I'm a bit conflicted about this website. It has been obviously, inexcusably neglected these past couple of months. I've been focused on moving and starting school, and decorating is just not something you think about when you're leaving in a month.

Knowing that my daily energies will be pointed towards more graphic design and typography over the next few years, Shoestring Decorator is having an identity crisis. On the other hand, I'm moving into a new house in Providence that will have very empty rooms, and if a grad student's budget isn't the epitome of shoestring, I don't know what is.

I haven't really decided what I want. But I do think I will be making changes in the next few weeks.

Posted by katybeck at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

While I sort myself out, check out these great lampshades IKEA just came out with..

Posted by katybeck at 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

I'm away in Texas this weekend for a wedding shower, but that doesn't mean you can't take a peek at some layout ideas I made for our new apartment. I spent a sum total of 15 minutes in the place a month ago, so the floorplans are based on loose memories and blurry camera phone shots, but its a start.

Posted by katybeck at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)

Bankrate.com has a nice set of guidelines for decorating your home without breaking the bank. Some are classics, and a few I hadn't really thought of before. From the article:

Expert tips to stretch your decorating dollars

1. Don't move home without it.
2. Look for low-cost color.
3. Shop your house.
4. Make a model.
5. Shop the information superhighway.
6. Time large furniture purchases.
7. Reface, don't replace.
8. Network with neighbors.
9. Look for bargains at big-box retailers.
10. Invest in an interior decorator.

Read more of 10 ways to decorate without debt.

Posted by katybeck at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)

The other day I posted a long overdue project page for staining IKEA furniture. I did this in one marathon weekend in my first apartment, and I definitely made tons of mistakes.

The main piece of advice I have is to assemble the cabinets first!! At the first hint of stain all of the boards warped, and those nice, pre-drilled holes no longer lined up properly. I had to wing it, drill new holes, and screw it all together with a cordless drill instead of those awful allen wrenches. But once it was done I liked it a lot, and it only cost something like $250 for an eight foot-long wall of shelving that held my wine and my television (talk about putting all your eggs in one basket!). It has served me well for three years now. The funny thing is, IKEA now sells pre-stained IVAR shelving. :)

Project instructions for staining IKEA furniture.

Posted by katybeck at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)

A comment posted by Lisa about my apartment diagrams reminded me about something I've been meaning to post about. First off, I did my diagrams in Illustrator. But once I have real dimensions to work with, I really want to map it all out in SketchUp.

SketchUp is a 3d drawing program, recently acquired by Google, and you can get a remarkably full-featured version for free. It allows you to make 3d models of your space and then walk in, around, over, and through the space you've designed. Add colors and textures and experiment with color schemes. Enter in your building's location, and you can see how sunlight will fall in your living room at any given time of the year.

I learned about it from my brother, who recently finished up the grueling first year of his architecture graduate program (yay, Jeff!). He's been using it to render really amazing and complex structures, but its also simple for a novice (that would be me) to get a basic floorplan to work.

There is also a strong Sketchup community, endlessly churning out components you might want to put in your 3d apartment, like chairs and houseplants and televisions. And, yes, you can find literally anything from IKEA, even models of each store!

Download SketchUp here.

Posted by katybeck at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)

from dolliedaydream

from AccidentalJulie

from the awe-inspiring Allsorts

I am in the middle of planning out my new workspaces once I move to Providence. Luckily Adam has chosen the dining nook as his computer lair, which means I get the guest room all to my crafty self!

Posted by katybeck at 10:17 AM | Comments (1)

Every bit of decorating I do has to go through a certain filter - will it work in a rental? One day I'll own my own home and be able to go hog wild with architectural improvements, but for now I'm limited to cosmetic - and reversible - alterations.

Over at The Bargain Queen there is a great list of ideas for sprucing up your rental, like:

Add plants. If The Bargain Queen had decorating rules, #1 would be ‘all homes look better with plants’. She’s already written about cutting the cost of gardening, and most of these tips are equally applicable to finding and caring for indoor plants.

Read more of Rental decorating on a budget..

Posted by katybeck at 04:46 PM

After having my last day at the office Friday, I am now deep in the throes of packing up my house. Our move to Providence isn't for another two weeks, but we have to be ready early in time to fly to Dallas to be in a wedding. Its strange to be dismantling everything I've built up for the last two years!

I whipped up a set of moving labels yesterday to help me keep the process organized. The last time around, I sat at the front door while the movers unloaded the truck, and tried to tell them where each box went as it came in the front door. Needless to say, we had a rather large pile of boxes in the living room because I kept saying, "Uhhhhh.." as they came by.

I made a Custom Moving Labels project page, where you can download the PDF file to make your own labels!

Posted by katybeck at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)

Another job on my list before I move: giving away all of my plants. The moving company won't take them, and I can't bear to just let them die. But in order to give away my largest potted plant - a Japanese Bloodgrass - I had to divide it into more manageable portions. Lo and behold - what had started as one $10 plant ended up filling five new pots! So I wrote an article about dividing plants, because its such a great way to get plants for free!

Posted by katybeck at 07:37 PM | Comments (3)