Do you think I am even qualified to write a decorating tip? I am not sure..since my sister complains alot about my picture hanging, but since I have been on a tight budget for a long time and she helped me re-do my living room awhile back for a pretty cheap price, I thought I would write about it!
I read several decorating books about how to rearrange small places. They said to choose a focal point and venter the room around it. If you have a fireplace this is a good one
I like to decorate with books so we found 2 bookshelves, brand new at Target on sale for about $30-40 a piece. Yes, they are not real wood, but fairly sturdy and pretty looking! We used these filled with older looking books to form a focal point with my cedar chest in the middle. On top of the bookshelves, we used a couple of pretty doilies topped with a matching dollar store frames with family pictures in them and 2 kerosene lamps that used to be our main source of light. This makes a very simple decoration! We have a large mirror hung up above the cedar chest that we got at a auction for about $20 awhile back. Mirrors make the room look bigger! Pictures really are nice decorations and from what I have read are some of the nicest forms of decoration. It is better if the pictures are of thngs that mean something to you, family paintings, family pictures, etc. A cousin bought me this mall fake shelf thing that hangs on the wall and 3 frames sit on it. I also have a sort of antique looking corner shelf for candles next to my rocker! <p. Another thing I read that really helps a room look homey is to place throws or afghans on the backs of couches or rocking chairs. I personally think that a area rugs ties a room together. I got a really pretty one with antique looking roses on it that was on clearance for a good price. The whole room just came together with some curtains from Ross. It was actually cheaper to buy them than to buy the material for $1 a yard! So, don't think you have to sew everything for it to be cheap!
This sounds nice, Martha. I really like mirrors. My living room has no windows just french doors going outside so I did a wall with a bunch of eclectic mirrors of varying sizes in a grouping to add more light. Kind of hard to explain. Your room sounds nice and inviting. :o)