Home furnishings can be expensive, but with a little creativity, you can update your home for very little money at all. Are you decorating your first house on a shoestring budget, or just want to update your rooms each season without blowing the bank? Here’s how you can go about it!
Cushion Covers
Cushion covers are incredibly easy to make, so the perfect project to build your confidence up if you’re new to sewing. A sewing machine would be best, but you could sew by hand providing you were neat and had enough patience. First, choose your fabric. You can buy fabric online or check out a fabric or haberdashery stall at a local market. Choose something that’s easy to work with and isn’t going to fray easily. You’ll also need a zip that’s roughly the same width as you want the cushion to be. Cut two identical squares of fabric, and sew three of the edges leaving a small amount of excess. Then on the fourth edge sew the zip. Your cushion is now inside out with the stitching showing, so turn it around the other way. Viola, all you need to do now is add a cushion pad. You could go a step further and sew beads, buttons, add iron on transfers or whatever else. Or you could just keep it as it is. If you choose a pretty patterned fabric, it will already have a nice design. With it being the festive season you could create a couple of fun, festive themed covers, then in January put them away for next year.
Curtains
This is a slightly bigger project and one that you will need a sewing machine for. However, it’s one that’s well worth doing since ready made curtains can be extremely expensive. Plus you’re limited on choice, and you might struggle to find the right sizes if you have funny sized windows. Making your own gives you much more choice. Choose your fabric, again opting for something which won’t fray and is easy to work with. Carefully measure your windows, adding a little extra depending on how gathered you want the finished look to be. Add approximately half an inch to the bottom to account for the hem, and four inches at the top for the curtain pole. Carefully hem each panel, first by ironing it into place and then stitching. If you’re adding lining to the curtains, you will want to hem the lining to give it a finished look, and then sew it to the back of the curtains. Carefully cover the original hems, and leave around half an inch border each side. Lining the curtains will protect the face fabric from fading in the sun, and will also help to darken the room when you close the curtains. Fold the top of the fabric over, sewing into position along the edge so that you leave space for the curtain rail.
Lampshades
To update your home each season, bringing in a seasonal color is the best way to go about it. You can do this by changing things like soft furnishings and lampshades. But rather than switch up your lamps, if you choose a neutral base you can easily update the shade. You can find plain shades really cheaply on the high street to use as a base. Then simply decorate to your heart’s desire! You could cover it in fabric, carefully securing the edges on the inside with a glue gun. You could use ribbon in the color of your choice to bring a subtle accent, or even spray paint. You can design it to match perfectly with the rest of your decor for much less than you’d pay for a finished piece in a shop.
Have you completed any home DIY projects recently?
