‘Guerrilla Decorating’: Style on the Cheap

A lot of people, including us, are tightening their belts these days. We don’t have the tens of thousands of dollars needed to tackle a structural remodel. And with the sky-high cost of home furnishings, we wondered if we’d be able to decorate our new homes at all.

Still, we dreamed, poring over magazine and newspaper articles, coveting the beautiful homes and elegant decor. But we were soon fed up with “budget� kitchen re-dos for $15,000 and “inexpensive� couches for $2,000. “Budget� and “inexpensive� for Ivana Trump, maybe.

Our own desire for stylish homes, along with our limited budgets, forced us to come up with easy yet unique ways to decorate cheaply.

We learned to transform the floors, walls, windows and cabinets that are already in place because we couldn’t afford to install new ones. We redo, revise, make over and “recycle� furniture we already own, or may find at the next garage sale. And the results . . . well, they can look like a million bucks!

We call our make-over style “guerrilla decorating� because nothing is safe. We shamelessly steal ideas from friends, magazines, store displays, model homes and anywhere else we can think of.

Armed with a tape measure, a note pad filled with home measurements, fabric swatches and paint chips, we attack garage sales, flea markets, even junkyards hoping to outmaneuver the conventional world of decorating and remodeling. Our motto is “No guts, no glory.�

But there is no reason to be afraid of do-it-yourself decorating. Because there aren’t large amounts of money invested, mistakes are cheap. And some of our “mistakes� turn into our most impressive make-over projects.

Here are just a few of the things we’ve done. If you can apply paint or sew a straight seam, you can mount these projects too. Try one or two, and you’ll come away with your creative juices flowing and a terrific sense of having beat the home decorating system.

* “Remodel� your kitchen quickly and cheaply. We wanted a contemporary look, but we were stuck with ugly fake-wood laminate cabinets. We simply sanded them lightly and applied a high-quality oil-based enamel, Red Devil brand, used to paint metal. We used a roller rather than a brush to ensure smooth coverage. Add modern black or white hardware and you have a completely new look.

* Turn an inexpensive, unfinished pine armoire into a handsome Neoclassic-style piece. Paint it glossy-black and add moldings; you “gild� yourself with rub-on gold paint.

* Add style to that boring modern oak entertainment unit. Remove the finish. “Distress� it with a hammer, heavy chain or screwdriver. Sand lightly, and apply pickling paint with a brush. Before the paint dries, rub down with a rag dipped in the same paint. This new “antique� works with many styles, including country.

* Personalize a common modular office desk from Ikea, Stor or Plummers by covering it with faux-marble contact paper (we found ours at Pottery Barn). You’ll be amazed at how elegant and real it looks.

* Add pizazz to an old hand-me-down wood desk. Paint over the dark wood finish with a flat, oil-based paint. We used a “patina� green color. After the paint has dried, use a sanding block to rub away some of the paint around the desk edges, exposing the old finish and bare wood in places.

Sand all over lightly for that faded effect. For the wooden drawer knobs, follow the same process or pick up some cheap, offbeat hardware at the swap meet. A vintage south-of-the-border look without the shipping fees.

* Give a beat-up wicker stool a new life. We loved a magazine photo of an elegant ottoman but nearly fainted at the price. So we painted our stool legs black, made a seat cushion of zebra print fabric and trimmed the seat edge with silky black fringe. Instant glamour for the living room, bedroom or bath.

* Update an overstuffed chair (purchased at a garage sale for $15) by having it reupholstered without the original tucks and tufting for a sleeker look. We chose a colorful ethnic-print fabric and painted over the dark wood legs with a bright, coordinating color.

* Give your bedroom a new look by changing the headboard. Use a staple gun to attach quarter-inch foam over the headboard. Then make a fabric panel, adding a shirred border, fringe or lace, for a total size four inches bigger all the way around than the headboard. Simply staple the fabric over the foam. We like to use a sheet that matches or complements the pattern of the bedspread.

* Turn inexpensive sheer curtains into fancy balloon shades. Simply hand gather the sides of the panels for a finished length about 12 inches higher than the window base.

* Avoid spending a fortune on curtain rods. Customize an inexpensive unfinished wood curtain rod, rings and finials with spray paint. For a whitewashed look, use a light mist of off-white paint. For a more modern look, use a glossy black, adding a touch of gilt paint to the finials.

* Take advantage of the rough, peeling walls often found under old wallpaper when it is stripped. We turned a plaster wall with three shades of faded green paint into a “frescoed� beauty by sanding the entire wall, then blotting thinned cream paint over it with a rag for Old World elegance.

* Group your collectibles together rather than spreading them around the house. Use your unique finds, hand-me-downs or souvenirs to personalize your home.

Throw a souvenir Mexican blanket or your grandmother’s shawl over the arm of the couch (to cover a hole left by the movers). Re-cover pillows with fabric bought on vacations to foreign lands. Buy picture frames at swap meets and display all your family photos on a wall or table top.

One last piece of advice. Trust your eyes to tell you what works and doesn’t work for you. Trust your own creative abilities and you’ll be amazed at what you can do. Keep an open mind and envision how furniture and things you already have can be made over to look completely different. Most importantly, have fun.