Reeeally Cheap Decorating Ideas
Anne didn't consider just how empty her new apartment would look without
furniture. Sure, she had a bed and a couple of couches... but where could she
put her trinkets? She'd budgeted everything out - from rent, to car payments,
to grocery bills, to gas money... but furniture? Where would she find the
money? There wasn't anything left over for decorating.
Her solution?
Boxes. Boxes = places to put stuff. After unpacking everything, she had
plenty of those. So out came all the candles, sculptures, and
figurines. Sure it was a temporary solution, but at least her apartment didn't
look so empty. Plus, she was getting the most use out of the boxes before
throwing them away... a fact that made Anne AKA "Ms. Environmentalist Saving
The World '99" very happy.
So I can tell you're thinking: "Boxes. Yeay. How...brown." I know
that looking at bland boxes is not all that aesthetically pleasing... even if
it is temporary. Anne's solution? She called some friends over for a box
decorating party, and everyone had a blast. If you have friends that aren't
afraid to be goofy, it really is a fun solution.
Sound appealing? Then here's what you should do. Invite your friends over and
tell them to bring as many old magazines they can find. If no one has any,
check with libraries. Sometimes they have magazine sales, and most are usually
under a dollar. Also, check the book resale stores in your area.
Now if you're REALLY broke, have your friends also bring scissors or exacto
knives and rubber cement. Otherwise, make sure that for every person you
invite, you have a cutting utensil (check to see who's left handed), a small
bottle of rubber cement and a box to decorate. You don't have to have
individual supplies for every guest, it just makes it easier if you invite over
3 people. This way, no one has to wait for supplies, so there's more time to
get creative.
Now for the fun part. Get everyone to completely cover the boxes with magazine
pictures. You'll be amazed how different people choose to decorate. Each box
will reflect your friends' personalities.
Make sure when you are looking through the magazines you stay open minded.
Don't restrict yourself to cutting out fashion models (unless you want to.)
Look for patterns, colors, and textures within pictures. Also, you don't need
to use scissors all the time. You might want to rip out pictures for a
different look/texture.
If you want to get all sentimental, you can have each friend create a collage
that represents a special event between the two of you. Or, you could keep
things simple and go with a color theme. Maybe one box could be covered with
all blue pictures, one with all green and one all black and white. It doesn't
matter. Your desire for creativity is the only thing that could possibly limit
your ideas.
Sound too complicated? It really isn't. But if you need another option,
consider covering the boxes with material. You can always find crazy prints
and textured materials on the bargain/scrap tables at fabric stores.
If you've finished decorating the larger boxes, and still have leftover smaller
ones, don't throw them away! You can still use them. How? Well, just think
of how much more closet space you would have if you stored your out of season
clothes in these small boxes. Then, you can hide these boxes inside of the
larger, prettier ones.
As I've discovered, boxes are great. However, they aren't indestructible. If
they're not reinforced, they will start to cave in. In order to try to delay
this inevitable misfortune, crunch up the leftover magazine scraps/pages or
gather old newspapers and stuff the box until there's no more room to stuff.
Then tape the box shut on the bottom. That way, you have little or no trash
left over and a sturdier surface to hold your junk.
Another way to get the collage boxes to last longer is to cover the entire
surface with clear contact paper. That way, condensation won't warp the
pictures, and they're less likely to be accidentally ripped off of the box.
If you are still feeling arty after the party, you can get that exacto knife
working and start making some picture frames out of any boxes you didn't use
for make-shift tables. Don't discard ripped boxes until you've examined them
first. Maybe only one side of the box is ripped and the rest are fine. You
can decorate the picture frames just like the boxes, or you can glue dried
flowers, plants, or other materials on top of them for a different look.
When you're done with it all, you are still setting your things on boxes, and
storing things inside them, but they're no longer unappealing to the eye. So
it's not exactly Martha Stewart, but who cares? You will have gotten the
maximum use out of supplies rather than just throwing them away, and each
completed box will be a constant reminder of how much fun you and your friends
had together at the party. You might even decide you like the boxes better
than real furniture. Anne did.
Written by Kate Kemp
