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The secret of shabby chic décor is that it isn’t really a style at all. It basically consists of recycling old furniture, fabrics, and rugs that are worn, and even faded…but not frayed or torn. If you have been hit by this nasty economy, and are living with hand-me-down furniture and linens, you’ve got it made!  And if you haven’t been quite that lucky, never fear.  Garage sales, thrift shops, and flea markets will have everything you need, at a price you can afford!

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One of the nicest things about country cottage décor is the use of slipcovers. You don’t have to refinish, reupholster, or replace that sofa, easy chair, or ottoman.  You simply buy or make slipcovers…using a sturdy, washable fabric. Recover a few of your decorative throw pillows, and the whole room looks brand new.

You don’t have to buy new material, either.  Remnants, age-worn drapery fabrics, tablecloths, and even bed linens can be used to make your slipcovers. A piece from an old lace tablecloth or curtains can go right over your old pillows to give them a vintage look.

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Just about everyone, in all walks of life is having to contend with the weak economy, cost of living, and fear of job loss.  The way to survive this kind of uncertainty is simple. Keep living, but do it in an economical, money saving, and environment saving way. You will learn that you can still spruce up your home and not break the bank.  Over the next few weeks I will show you several design schemes on a budget.

Rustic décor is the topic for today.  If you live in a suburb, in the country, or in a rural community, rustic décor would be perfect for you. It is casual and comfortable, while still being chic and trendy. Best of all, it is quite affordable!

 If you didn’t need it in the first place, why would you buy a blouse that you had no pants to match, then go shopping for the pants and find another pair that has no blouse to match? Now you have two more items in the closet that you HAVE to go shopping for, and the vicious circle begins all over.

 Friends have told me that they want to know what is new and that is how they find out.  I say if you didn’t know there was a new style out there you wouldn’t miss it. When you need a new outfit for a special occasion is time enough to go look for a replacement and buy what is now in fashion.  Let’s face it, even if you have the will power to not buy that amazing jean jacket, you now feel like crap knowing it is out there in someone else’s closet instead of yours.  Ignorance, in this case, my friends, is bliss.

 The only time you should ever enter a kitchen gadget store is if you meet all of the following criteria:

• Entertaining is your very favorite pastime.
• Your family doesn’t find true happiness wallowing in junk food.
• You have more money than you know what to do with.
• You have a very large kitchen, with too much counter and cabinet space that you are trying to fill.

 Fact: wine racks are great, if you drink and store delicate wines with corked bottles that require aging and cool dark storage.  For the two bottles of white zin that you buy when the girls are stopping by with a rental movie, throw them in the fridge (laying the bottle down if it is corked, and standing it up if screw-top capped).And how many kinds of cork screws do you need to have?  Do you live in a wine cellar or a house?

 Unless you are kosher, do you really need three or four sets of dishes, plus a snack set, plus a set to use outside on the patio? Fine china, carefully stored, and brought out for those formal holiday dinners is great.  Every day dishes that are microwave and dishwasher safe are a necessity.  Paper plates are great for outdoors.  Teas sets and snack sets are for the kind of people who don’t need to be reading this article!

Small appliances for the kitchen can get out of hand, too. Everybody needs a can opener, either manual or electric at some time in their lives.  Microwaves have become a necessity in the kitchen. If you drink coffee, you have to have a coffeemaker.  Coffee grinders are fine, if you really buy only whole bean coffee.  However, you can grind you coffee for free at the supermarket when you buy it, too. On the other hand, coffee grinders also can be used to grind seeds, nuts, and some spices, which comes in handy at times. Think!  Are you going to use this item, or do you just want it?

How many of you need both a toaster and a toaster oven?  White and wheat sliced bread users can easily do with one or the other.  If you are into bagels and other odd shaped breads you need the toaster oven, which can handle both.  And speaking of ovens, don’t you think a portable electric roaster, a toaster oven and a Foreman grill are going a bit too far? 

If you are into health foods and juicing, it is a good idea to have a powerful, high end juicer.  They cost a bit more, but are both healthier and cheaper than buying the juice, and I have been told by one who knows, that replacing cheap juicers ends up costing much more than buying the right one in the first place.

 The same would go for blenders and food processers.  If you only use your blender on rare occasions to mix up a batch of margaritas and crush some ice, go to Walmart and pick up something cheap. I cook a lot, and have been using the same food processer for twenty years…a cheap one at that.  Only now, have I begun to think I might need a new one.                      

What I am trying to say is just this.  A fork scrambles an egg very easily.  You don’t need a special tool for that.  If you bake all your own breads you probably need a bread machine or a heavy duty mixer.  But for cake mixes, whipped cream, mashed potatoes and meringue, an inexpensive hand mixer is all you will ever need!

If you own a stove, a microwave and a pot, why would you ever need a special iced tea maker? Is it really difficult to throw a few tea bags into a pot of hot water, let it steep a while and then add ice cubes to it? And let us not forget those cute little electric egg poachers, the vibrating suction cup that scrambles your eggs in the shell,  and those darling little pans that grill your cheese sandwich on both sides at once!

Kitchen gadget stores should be taboo to anyone who is struggling to make ends meet, doesn’t live for the joys of cooking in and cleaning a kitchen, and who doesn’t have a kitchen the size of a studio apartment.

 Mikasa quality and elegant design has been around for over fifty years.   Prior to 1957, it was sold to fine retailers exclusively, but at that time it opened to the public. In the 70’s, they expanded to include barware, vases, crystal stemware, table linens, flatware, decorations, and gifts.

