Redecorating doesn't have to be a costly affair

By Greg Kane
News-Sentinel Business Editor

Linda Ausherman redesigns homes for a living, but don't call her an interior decorator. The owner of Galt's Ausherman Interiors prefers a term that reflects more of what she does -- recycling used furniture and household items, moving furniture around and generally using space more efficiently.

"I call myself a rearranger," Ausherman said. "My services appeal to people that don't want to spend large amounts of money."

Redecorating a home can give a facelift to rooms and bank accounts alike, but it doesn't have to be such a costly affair. Thousands of dollars can be saved by purchasing furniture and decorations at thrift or antique shops. Even better, the answer to that design problem could be sitting right under your own roof.

An old mirror can be pulled out and dusted off to create a rustic look -- and make the space seem larger. A recliner from a garage sale can be picked up for next to nothing, reupholstered, and given a new life. Recycling old furniture is a way to give a room character at a low cost, Ausherman said.

"I myself have found some of my favorite pieces in thrift stores," Ausherman said. "I am basically a frugal person. I've never been one to just tell people to throw everything away and start over."

One recent client of Ausherman's was given a new bedspread she couldn't match with anything in her room. Ausherman found some old framed pictures that had been given to the woman by her parents years before.

She was only keeping them because of the frames, but Ausherman decided to hang them up and see how they looked.

"We pulled them out, and it was perfect with this new bedspread," Ausherman said.

Local interior designer Rilette Hugo, who owns the company Design Concepts, typically asks clients on a budget to rank the rooms they wish to redecorate in order of importance. She also recommends keeping a notebook of planned purchases to keep homeowners from buying expensive furniture on impulse.

"I have had clients who fell in love with a piece of furniture that they thought looked so good in the showroom, only to find out it was either the wrong size for the room or the color was wrong when they got it home," Hugo said.

Keeping away from trendy styles that can quickly date a room is also bad idea for folks on a limited budget, Hugo said.

"Furniture with simple lines is easier to coordinate and more likely to stay in fashion over a long period," she said.

If you want trendy furniture, go to a department store, said John Eddy, owner of Classy Rags thrift shop on South Fairmont Avenue. But antique and used goods stores like Eddy's place are goldmines for sturdy old tables, chairs and other furniture with classic looks and features.

The price isn't bad, either.

"Somebody might save something for 30 years that their parents left them, then decide to donate it," Eddy said. "You can't find that stuff in the department stores anymore."

People can come to thrift shops and find tables, chairs, couches, appliances -- pretty much anything, Eddy said. Even furniture for new families can be found, at a fraction of what it costs at other stores.

"If you go and buy a (brand new) baby's crib, it's $200 in the stores," Eddy said. "You can buy one here for $25."

Sometimes new furniture isn't the answer for people looking to redecorate, Ausherman said. Getting rid of extra furniture or junk cluttering a home can make an immediate impact on that space's look and feel.

"Most people nowadays have too many things in their lives," she said. "Just getting rid of stuff will make a place look clean and fresh and uncluttered."

There are many potential uses for old items that might just be collecting dust, Hugo said. Old luggage or a trunk can be combined with a glass pane to create a coffee table with storage capacity. Old books can be stacked into a display pedestal. A shiny coat of enamel can give new life to an old table.

Or, if there isn't any cash at all to go around, a nice coat of paint can do wonders for a room, Hugo said.

"It's the most satisfying of all instant decorating tricks," she said.

Even moving furniture around can breathe fresh air into a room, Ausherman said. People too often push furniture against walls, making for awkward traffic patterns and leaving pieces too far away from one another. Just pushing a couch to the center of a room opens things up, she added.

"We tend to be a consumer society," Ausherman said. "But you can do so much by just not spending money."

Most redecorating projects aren't going to come without a pricetag. But keeping that price as low as possible might create the room you always wanted -- and never knew you had.

"Often when we finish, people can hardly believe that using the things they already had in their lives can have a fresh look and be more usable and interesting," Ausherman said.