Romantic Decorating on a Budget

You can also frame your bedroom windows in romance. Purchase inexpensive strands of plastic or silk ivy and wrap them around a curtain rod (all by itself or intertwined with a valance or panel of curtains.) A few minutes and a few dollars later, you've brought the essence of romance into your bedroom.

Living Room - Remember those old, tear-jerking, black and white movies from the 1940s and 1950s? When the beautiful lead actress realized she loved the wrong man, that dashing (yet all wrong) man would gently wipe away her tears with a soft, white handkerchief. Okay, hankies aren't quite as popular for tears or sniffles, these days. But a good budget decorator has many uses for them in the home, and I find an abundance of them in antique shops for little more than pocket change.  I've used them to create valances, I've draped them over tiny tabletops, and have used them for lots of other projects.

I also recently discovered a sap bucket in an antique shop while I was on vacation in Florida. I did a bit of research and found that these are hot collector's items with a rich history. Originally, they were hung on trees (below a tap) to collect sap. I recently filled my well-worn, slightly rusted sap bucket with a bouquet of (fake) daisies and the compliments began to flow. Romantic Homes magazine has some wonderfully romantic display ideas in their How-To Project Archive, Handmade for the Holidays. (And they look like great gifts for Valentine's Day as well!)

Simple Romantic Accents -- Need more ideas? Here's a potpourri of romantic-inspired decorating ideas to get you going:

• Paint a chair, table or an entire room in a muted pastel shade
• Instead of hanging framed pictures on a nail, add a ribbon hanger
• Toss cozy throws or quilts on comfy chairs and sofas
• Purchase old-fashioned floral fabric (on clearance, in discount stores, etc.) and recover throw pillows
• Pull out that lace tablecloth you received as a wedding gift and use it!
• Stencil a room with a serene, floral border
• Buy a few Impressionist period postcards,frame them, and create groupings on any wall

I hope you found some ideas that will work for you in your home. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

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