The Cheapskate’s Guide to Home Decorating by Me

Hello, I’m Jo Stewart Wray.

The Cheapskate’s Guide to Home Decorating is based on the philosophy that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a beautifully decorated home that reflects your style and personality. On this blog, I’m going to be giving you updated information similar to what I gave you in 2000. My goal is to show you how to get the most bang for your buck in the shortest amount of time. The secrets I will share on my blog will hopefully spark your creativity and give you guidance, resources, and confidence to make fantastic decorating changes in every room in your home.

You don’t have to be an expert to be a good decorator. You just need to jump in and be creative. I will guide you in choosing your best/favorite decorating styles. My favorite is eclectic, but yours may be: country or rustic, Victorian, country French, colonial or eighteenth-century English, contemporary, flea market, cottage, modern, traditional, southwestern, formal French, Scandinavian, collectors,bohemian, or many others.

I will show you how to assess what you have, find resources and inspiration, and choose projects on a limited budget. You don’t have to purchase everything new. It is easy and quite satisfying to refurbish or simply dress us the items that exist in your home or that you buy secondhand.

I will give you tips on discount shopping and online shopping. I will give you tips for shopping flea markets, garage sales, auctions, estate sales, and antique stores.

I will show you how your greatest resource is your ability to assess, plan, and think ahead. I will teach you how to make a decorating binder that will enable you to stay organized with sizes, measurements, and ideas that help you create the home of your dreams.

The key will be to make changes that really count while staying within your budget