A great way to decorate in a unique way is by using special moments. Items like birth announcements and invitations, as well as souvenirs, are things that many people like to keep. Unfortunately, most of these items stay in a drawer, unappreciated. Pick up an inexpensive frame and hang them on the walls. It’ll help you remember the special moments, as well as work as a terrific inexpensive decoration.

Digital cameras have become increasingly popular and highly affordable. You don’t have to be a photographer to use one, they’re also pretty user friendly. Something some people don’t think of using the camera for is for the home. If you’ve ever seen a look you really liked you know that you try to keep it in your head until you can adapt it to use in your own home. Forget remembering, we’re human and our memories aren’t always clear. Just take a picture and you’ll have every detail. Then when you’re ready to design you’ll have a picture of your inspiration to work from.

If you want to add to your existing holiday decorations, or if you’re moving out on your own and need to buy holiday decorations, pay attention. The best time to buy any type of holiday decorations is right now, in the first few days after Christmas. Most stores will slash prices on everything that they have left in stock just to get people to buy it and get it out of the store. It’s the perfect time to buy expensive things like lawn figures, inflatables and artificial trees because they’ll be priced much less then they usually would be. It’s a great time to purchase less expensive things such stockings and ornaments, because the stores will price most of them so low they’ll almost be giving them away. And, you will find no better time to buy things like holiday cards and wrapping paper. Every couple of years I like to buy a bunch and stock up on them for use in future years. What’s the best bargain you’ve ever gotten shopping right after Christmas?

Another way to change the look of a room is with fruit,flowers and plants. You can display fruit in a nice glass bowl and it makes an attractive (and mainly edible) centerpiece. A vase full of fresh cut flowers will add a lovely scent to the room and they’re lovely to look at. A big floor plant in a corner will change the color of the room and offer a different focal point. And before you ask, I didn’t mean trees when I said plants so you can’t get a two fer by using fig trees.

Lots of people want to change the look of a room but don’t want to have to change that paint. In a room like a bathroom, it’s easy to change the color scheme and look of the room without painting. Start by painting your bathroom something simple and light - white, sand, etc. Decorate to suit your taste with linens (towels and rugs), pictures and odds and ends (bottles, decanters, containers). Now when you get tired of those colors or that look,just change the items to items within another color group.