 Around five hundred dinnerware patterns  might be available at any time, including both French and Italian, and their famous contemporary designs. You will find fine china in various shapes and materials.  My personal favorites are the square place settings, which I have proudly used for many years.

 You can purchase Mikasa dinnerware in single five piece place settings or in a set of four.  You also have the option of a four piece place setting (it substitutes a mug for the cup and saucer). A typical serving set would include a round platter, a vegetable bowl, sugar and creamer. However, some of the formal dinnerware sets will offer a larger variety of serving pieces.

 I go bonkers for any of their crystalware.  When it comes to gift giving, I immediately head for Mikasa vases , picture frames, candy dishes, and bowls.  They are elegant, simple, and easily affordable (adhering to my decorating rule of “less is more”). 

 These items make wonderful wedding gifts, along with their glass ice buckets, toasting flutes, and picture frames. Always very competitive in their pricing, you can do even better by checking out their clearance items and stocking up for when you need a gift for someone. I always keep a supply of bud vases, specialty vases, nut, and candy dishes on hand for those “oops, I forgot” moments!

 One last thing…Mikasa offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all their items, including breakage and chipping, and if you shop online the prices will be equal to the sale price in a retail store.  If it isn’t, show them proof of a lower price and they will meet it.

Almost all of the hand knotted and woven rugs are made from natural fibers; namely silk and wool. Wool is both luxurious and durable…if you take good care of a wool carpet it can last as long as you do.
Hand tufted, and hand woven area rugs are valuable, long-lasting, pricey, and, when properly maintained, can become collectibles. They can be laid on bare floors, over carpeting and on the wall. They come from many parts of the world, but mostly from the middle and far East.

Let us journey though some of these countries and see the differences. We will begin with what is perhaps the most commonly looked for of the hand-tufted rugs. Persian carpets, which are also known as Iranian carpets have been hand made for literally thousands of years, as far back as the fifth center BC. From one part of Iran (formerly called Persia) to the other, the techniques and patterns vary.

The “city rugs” include Isfahan Persian rugs, Kashan Persian rugs, and Joshaghan Persian rugs. You can identify them by the floral motifs, which may include flowers, buds, and leaves. The “tribal rugs” include Baluch, Kurds, and Heriz rugs. They most often have geometric designs. Don’t be fooled by imitations. A real Persian carpet is one that was hand-knotted in Persia. It will always have a border around the pattern. It may have more than one border, of varying thickness.

Turkoman rugs are woven in Afghanistan, Khorassan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The background color will be red to a reddish brown, geometric, with an gul (octagonal) motif of flowers. The guls are repeated in both small and large rows , and using mostly beige, white, blue and black .

Turkish rugs go as far back as the Persians do. There are four kinds of rugs, categorized by materials used. They are usually a combination of red and blue, though green is used for prayer rugs. Both silk and wool are used, as well as wool and cotton combinations.

Anatolian rugs and kilims are considered to be Turkish rugs as well. Kilims are often reversible, have no pile, and were commonly used in Turkish society. However, they were made by the nomads in Morocco, India, Pakistan, China, and Russia, as well as those in Turkey and Iran. There are some color differences. The Turkish kilims were usually in turquoise, gold and orange, while the Iranian ones are darker, with heavy greens and blues, rust and burgundy. The kilims were used most often as prayer rugs and window and door coverings. You will never find two kilims that are exactly the same.

Moroccan carpets can be flatwoven or hand knotted rugs. They are always boldly colored, but have endless pattern variations. Every tribe had its own designs, mostly geometric. Moroccan carpets don’t have the history that these other hand tufted and woven rugs have. They originate in the nineteenth century.

That full basement you have is the perfect answer. It can be made into two bedrooms, a bathroom and a family room much cheaper and quicker than trying to sell (or should I say give away) your home and buying another. You can move the kids downstairs and convert that bedroom they’ve been sharing into an office. They will love having their own “apartment.”

What? You say you can’t stand the thought of them living like moles in a basement with no windows but those little half window jobbies in the family room area? No problem! It is really easy to make faux windows in each bedroom that will give them light and a pretty view.

After you have figured out where the furniture will go in each bedroom, you can conveniently decide where to place the window. If there are going to be study desks in their rooms, it is a good idea to place the window over the desk or, if it is in a corner, on either wall by the desk. Got that mapped out? Then you follow these easy steps:

• Buy a prepasted mural of whatever they would like to be looking at. It can be one large one that can be used for both rooms, or smaller individual scenes. Choose from mountains, the seashore, a garden, the woods, or even a grassy plain with a blue sky and puffy clouds. You might choose to pick one that most resembles your own landscape. Make sure it is large enough for the window size you have planned. Do yourself a favor and chose a standard size.
• Having drawn your window size on the wall in pencil, you can now install the mural, just slightly over lapping the lines.
• Next mount your window (with glass )over the mural. It needs to be at least two inches deep, so that glass does not touch the mural.
• Install a fluorescent single tube fixture inside the frame at the top of the window. It should be invisible from the room. You will need a light switch next to the window
• A nice, light mini blind needs to be outside mounted on the window frame. When tilted slightly upward, with the light on, it will appear to be natural outside lighting .
• A windowsill is a nice addition to this, and is a place to store a few small items.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you gave up your bedroom upstairs and snagged this intimate “suite” for yourselves!