Buying Antiques For Less: How To Buy Antiques and Save Money
Some people have a passion for antique furniture. Designs and trends that have gone out of fashion are represented in the old pieces. Antique furniture has more value than new one. With the economic situation not quite rosy, investing in antique furniture seems like a bad idea. Yet, some people prefer antique rather than any other furniture. It is quite possible to stick to your budget while indulging in your passion. Here are some ways in which you can save money on antique furniture.
Ask Your Acquaintances
If you know someone among your family and friends who has purchased antique furniture, ask them where they bought it from. In most cases, people who buy antique furniture have knowledge of the best places to buy from. You can ask them about where you can find antique furniture for a reasonable price. They will guide you in the right direction. Asking people you trust is better than relying on the expertise of a total stranger.
Explore and Browse Around
There are a number of shops that sell antique furniture. You can also visit the flea markets and bargain stores that have old furniture pieces. The more you explore, the wider the range of prices will be for you. You will have a fair idea of how much cash you would have to pay to acquire the furniture you are looking for. You have to be patient because it might take some time before you find furniture for the best price. Keep your patience and efforts up and you will finally find the best place to shop for antique furniture.
Go Online
There are several online stores that sell antique furniture. It is a good idea to go online and research about the antique furniture available for sale there. More often than not, online stores offer a better price than the brick and mortar ones. Also visit stores such as eBay where people are selling their second hand things. You might be able to find just what you are looking for at the right price.
Auctions
Attend auctions where furniture is being sold off. Chances are that you may find a good piece of antique furniture which attracts no other buyers. If you are able to come up with a good bid for it, you can take it home. Avoid the high profile auctions because investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in antique furniture is hardly a good idea. If you are looking to save money on antique furniture, attend foreclosure auctions and other small scale events.
Package Deals
Sometimes buying one piece of antique furniture might be expensive but not if you buy the whole set. Some dealers are looking to clear out their inventory and are likely to offer a better price if you are buying more than one piece. Keep your options and your wallet open and you might be able to find good deals where you can save money on antique furniture.
These are the ways in which you can save money on antique furniture.
Chris specialises in french furniture. He loves to browse around to find a great piece. At the moment, he is looking for a unique french provincial bed
Colour Trends 2012: Pantone Color of the Year Revealed
Well it’s that time of year…the new colour for 2012 has been unveiled and like last year it is a bold choice. Here is the Pantone press release.
Dance into the New Year with this vivacious and appealing reddish orange – Tangerine Tango PANTONE 17-1463.
The 2011 color of the year, PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle, encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.
“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”
Tangerine Tango for Interiors and More
Energize interior spaces with Tangerine Tango patterned home accessories. Pillows, bedspreads and tabletop accessories in this high-impact hue add spice to any room. Or incorporate Tangerine Tango appliances and personal electronics for an unexpected pop of color. Looking for an inexpensive way to perk up your home? Paint a wall in Tangerine Tango for a dynamic burst of energy in the kitchen, entryway or hallway.
What do you think….will you be using this colour in your home? Let us know by leaving a comment.
You can read the full press release at http://www.pantone.com
Tips For Saving Money on Decorating the Home
You spend so much time in your home and it is the base for entertaining family and friends, that you want it to be a stylish reflection of who you are. However, style doesn’t come cheap and you can easily become discouraged in your decoration goals and just give up. Instead of settling for an outdated home lacking in personality, think about how you can use these tips to save money on your home decoration.
- Know what you want. Spend some time reading home decorating magazines and looking online at new styles and trends. You don’t have to replicate the designer looks you see, but you can use them as inspiration for your overhaul. Plus when you have a plan and an idea of the style you want in your home you will be able to look out for bargains and buy only what you need and what will fit with your new look.
- Take it slow. You don’t have to replace everything in your home at once when you are decorating, instead, work with what you have and let the natural style and features of your home shine through and change little things every now and then and your home will always feel refreshed and you won’t have a huge decorating bill to pay.
- Watch for sales. You will notice that major department and home wares stores have regular sales, so watch and wait until the items you want are on sale and stock up.
- Look for second hand gems. Not everything you find in a thrift store or a garage sale is going to be able to help you revamp your home, but look out for pieces you can add new life to, such as picture frames, shutters or furniture like tables, chairs and desks, all of which can expensive to buy new.
