Decorating Quarters on Dimes
Seven ways small change can make a big difference
By Michelle Cuthrell
It’s every military family’s ultimate challenge – decorating on a budget while moving post to post, coast to coast.
If you’ve spent Junior’s college savings refitting curtains in the homes at all 10 duty stations over the last 20 years, you might want to take a few tips from these budget-savvy military wives. They’ve managed to dress their quarters on only dimes.
- Sell old to buy new.
That’s Army wife Melissa Mueller’s secret—and having lived in 11 houses in 14 years of marriage, she should know.
“I consign stuff at the thrift stores on post to pay to buy new stuff,” she said.
- Buy used.
Check out craigslist and yard sales for great deals.
Army wife Lea Hartman makes shopping on www.lewisyardsales.com her second job. And with so many families PCSing from the greater Tacoma area, she said she makes a killing on furniture and decorations that just can’t go to Vicenza, Italy, with their owners.
- Retool.
Every time she moves, Army wife and hobby decorator Robin Ried finds ways to use the objects in the old house in new ways in the new one.
“We didn’t have a spot to put [our towel rack] in this house, so I used it as a wine rack instead. The next house, who knows?” she said.
The oak furniture from the old house clashes with the cherry paneling in the new one? Don’t be afraid to refinish, restain or repaint, said Mueller.
- Buy versatile furniture pieces.
For example, Ried bought a black buffet table at her last duty station. But when she didn’t have a big enough dining room for it at Fort Lewis, she used it in her office. She’s already planning to use it as an entertainment center when she moves to Arizona later this year.
And don’t be afraid to invest a bit more on the basics.
“If you buy furniture that you love and is functional for many different seasons of life, it saves money over buying lots of cheaply made furniture because you don't have to replace it often and when you love it you are excited to come home to it,” said Army wife Michele Jeffers.
- Add accents.
Jeffers, who is now stationed at Fort Lewis, uses her old furniture at each new duty station but invests in accents to make old look new.
“You just have to spruce up with a few new throws, pillows, curtains,” she said. All of which can be homemade for $3 to $10 per yard of fabric or bought for less than $5 used.
- Decorate with decals.
New York City event planner Morgan Steele Connacher, who decorates temporary spaces for a living, suggests using Blik graphics (www.whatisblik.com).
“They are vinyl cut outs that stick to your wall, are removable and can be used again,” she said.
At partial wall space size, they run on average between $40 and $60 each.
- Bank on borders.
Army wife Joy Welborn-Fazio paints or adds removable wallpaper borders to her bedrooms from post to post. They run anywhere from $10 to $50, depending on the style, and can even be purchased at stores like Walmart for as little as $9.
“Both cheap options but can totally change a room,” she said.