Paint, all the walls or the one you see the most when you walk in. Or stencil something on the walls.
Valence and/or curtains. My living room walls are green and I have a oil rubbed bronze rod with plain cream panels, that we never close, hanging on either side. It is a nice way to frame the view. Hit up the clearance sections of BB&B (if you have that near you) or thrift shops.
Ditto for art for the walls, thrift stores always have tons, very reasonable, it make take a while to find something, but when you see the right things, you'll know.
Shelves for the books - wall hung, floating, put framed photos in between the books to make it more personal.
An asymmetrical wall look is interesting. Brackets and laminated boards are not that expensive. The store will usually cut the boards to order no charge.
But thrift stores do always have tons of mirrors and pictures, not to mention vases and artificial plants. You just have to be patient because some of it is junk, but I've found a number of treasures in among junk. I try to watch for the color of the week (50% off) and usually go to GW on Wednesday because it's senior discount day (25% off). That's 55 and older.:
But thrift stores do always have tons of mirrors and pictures, not to mention vases and artificial plants. You just have to be patient because some of it is junk, but I've found a number of treasures in among junk. I try to watch for the color of the week (50% off) and usually go to GW on Wednesday because it's senior discount day (25% off). That's 55 and older.:
Sorry going off topic, waiting for the eggs to finish cooking.
Thrifting is definately about the process for me. One day at Savers I saw stacks of player piano scrolls. I have an incredibly tacky print of a wine bottle in an incredibly tacky frame, but it was a Riesling and the colors were perfect. (I'm not picky about art :) ) I just love looking at the crazy assortment of everything.
Another inexpensive idea for walls is wall decals from AliExpress. Especially good if you're renting and/or can't paint the walls.
Another inexpensive idea for walls is wall decals from AliExpress. Especially good if you're renting and/or can't paint the walls.I bought this mirror from AliExpress. Haven't put it up yet though.
I've posted this before, but I carved out a space behind my garage. We used book proceeds so we could write off both the construction costs and the square footage. I appreciate that not everybody has this option, but My God, if you do, DO IT.
I've posted this before, but I carved out a space behind my garage. We used book proceeds so we could write off both the construction costs and the square footage. I appreciate that not everybody has this option, but My God, if you do, DO IT.Nice! That's a great workspace.
Art is good. I second the suggestions above--more bookcases. Thrift store finds are okay because you can paint those, too (although you'd have to sand it first. YouTube is your friend here.)
There's no reason to balk at painting. My four-year-old grandson paints his Home Depot project every month. You pick a color, you brush the corners and fiddly bits, and then you roll the rest. It's just hard work. Do it in bits so you don't get overwhelmed. Or have a painting party and provide the pizza.
Note: Be sure to cover your head when you're rolling the ceiling or you'll be getting speckles out of your hair for some time. : )
Also, consider a daybed with lots of colorful cushions. You can get really neat covers for them on Amazon so you can keep changing them out. And valances or curtains.
I generally like cool colors, so my default recommendations are pale gray, green and blue. I'm not so keen on the other end of the spectrum, but a pale yellow is warm and looks nice with white trim and ceiling. If you want something more neutral, a tan works pretty well.