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By Frugillionaire
 Give your bedroom a designer look on a dime, by making your own duvet cover. Here’s how to do it in five easy steps:
1. Buy two flat sheets the same size as your comforter. For the best prices, try discount stores and white sales. If you’d like, decorate them with fabric paint.
2. Place the right sides of the sheets together, and sew straight lines down three sides
3. Turn inside out.
4. Attach closures—like Velcro, snaps, buttons, or grommets and ribbon—to the fourth side
5. Insert your old comforter, and admire your handiwork
For more inspiration and instruction, see the following websites:
How To Make Your Own Duvet Cover | eHow.com
Sew Your Own Duvet Covers | About.com
DIY Duvet Cover | care2.com
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By Frugillionaire
 Don’t pay for the services of an interior decorator. Instead, get a design education on a dime by browsing home décor magazines and websites.
It’s a wonderful way to learn basic decorating techniques—like how to combine colors, play with texture, lay out furniture, and create interesting visual displays.
In fact, you can even go so far as to copy an entire room. Just instead of buying the expensive designer goods, see how closely you can replicate the look with what you already own (or can acquire on the cheap).
Shelter magazines work with the hottest designers and stylists to create the interiors featured on their pages—giving you access to their expertise and creativity, without their consultation fees.
Better yet, save money (and trees) by skipping the magazines and getting ideas from the internet. Most home décor publications offer much the same content online, at no charge. And there are plenty of other websites devoted exclusively to the subject of interior design.
Try the following for inspiration:
Apartment Therapy
Design Sponge
Elle Décor
Homes and Gardens
Architectural Digest
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By Frugillionaire
 No sewing machine? No problem! You can still use fabric as a low-cost way to decorate your home.
Iron-on tape and fabric glue can be used to finish and secure edges, as well as add tassels, cord, and fringe for a decorator look. Velcro, and grommets and ribbon, make great substitutes for buttonholes. A staple gun is all you need to reupholster dining chairs.
Just remember, don’t blow your budget on expensive textiles. To keep costs down, buy discounted remnants, or use bed sheets and fabric paint.
Check out the following tutorials for some frugal, and fabulous, no-sew home décor projects:
How to Make No-Sew Pillow Covers | eHow.com
How to Make a No-Sew Slipcover | DIY Network
Padded No-Sew Headboard | HGTV.com
Easy No-Sew Window Treatments | BHG.com
Re-Upholstering Dining Room Chairs | ForDummies.com
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By Frugillionaire
 Professional prints and paintings can cost a small fortune. Instead of paying a premium for wall art, use the ideas below to create your own. They’ll not only save you money; they’ll give your space a unique, creative, and highly personal look!
1. Decorate with photos. Mount in simple, identical frames, and group similar themes together (like family, landscapes, travel). Have them printed in black-and-white for a sophisticated, high-art look.
2. Decorate with illustrations. Print pictures from the internet, tear them out of old calendars, or copy them from vintage books. Hang them in frames, or from binder clips nailed to the wall.
3. Frame your collections. Use shadow boxes to display small items you’ve collected, like pressed flowers, postcards, matchbooks, or vintage keys.
4. Use fabric. Hang a quilt, tapestry, or area rug on your wall to create graphic and textural interest.
5. Use decals. Self-adhesive, large-scale wall stickers can add a bold, graphic look to any room.
By Frugillionaire
 Furnishing your house doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are some frugal ways to have a stylish home without breaking the bank:
1. Buy secondhand. Pre-owned pieces are terrific bargains. Try thrift shops, consignment stores, garage sales; and online sources like Craigslist.com and Freecycle.org.
2. Buy showroom samples. If you don’t mind a few dings or scratches, you can get almost-new pieces at deep discounts.
3. Be creative. Repurpose other pieces to meet your needs. For example, use an old trunk as a coffee table, make a door into a unique desk, or use milk crates for shelving or end tables.
4. Get the word out. Alert friends and family to your furniture needs—many people have an item or two they’d be happy to pass along.
5. Go minimalist. Embrace a “less is more” philosophy. The less furniture you buy, the more money you’ll save!
By Frugillionaire
 Forget the pricey designer décor; you’ll have a more interesting home (and a fuller wallet) if you make your own!
You don’t need a big budget to beautify your home—just a little creativity! Craft supply stores are a treasure trove of inexpensive items that you can personalize, or customize, to match your décor.
Here are ten frugal ways to spice up your space:
1. Etch or paint unfinished boxes, vases, and candle holders for a luxe designer look
2. Create a lovely centerpiece by filling a glass bowl with colored marbles or floating votives
3. Paint or decoupage inexpensive tiles from the hardware store, then use them to give new life to a tired tabletop
4. Stitch together old scarves, or pretty fabric remnants, to make a bohemian style curtain or tablecloth
5. Paint or pierce a design onto a plain lampshade
6. Bring in branches, pinecones, and acorns from the outdoors, give them a light spray of silver or gold paint, and arrange artistically
7. Use a projector to paint a mural in a baby’s or child’s room
8. Stretch pretty fabric over a wooden frame to make a wallhanging
9. Make a no-sew pillow cover (see instructions here)
10. Use fabric paint to decorate plain sheets, tablecloths, and curtains
By Frugillionaire
 Who says decorating your house has to cost a fortune? Forget the pricey designer tchotchkes, and do your “shopping” in the great outdoors!
Mother Nature offers an abundance of items to beautify your home; they’re colorful, chic, and—best of all—free!
Using natural décor is not only economical; it helps you celebrate the seasons, and gives you a greater appreciation for life.
Here are some suggestions for fresh, seasonal décor that’ll cost you nothing—yet make your home look like a million bucks:
Fall: colorful autumn leaves, acorns, pumpkins, squash, apples, cornstalks, hay bales
Winter: evergreens, holly, pinecones, cranberries, eucalyptus, branches (spray with gold or silver paint for an elegant effect)
Spring: flowers, flowers, and more flowers (fresh or dried)
Summer: seashells, sand, driftwood, ornamental grasses, fruit
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