I’ve never felt that carpeting a floor in a child’s room was a great idea.  Firstly, kids can be messy and some stains are just impossible to get out. Secondly, if your child has severe allergies or asthma, carpeting can cause some health problems.

This weekend, we are working on re-modeling the “home office” into another bedroom for our young son.  Since he has asthma, we’ve got to be careful about things like flooring and paint.  Since we have a limited budget for this re-model project, it’s been a little bit stressful at times.

We couldn’t afford to put down hardwood flooring or some of the other hypo-allergenic options we found.  However, we did find another inexpensive option which worked out just as well.

We found industrial tile(the kind that you find at doctor’s offices) at our local hardware store for 50 cents a square.  Each square was 12 inches by 12 inches!  The tile is easy to clean, hypo-allergenic, and able to withstand a lot of “abuse”.  Sounds like the perfect flooring option for our large family.

We also found that the tiles could be special ordered(for no extra charge) in a variety of colors.  There were several shades of blue and red to choose from just to name a few color options. 

Before special ordering the tiles, we went online to see what flooring patterns we could find. There were numerous options to choose from.  Finally, we found a grid pattern that used white tiles with accenting blue and red tiles randomly strewn about the grid.

We carefully calculated how many tiles we’d need to order.  Since you can’t return special ordered tiles, it was important to make sure we got it right. Although it would be possible to order more tiles if we ran short, there might be a slight color variation between tiles in different lots.  Because of this, we ordered several extra tiles in each color just in case we made mistakes installing the tiling.  Ordering extra tiles also makes sense for the future: if a tile gets cracked or broken, you don’t have to worry about finding a similar tile to fix the floor. 

If your child doesn’t have severe allergies or asthma, you can purchase an inexpensive area rug to lay over the tiling.  I like inexpensive area rugs because if the rug gets very soiled or torn, I don’t feel guilty about tossing it out in the garbage and getting a new one.  This past year, I had to toss a rug because the puppy chewed the end while we were out.  I tossed another rug after my daughter tripped and spilled nail polish all over it.  I simply couldn’t get that stain  out, no matter how hard I tried.

If you are re-decorating your child’s room, spend some time checking out flooring options at different stores.  Be creative and consider all of your options instead of the traditional flooring options.  You’ll be surprised at the number of options available to you!

I love personalizing my home with unique items in a way that fits my family’s lifestyle. I also love saving money. This is why I so enjoy shopping flea markets, looking for vintage items that will fit into my home’s decor.  I’m also a fan of thrift shops, bargain basement stores, eBay, and Craigslist. But for this article, I’ll try to focus on cheap decorating with flea market finds.

I’ve learned quite a bit throughout my years of  bargain hunting for the perfect pieces. I’d like to share some of these lessons with you.

Go First Thing In the Morning

Even if you’re not an early riser, you’ll want to get up and go on flea market day. Otherwise, there’s really no point in going at all. There are folks out there who are dedicated flea market professionals, and they will beat you to all the best deals if you don’t at least try to compete.

Wear Comfy Shoes

Not flip flops. I know they’re comfy, but not when you’re hiking along dirt or gravel road. Many flea markets are outdoors, so dress appropriately for the weather as well. You’ll enjoy your day more, and you’ll have more stamina to make it to all of the booths. You never know what you’ll be missing if you leave early!

Be Prepared

This means come prepared with a list of items in mind. Knowing the kinds of pieces you need will help to keep you focused. You don’t want to get home, only to realize you forgot to look for that entry way table you’ve been needing. I’ve done this. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in all the great sights to see that you forget what you wanted in the first place. You’ll also want to be prepared to carry your treasures home. If you’re planning to buy furniture or other large items, be sure you have a van or truck to haul them home in.

Don’t Overlook a Diamond in the Rough

Flea market items aren’t always pretty. Sometimes they’re dusty. Often, the paint is chipping. That might not be a problem. Things can be cleaned, painted, or repaired to look good as new. You may even want to add your own unique flair to an old item by refinishing it. So take a closer look if you like the shape of a furniture piece that can be repainted or if you think a chair can be reupholstered. It may be worth the extra effort. Check out the book, Flea Market Style: Ideas & Projects for Your World by Jerri Farris and Tim Himsel. You’ll find lots of fun projects and also advice for cleaning and repairing your flea market finds.

Happy shopping, and don’t be afraid to haggle!