- Paint it. Whether you are revamping that desk you found at a garage sale, or you want to update a room, painting is a fast and affordable way to achieve a new look. Stick to neutral colours to repaint your rooms to begin with, and look for places where you can add accent colours to add interest.
- Natural decor. The next time you’re out on a walk or down at the beach, keep an eye out for interesting shells, branches, drift wood or rocks which you can use to make interesting displays indoors.
- Bring plants indoors. You can also bring in potted plants to add personality, colour and of course life to your home decoration project very affordably. You can buy small plants more affordably than mature plants and grow them up, and you can even buy a plain pot and decorate it with left over paint, wrapping paper or fabric.
- Less is more. You can save money on your home decoration by buying fewer things. A simple display of three or four items on top of a bookcase will make s much more stylish statement than if you covered the surface with thirty things.
- Make your own wall art. Wall hangings will not only make your house feel like a home, they are also a great way to inject personality, and regularly update your home’s look. You can use anything to add interest to your walls and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, for example you could hang a window frame you found at a salvage yard, stretch and interesting pillowcase or piece of fabric over a frame or enlarge your photos and make a wall display of your family and friends. You don’t even have to use typical wall hangings, even quilts or china plates can make an eye catching and affordable display.
- Paper art. Before you throw away your old calendar at the end of the year, look at the pictures on each month and see whether you can reuse them as wall art too. Many calendars will have beautiful landscape photos or adorable animal images while others will have abstract lines and colours. Simply use some cheap frames and enjoy the pictures for more than a year this time.
- Make your room grand. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to achieve an opulent look simply mount your window coverings high above the actual frame of the window and your rooms will appear bigger and more stately because the ceiling will look higher as the eye id drawn upwards.
- Affordable window coverings. Curtain fabrics can be very expensive, but if you buy a sheet set in a department store sale, or get out one of those sets you were given but never got around to using, you can use the fitted sheet as a valance to dress up your windows – simply tack the sheet in strategic spots along the top of the window frame and you don’t even need a sewing machine or a curtain rod.
- Bring books back in style. You have probably noticed book stores closing down left and right, and at garage sales and thrift shops you can buy books by weight. Therefore, use these interesting literary works as affordable decor in your home. Look for unique, hard cover books at library book sales and antique stores and fill shelves or stack them to create a display.
Alban has been helping people to save money on all aspects of their life. You can find more tips from Alban on how to save money at Savings Account Finder
Nine Ways to Visually Create More Space
Many people think of adding square footage to create more space. But that doesn’t have to be the case. You can make your home appear bigger without going through the hassle of renovating and remodelling. With just a few home modifications, it is possible to make more from less. And remember, often what the eye needs is the illusion of spaciousness not actually more space.
Here’s how to create the illusion of space without adding square footage.
1. Think diagonal views.
Think back to geometry and how the hypotenuse of the triangle was the longest of the three sides. Apply that to the sightlines within your small-house design. Your house will appear much bigger than it actually is if you are able to stand at one corner of the house and look to the far corner without any obstructions. Also, if you have a room that will be tiled, place the tiles on a diagonal. It makes the space seem larger visually, pushing the walls out.
2. Think like a sailor.
Sailboats usually have no wasted space and that’s what you should aim for. Look for opportunities for built-ins, such as building bookshelves in staircases, unique space-saving cabinets, drawers under beds, etc.
3. Use lighting to open up space and add interest.
In creating the feeling of more space, it is important to give your house an airy feel. Use simple window dressings to bring in natural light and steal space from the outdoors and give it to the interior of the house.
If possible, use recessed spot lights as they are both visually appealing and have a low profile that is perfect for a small space.
4. Play with the furniture.
Try to move furniture away from the walls if the space allows. It will give a feeling of more openness when a sofa isn’t butted against a wall. If you’re buying new pieces, try to purchase items that are on legs versus feet. The higher a piece sits from the floor, the more visual space is present. Also, armless furniture pieces give an illusion of extra space so consider an armless sofa or slipper chairs.
5. Accessorize.
The bigger a piece of artwork is, the bigger the feeling of a space. A wall filled with many small pictures seems cluttered and less dynamic versus a wall with a large piece of art, which makes a bold statement. Also, “lighten up” your corners by using lights and plants. It will look stunning at night, casting shadows on the ceilings and giving an illusion of more space.
