Rearranging Furniture and Budget Decorating

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I don't rearrange or "refresh" anything! I have huge, heavy, solid oak furniture and it stays were I put it the first time! The last few years I have really decluttered and downsized. The only thing I can say that I change is the tablecloth on the dining room table. If I did feel like I wanted to change something then maybe I would buy some different throw pillows for the couch. But my sweet hubby brings me fresh flowers every couple weeks and they really make a difference in a room. Good luck!

Wow - you sound like my Mom. We never knew where the furniture would be when we got home - she had a baby grand piano since she was a child and she use to move it at least 1x a month. My dad would just shake his head - it got to be pretty funny after awhile. Thanks for the memory.

Wow, I think I could have written this, even to the bathroom. I make my husband clean it every week while I do other stuff. I have hardwood floors and all my furniture is on felt, so it's easy to move around! My husband doesn't have to help anymore, which drove him crazy, but he does get confused sometimes if he comes home and the house is different! I used to do it in the middle of the night, but now sleep is more important! Cheap ways to decorate are to change the color scheme and buy accessories. HomeGoods usually has cheap pillows and you could put up matching curtains. Use scarves or go to JoAnn fabrics and get loose fabric to throw over your table or dressers. Frame photos of your family and hang them up. Plants are nice too. I like the idea of a dresser for all those things we need as we walk out the door. I've been trying to figure out the best way to organize shoes, hats, scarves and gloves for 3 people. Have fun!
I just thought of something: I rearrange according to Feng Shui. Pick up a couple of books at the library and see if they help you!

no, where ever it lands it just stays. What if it's worse??, same reason i have nothign on the walls, what if i love it and someone walks in and hates it???. then i would hate it too. Bahhh, i guess if you are rearranging you must be pretty confident, so enjoy yourself and if you ever want to rearrange my rooms come on over.

Funny, I change things around all the time as well, in fact I have got yelled at several times for moving furniture when I was pregnant, I am not patient so I would not wait. I keep an eye out for things at garage sales or at thrift shops. New throw pillows or a different rug can make a room look different. I used to be into a bit more kitschy stuff but now I am a lot more into less is more. Yes, my hubby used to hate it, he is used to it now...what really irks me is my hubby mounted our flat screen in the livingroom so i cannot really move the livingroom around anymore...also our bedroom furniture is mostly too heavy for me now...also he is convinced the bedroom has a better "flow" to it now so I have been banned from rearranging the bedroom : ( I will say that just decluttering does seem to give me the same kind of satisfaction that redecorating once did, all I have to do to get in the mood is watch an episode of Hoarders and that kicks me into high gear = )

I used to move the furniture about once a week, every time I vacuumed! I dont do it anymore tho, too old and have a bad back. The best thing to do is just rearrange what you have and switch out pieces of furniture and pictures from other rooms in the house. I used to do it when I was bored all the time, and yeah, my husband would often say he felt "lost" when he came home from work.

Oh... doesn't everybody do that? I love moving the living room around. The bedroom stays put, because it's so small that there's only one way for everything to fit! And my computer in the family room stays put. But most other things are fair game.

I don't ever need a room to be perfect but I need it to be relatively clean. "Relatively" means that it's reasonably sanitary where it shows.

I like to move the little stuff around - the pillows, the tchotchkes - and I use only some of it at a time. That way there's less clutter and, when I want to make a change, the "new stuff" is right there in the closet. Try taking a figurine or a lamp from one room and putting it into another.

Paint is a cheap change... especially when the paint's on sale. I stock up on the painting equipment - brushes, blue tape, etc. - as I can, so I'll have it on hand. I have also discovered that although sale paint may be worthwhile, cheap (poor quality) paint isn't worth a hoot.

Just be sure that things are where they can still be found. It's not fair to hide your husband's clothes where he can't find 'em just because you're rearranging the bedroom....

I am so with you! People think I am weird because I love/need to rearrange my apt. at least every 6 months. LOL. Now that I have a 21 month old, I get that more often. I am getting ready to redo her room again. Found her up on top of some totes to "kiss" the characters on tv. Sigh. I think that people like us NEED at least one spot in their homes that is orderly and fine tuned to our needs. If you need that as well, I would suggest your bedroom or office area. If you would like a pen pal that totally understands, you can message me anytime. :-)

Oh ,my gosh... you will love nesters blog.. she talks about rearranging furniture and decorating creatively on a budget all the time.

http://www.thenester.com/

I do all these things as well and one I decorate cheap is by having 2 sets of slipcovers for the couch, and I exchange decor as the seasons pass and rearrange my mantles and such. Some things I do, is by great finds at goodwill or garage sales, then spray paint things to match... I love using an ivory or white color.

