of the need to put the blankets into the closet...and in the living room easy to grab when needed...I go to flea markets for furniture...still trying to find a larg Good pritty couch...that is a bit of a trick with no transportation....the last one cost 50.00...I get furniture from friends and family members...as long as it is colorful usefull or just plain fun and pritty I will take it... Your room is great but looks like something a student from college would love...come to think of It that would have been nice for me 5 years ago...I was in need of your design then too! Heidi12 More please...