6. Use mirrors to reflect light.
When using mirrors in a space, make sure that whatever the mirror is reflecting it is pleasing to the eye, or at least doubles the amount of light let into the space. In addition to mirrors, use other materials that reflect light and space (stainless steel, chrome, etc.). A glass table with stainless steel legs will allow light to bounce off it.
7. Colour your world.
The colour of a room’s walls has the power to create a mood and affect the room’s appearance. Use just one or two colours per room for visual simplicity that expands a space. Also keep in mind that white, neutral or pale colours best reflect light, visually “pushing back” walls. Cool blue and green hues will make a space seem larger and airier. Warm reds and yellows cozy a room and can make it appear smaller.
8. Let there be height.
Use at least one tall element in a room to draw the eye upward, towards the ceiling. Not only does this maximize the vertical space in the room, but it also draws the eye up to the less crowded ceiling space above.
9. Minimize the amount of furniture you have in each room.
It is both wise and essential to select furniture and accessories that perform multiple tasks. The smaller your space, the more this applies, especially with furniture. Storage is an obvious second job for many pieces of furniture.
Every room has good proportions which make its space flexible enough to create any environment you wish. Compromises in decorating, colour techniques, furniture arranging and lighting considerations can all contribute to the illusion of space. By following some of the tips above, you can create a visually larger room.
Copyright © 2010 Canada Realty News™
Source: www.vanhomesales.com
How To Make Your Own Wallpaper
By James Adams
Personalized hand print wallpaper is becoming popular in homes across the Country, mainly due to its visual appeal and the fact that it can be made easily. There have been a number of examples of the process going very wrong though, which can lead to an ugly wall and the wasting of quite a lot of money. Should people use the tips detailed here though, then they will find that the whole process goes perfectly.
Add A Personal Touch
Creating personalized hand print wallpaper is a great opportunity to get the whole family involved, as well as being an activity that kids will absolutely love! Many people choose to simply have one type of hand print, but what they don’t realize is that by using the hand prints of all the family members, they can create a wallpaper that is as unique as each person’s own fingerprint.
An excellent idea when doing this is to give each person their own color, so they can easily recognize their own print when it is on the wall. This should also make the wallpaper look slightly more uniform, which will add to the way that it looks.
Use A Good Paint
There are so many different types of paint to buy these days, meaning that picking the correct one is essential. Without doubt the best type of paint to use on a wall is emulsion, which can be bought from all hardware stores and will stick to the wall perfectly, as well as dry quickly.
If working with children it is vitally important to check that the paint is safe for them to use. Additionally they should always be supervised at all times.
Have A Border
A wall without a border can look terrible, especially when one has a wall that has been painted with a personal design such as this one. Borders are incredibly cheap and can be bought from any hardware store. There are a number of different designs that can be bought and there will always be one that fits everyone’s needs.
The additional advantage of a border is that when the wallpaper is laid it doesn’t have to be perfectly aligned to the ceiling, which takes a lot of work out of the process, due to the fact that there is no precision cutting needed.
Use Complementary Colors
Although having this type of wallpaper is meant to give the room a personal touch, it should also look nice. This is because it is going to be seen every day by the homeowner and no matter how much it means to them sentimentally, it will still get boring after a while if it looks bad.
Picking colors that go well together, such as blue and red, will ensure that the color scheme is perfect. A good idea is to practice on an old piece of wallpaper first to find out the different combinations that are enjoyed the most.
Get The Right Wallpaper
When it comes to painting over wallpaper, it is essential that the correct type of wallpaper is bought for the style that is required, Different wallpapers will produce different effects so practicing first is vital.
For those that want a firm hand print on the wall then a flat wallpaper will be the way to go. If one wants to have a more mottled look then wallpaper with raised indentations will be perfect.
Space The Hand Prints Evenly
If one wants a wallpaper that looks good then it is very important to have good spacing between the different hand prints, as well as making sure that they are as uniform as possible. This will mean that the wall looks planned out and that it doesn’t look like someone has just plastered random hand prints all over it.
James is a fulltime writer and an analyst on CartridgeSave, an online store where you can shop for Samsung toner in the United Kingdom.
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