You can see my fall mantle here, and some things I have done in the past:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2010/09/homefront-fall...

http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2010/05/im-going-to-mi...

my husband grew up with a mom a lot like me, so he is fine with me redecorating so long as I am not breaking the bank or moving the tv around too much )

inthefunlane has lots of advice on this too, she repaints old furniture and has a minimalist style, with lots of impact.
http://www.inthefunlane.com/

I have been a furniture re-arranger since my childhood! :)
I rearrange the family room about 2 or 3 times a year. I would rearrange our bedroom more often than I have, but that pesky satellite wiring keeps stymying me!

As far as repurposing.... I have a bedroom dresser that I use as a side table in my family room. I keep a lamp on it, some photos in frames, and a telephone. My favorite thing to move around is lamps. Especially floor lamps. It can really change the ambiance of a room.

oh, and hubby doesn't mind. He just gets annoyed sometimes that I move heavy things that he thinks I should let him do. But I just don't always have the patience. Re-arrangeing is one way that I do my "deep" cleaning in a room. I get rid of the junk, old magazines, dust all the books and book shelves, and get the dust bunnies from the deep dark corners. :) He only gets annoyed if I stop before it gets finished, or if it delays dinner ! lol

I rearrange my furniture all the time....my hubby used to get cranky about it but after 13+ years he has become accustomed to it! I love to do it and sometimes I just need a change and this is the simplest (now that I have decided to leave my hair alone for awhile) and cheapest thing I can do. I rarely buy anything new but when I do it is usually new candles and throws/pillows for the couch.

I pretty much do what you do, utilize whatever I already have and take things from any and all other rooms. I have found that after many years and lots of kids, I like the minimalistic type look, which is very hard to accomplish at my house due to all the toys but I try none the less.

The one room in my house that has to be perfect is our living room because it is where we spend most of our time and it is the room that any company spends time in as well....unfortunately for me, this is also the room that has the least amount of room for change due to the fireplace, the big picture window, the stairs and the cable outlet...but I have rearranged it in every possible way, which is only 4 different ways but I usually change it with the seasons, none the less!

My hubby just built me shelves in our closets in our bedroom and I am currently contemplating taking out our dresser and moving my bed at an angle and mounting the TV up on the wall...haven't tried it yet, but it will be my next "change"....I think if we take out the dresser and buy a new chair we will have lots of room and a "reading spot" for the hubby!

~If your hubby does get cranky just make sure you point out the obvious...what ever room you have rearranged has gotten a thorough cleaning:)

I'm not much for rearranging furniture. Once I determine the best arrangement there it stays. However, I do like to do all kinds of craft projects. I sewed new throw pillows recently. When my son was a toddler I got the dresser my grandmother bought for my mom in 1945. It had been used by 7 family members already by then but was still in pretty good shape. I made some minor repairs and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Now it is blue and green with an underwater theme--lots of fish decals and some hand painted seaweed and coral. I love it and so does my son. He also had a blast watching me work on it (he was 2.5 at the time and I was 8 months pregnant so it was pretty entertaining at times). I also spruced up a bookcase with spray paint and butterfly decals to match the furniture I had (the decals stay very well if you use a spray glaze over them). Most of the time is ti just a battle with the day to day cleaning and clutter. Under the clutter at least we have some unique pieces of furniture.

I think decluttering is the best decorating tool. Then paint the walls (nice and cheap). Or how about painting your furniture? New pillows/throws. Sometimes garage finds are the best. Or finding some nice stuff at TJ Maxx or whatever -- things you normally couldn't afford but can when they are 50% off!

I would love to redecorate, but my house has no decoration, only clutter, and with two kids (1 and 2 and another due in a couple weeks) I have no time to do anything, and laundry/cleaning is NEVER done.

I don't rearrange quite as often as you sound like you do, but I do it sometimes. The reason is, we have an odd shaped living room and I think I have found the spot for our couch and love seat where everyone who sits on it can see the tv or enjoy the fire.
As far as decorating, thrift stores are my best friend. I get anything from picture frames, unusual lamps,that can always be repainted or have a new shade thrown on it, interesting pieces of ceramics (I have gotten three complete japanese looking tea sets from thrift stores) and so on.
I also like stores like IKEA where sometimes you can find some really good deals. For instance, you know those billowy, mesh fabrics that people hang from the ceiling and sort of drape it around their bed. I got the same material curtains from IKEA for 1.99. I am planning on dip dying them pink for my daughters room, and attaching them to a simple metal ring for hanging. So for under 5 bucks I made something that costs 20 from a regular store.
I have a ton of ideas, but not everyone likes them. I like a lot of vintage things in my house, and I decorate with car parts too. =) Crazy I know. It's not for everyone, but most of my friends love it (inlaws dont). My boyfriend just goes with my ideas, he doesn't care. Although he wont let me hang our original 29 ford car grill on the wall, darn him.
If you want ideas on something specific don't hesitate to message me.