No Place Like Home -- Karen Wight

Adding beautiful designer details to your a home can be expensive.

Moldings, quality furniture, rugs, light fixtures and artwork can take a

big bite out of your savings account. I firmly believe in buying a few

nice pieces to add an elegant touch to your house, but there a few ways

to add panache without breaking the bank.

You can get a lot of bang for your buck decorating a kid’s room. Surf

theme? Hang an old surfboard on the wall -- look at a used sports

equipment store for your “objet d’art.” Go to Home Depot and buy some

bamboo blinds for window coverings. Buy some great Hawaiian posters for

the wall and add a few grass skirts for a dust “ruffle,” and you’ve got a

great look. Cowabunga.

Doing a girls room that needs a little extra color? Hang paper globes

and lanterns from the ceiling with fishing line. You can find bright

spheres in almost any color and size. Locally, you can find paper globes

at Urban Outfitters and Cost Plus.

Christmas ornament prices are slashed right now. I found some huge

balls in orange, purple, aqua and hot pink. I guess those colors were not

a hit in December, but hanging along with larger paper globes, they look

spectacular.Online, you have a lot of choices. Check out AsianIdeas.com

for lanterns, fans, umbrellas, kimonos and hats. Soulfulliving.comhas

some cool three-dimensional star decorations. Their choices run the gamut

from tie-dye to hand-painted stars to hang inside.

How about an inexpensive “pyramid” of color. Kleenex is now making

hologram tissue boxes in groovy bright colors. Target (please pronounce

it “tar-jhay”) has these funky tissue boxes in their grocery aisle. Get a

stack and add them to a bathroom, desktop or coffee table. They’re a hit.

Do you have an area that needs a hit of color on the floor? At

SearsRoomforKids.com they have fun flokati rugs in a bright selection of

colors. They have long soft “fur” that feels great under bare feet. Be

careful, the animal in your house may adopt it as a “mama.” Get two.

Have you saved any treasures from your family or special mementos from

your childhood? Get those old photos, books, paper dolls, baby spoons,

cups and christening gowns out of storage. Have them framed or

shadow-boxed. You’ll feel good every time you pass your special memories

in the hall, and it brings a little family history, literally, “out of

the closet.”

If you have old board games that have lost pieces, money or markers,

think about framing the playing boards and hanging them in a game or

family room. The older, the better. If they’re a little crusty, just call

them “vintage.” That will automatically make them into a collectors item.

If you’re a pack rat and still have some of those old metal lunch

boxes, pull them out and dust them off. Grouped on top of a kitchen

cabinet, these old items add color and a conversation piece.

Get creative; take a fresh look at some old treasures. And while

you’re out and about, think out of context and find some items with big

splash for little cash.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs Sundays.