Decorating with kids can be a bit tricky. If you’re not careful, your house will either end up looking way too shabby chic, with emphasis on the shabby, or it can resemble the decor of your children’s pre-school. It is possible to create a grown up atmosphere while still mantaining functionality. You’ll need to be creative and open-minded, but you just may find that decorating the adult space can be fun for both you and your kids. Keep these tips in mind when planning.

Double Duty

Choose items like footlockers and dressers that can serve double duty. You may choose to keep a dresser in the living room with a floral arrangement on top that hides your kids’ art supplies. A hope chest in the entryway makes a great bench and can also be a place to store winter hats, scarves, and gloves for easy access.

Make It Fun

Continue to think outside the box when deciding on storage pieces to corral your kids’ belongings. Check out the fun coffee table topped with chalkboard paint I wrote about in this article. I thought that was brilliant. The table has storage underneath while the top is a fun place for kids to express their creative side. We all know that when you have kids, durability is important. Why not look for inexpensive flea market finds to personalize in this way? That way, there’s no worries about scuff marks or dents.

Let Them Help

Get your kids in on the action. Make them part of the decision process or allow them to help with the personalization. By doing so, they’ll feel a bit of ownership and may be more likely to help take care of their area and put things away. Every little bit helps, right?

Your home can be both grown up while maintaining functionality for all of its residents. You just have to use a little creativity and imagination to pull it all together. Choose furnishings that reflect your family and the style of your home. Hopefully, you’ll find these tips helpful in coming up with ideas that fit your home and your family. Let me know what ideas you have or tell me about any fun projects you’ve already done in your home. I’d love to hear about them!

I remember visiting friends who had children when I was younger.  I noticed that many of them did little decorating, and that the decorating they did was very simple and utilitarian.  Now that I have a large family,  I understand.  Here are some decorating tips for those of you with active families.

Forget Fancy

Remember all those expensive, beautiful trinkets you collect?  Put them away or up very, very high.  The reality is that kids are kids. 

Yes, your children need to learn to be respectful of your posessions.  This will come in time and evnentually, they will learn.  However, accidents still do happen.  It’s best to prevent rather than to deal with accidents before they happen.

Decorate With Durable Things

When looking for furnishings and furniture, chose durable and sturdy items.  Forget the leather couch in the often used family room if you have a large dog and little kids.  Think again if you wish to put light colored carpeting in your eat in kitchen. 

In all honesty, you may be able to make it work, but you’ll spend a lot of time cleaning, maintaining and repairing.  I really believe that it’s best to hold off on those kinds of purchases until your children are teens.

Because of the allergies my children have, we have tile in our house.  It’s durable, easy to clean, and great for allergies.  For color, I have purchased moderately priced area rugs.  If the rugs get “ruined” for whatever reason, I can discard them and begin again.

Paint Is Important

I wish someone had told me that years ago.  When you have kids, make sure to paint your rooms with high quality paint that you can scrub.  Flat paint is useless unless it’s on the ceiling.    For children’s rooms and other high traffic areas, I’d consider buying special paint just for children’s rooms.  It is worth the price!

Also important, especially if you get a specially blended color: buy EXTRA paint.  If you don’t do this, be sure to keep the “recipe” of the paint somewhere.  When you have children, it’s a sure bet that you’ll be doing many touch ups on a regular basis.

Think Of Cost

It’s important to buy durable items, but it’s also important to keep cost in consideration.  Also, get some perspective before you purchase.  What happens if the puppy decides to nibble on the chair rungs when you are out?  Suppose your child decides to cut the little threads on the blinds to see what happens?

I guess my point is that kids are kids and kids do things accidentally or on purpose that may infuriate the adults in their lives.  When you have a house full of animals and kids, life becomes very interesting.  I’ve learned(mostly the hard way), that whatever is out in the common areas in our house is “expendable” to some degree. 

This is why I purchase durable items that aren’t too expensive with which I decorate my home.  This saves me money, and a lot of mental energy.  Recently, the cat jumped on a small shelf trying to get away from the dog and knocked over a resin sculpture.  The sculpture broke, and was not fixable.  Luckily, it didn’t cost too much money, and it was a “common” item available at many local card stores in our area which could be readily replaced. 

Consider the Dirt Factor

When choosing colors, carpeting, linens or other items for your home, remember the dirt factor.

Dirt comes with kids and pets.  If you decorate in light colors, realize that you will spend a lot of time cleaning or wiping surfaces in order to keep up appearances.  It’s best to choose colors that don’t show off dirt so much.  That way, if you have unexpected company, you won’t be too embarrassed!

