Paint everything white, and watch as your room transforms into a brighter, sunnier and happier place. Start out with one room, and before long you're going to paint your entire house white. Rachel Ashwell, Hollywood's hottest interior designer, swears by white. It's a very simple idea, and you don't have to spend a fortune on interior decorator to make your home look like its just stepped out from a magazine.
Add colour by using accessories such as paintings, flowers, cushions, carpets and throws. Paint all the walls and furniture white. Get white bedspreads, white curtains and white sofa covers, and watch as your room transforms itself. "Once you have lived amidst white, you find it hard to switch back to a colourful room as you get so used to the brilliance of white," says 32 year old Gayatri, who's entire house is white, with touches of blue in the hall, pink in her daughter's bedroom, red and black in her son's room, and green in her bedroom. These touches include candles, paintings, rugs and throws. It makes decoration so much easier, and you can't go wrong. We don't spend time or money on picking up stuff randomly just because it looks good sitting on the shelf, and I don't spend hours trying to decide on what sofa cover or curtain material to buy. Friends of mine spend days deciding what sofa cover to buy and what curtains to go with it, and true, that looks great too, but its easy to go wrong. With white, you're sure.
Economical
If you're a fan of minimalism, there's a lot of money you can save. 27 year old Kavita, who lives alone, needs to adhere to a strict budget, and she too feels that white works great for her. "It's so easy to dress up a white house. Even plain cotton orange cushions look great on a white sofa. An orange bowl on the center table, a few orange candles, and my house looks as though it was done by an interior decorator. It's incredible, the amount of money I saved by opting for white minimalism! And the best part about white is that it turns your home into a haven! I'd never go for any other colour."
Here are some more tips on making the most of your money and your house.
The next time you go shopping and are tempted to buy out the store, don't. Only buy things you need. Not only is this more economical, but it also makes for less stress! Get rid of everything in your home that you don't need. Excessive stuff around you makes you tense. Always use a list when you go shopping, and don't deveate from that list, or you will find you just have more to throw away, or you're probably using it just because you have it, and not because you want it.
Is your make-up cabinet filled with lipsticks and make-up you haven't used in years? Finish them off, or throw them away if you're not going to use them, but don't buy more until you have gotten rid what you have.
Lighting is important in a home, and strategically placed lights can make a world of difference to the look. Just shifting a lamp around from here to there costs nothing, and can add great effects. Use mirrors to create the illusion of space in a room. They look lovely, and they make the room look bigger without crowing it up. Could you ask for an easier way to decorate?
