Decorator's Folder
By lilybeeMartha has a 'Doh! That's-so-obvious-why-didn't-I think-of-it' idea for keeping track of your decorating stuff. The decorator's folder. What you do is keep swatches of paint, fabric and carpet in a folder. Revolutionary! Martha suggests a small accordion file but you could go crazy and have a file for each room.
Taking the idea and running with it I have added:
- Window measurements in both metric and imperial (cause my maths is lousy)
- Room measurements (ditto)
- Pictures and dimensions of each major piece of furniture.
- Pictures of the whole room from a few different angles... I know it's a teeny bit obsessive.
- LOTS of paint chips. if you don't have sample's of your upholstery fabric or you're working with pre-existing carpet (and you can't just chop a bit out!) Then you can match the colours with paint chips (make sure you match them in daylight).
- 'Aspirational' images. As in, the stuff I want but can't afford; that way if I happen upon a near-as-dammit or something hackable I can snap it up.
I update it fairly regularly so it doesn't get so heavy that it acquires it's own gravity. The real trick is remembering to take it with you when you're shopping for house stuff.
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Decorating on a teeny budget is my thing. Recycling and Reusing and Repurposing are my...
BethanyBlah
I've done this by tossing inspirational stuff, (In this case, bits of scrapbook paper... one collection by Basic Grey is the sort of theme/feel that I neeeeeed in my bedroom decor.) paint chips, and fabric swatches into a plastic sleeve and carrying it with me in my purse so no matter where I was, I could reference it if I came upon something I thought might be PERFECT for my theme. It has saved me some money to be reminded that liking something wasn't reason enough if it wasn't what I really want and would take too much time or money to reface it to match what I want. :)
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