Create Rules And Enforce Them

Yes, I believe that you can save yourself a lot of time, money and stress by decorating in a “kid-friendly” sort of way.  However, your children(and pets) need to learn some manners  too.  Rules need to be made and enforced about indoor behavior.  For example, I don’t allow my children to run in the house.  I also don’t allow them to rollerblade or throw balls in the house. 

Eventually, children grow up.  One day, you will come to treasure all the marks you wiped off the walls and cabinets(or so I’ve heard).  Until then, be smart and take some steps to make your life a little bit easier.

I know a lot about organizing small spaces, as my family of five lives in an 1100 square foot home. We’ve managed to make two of these bedrooms work for three children, using loft beds and lots of creative storage bins. Recently I added a home office area to my small master bedroom where I can work on my laptop in peace, away from the chaos of my busy family. Here are some tips I took away from the experience. Hopefully, these ideas will help you carve out your own little private workspace.

Make It Fit Your Needs

I needed to put an additional desk in our bedroom. The desk that we had was being occupied by the kids’ desktop computer, so there was no room for me to set up shop there. With all of our essential bedroom furniture in the room, in addition to the existing computer desk, there was no way I could fit another desk. So I improvised and purchased a long, narrow console table that serves my needs quite well. Check it out; that’s my new work station you see in this post. It fits up against the wall and allows plenty of walking space. I just roll over the desk chair when I’m ready to work.

Use All Available Space

In my improvised office area, space is at a premium. I need to use every inch available to me to maximize my storage capacity. Therefore, I’ve placed baskets on top of the filing cabinet that I’ve filled with small items like stationery, paperclips, and pens. My bookcase serves as a printer stand and holds my lateral file tray. Getting double duty out of items in your office is always a good  idea. If you have empty wall space, consider installing shelves for additional storage. You can even use the space beneath your desk to put things you don’t use often. I store photo boxes under my desk that contain things like CD’s, cords, and such.

Create a Filing System

You will want to have a filing system in place in order to avoid loose papers cluttering an already small space. You should make it unique to your personal organizational style. If you’re a visual person, use color coded labels to keep track of things. Put your most-used paperwork in a hanging desk file so that it’s easily within reach. There are countless options. The important thing is that you have some kind of a filing system to avoid clutter.

Though it may seem overwhelming to create a workspace in tight quarters, using your creativity and thinking outside the box will help to make it work. Good luck and happy organizing!

Spring is on its way, and if you’re like me, you’re thinking now would be a great time to spruce up your place. Looking at the same surroundings all the time gets boring, and it certainly doesn’t help to improve your mood or motivation. Most college students don’t have a lot of extra spending cash, so I’d like to offer some suggestions for where to shop for your dorm’s seasonal update.

Thrift Stores

Thrift stores, like the Salvation Army or Goodwil,l are fabulous places to find bargains. You might be able to find a great piece of furniture or even a fun, new comforter for your bed. Don’t worry, items like clothing and bedding are washed before being sold, but you can always throw it in the laundry yourself as well. Keep your eyes peeled for vintage items you could use to accessorize, like jewelry or even record albums.

Garage Sales

This is the time of year when people start having yard sales or garage sales. No matter what you call them, if you live in a college town, it’s likely you’ll find them advertised in the local paper’s classifieds section. There are all kinds of treasures to be found at rummage sales. I once found a pretty set of dishes for my college apartment at a yard sale.

Fabric Shops

Check out the bargain bins at your local fabric store. You’re likely to find ideas for enhancing your existing dorm or apartment’s curtains or other ways to add creative flair to your space. Fabric can be used as a bed canopy, a room divider, or window valance. Maybe you can find some tassles or sequins to add sparkle to your decor.

Dollar Stores

My personal favorite is the dollar store. You’ll find cheap holiday decor here and other accents like rugs and candles (if open flames are permitted in your residence). Look for fun storage ideas like crates or baskets at the dollar store as well. You’re likely to find more than you expect.

Big Box Stores

Check out the big box stores in your city or town, like Walmart or Target, if all else fails. I prefer to look for super cheap bargains, but sometimes you can get a really good deal at the box stores.  I recommend heading straight for the clearance aisle. Ask an associate if you need help.

Sprucing up your space can be fun and economical. You may just have to be creative, and you’ll probably notice a big difference in your mood once you’ve added a change or two to your surroundings. For more cheap college decorating ideas, check out this article from Rental Decorating Digest.

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