Many of us start our adult lives with hand-me-downs. These items are usually given to us so we'll have a place to start, and they're usually neccessary pieces of furniture, appliances, and utensils or dishes so we have ways to cook and eat. As we get settled into our adult lives though, we start desiring a more pulled together look for our homes. Often of course, we can't always afford to go out and buy all new furniture, appliances, and china though... so creating a nice decorating theme can be a bit tricky.

It's not impossible though, and you can actually create a unique decorating theme by using a lot of what you already have. Let's look at the dining room as an example. Keep in mind of course that these tips apply to any eating area you might use: Breakfast nook, eat in kitchen, or formal dining room.

The Furniture: You most likely have a table and chairs, but they might not actually match... and that's ok. Here are some easy ways to pull them together:

1. Paint the furniture. This is easiest with wood furniture, but I would not recommend it if you have anything that could be antique.

2. Create or buy chair cushion covers. Matching chair cushion covers will pull the

ensemble together quickly, easily and inexpensively.

3. Chair back covers. Another quick, easy and inexpensive option is to cover the chair backs. This can be done in addition to covering the cushions, or instead of.

The Accessories: Adding accessories to a table is quite easy, and you have a wide variety of things to choose from. Here are several:

1. Placemats. Choose placemats that match one or more pieces of furniture, or choose them to match the chair cushions. If you've put cushion or back covers on the chairs, you can match your placemats to those as well. A little thought of technique is to match the color or design of your placemats to something you have hanging on the wall.

2. Centerpieces and Vases. Neither of these has to be elaborate to add a little decorative flair to the dining room. The flower vase can be kept maintenance free by creating an arrangement with dried or fake How To Sell Home.

I personally have my kitchen decorated with red and chrome, but my dining room furniture is a honey yellow wood color. To pull the two rooms together, I have an old-fashioned milk bottle vase sitting on a red placemat in the middle of my table. The vase holds fake How To Sell Home of

red and white. (See a Picture Here: http://www.diyhomedecorating.co m/articles/2005-12/302/decorating-a-mis-matched-dining-room/)

3. Table Settings. I love mixing and matching dishes, and it can create a wonderful, unique look you wouldn't expect. Using my red and white example above, you could have solid white dinner plates sitting on the table with a smaller salad plate on top that has red How To Sell Home in it. Or have a nice, festive, southwest style dinner plate with reds and oranges, and solid red or orange cups sitting on top.

Regardless of how mis-matched your dining room furniture and accessories seem to be, all you need is a little ingenuity and creativity to pull it all together with style.



About the author:

© 2005 Kathy Burns-Millyard - Kathy is a professional published writer who covers a variety of popular topics such as health, fitness, decorating, and gardening. Find more home decorating ideas at The Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network DIYHomeDecorating.com

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