With the worldwide economic crisis, many people are having to look for ways to stretch their budgets and cannot afford to redecorate their homes, but there are ways to acquire furniture with bargaining skills that many of us have forgotten or just don’t know. Here a just a few ideas on how to find budget furniture for a new décor look.

The old saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”, holds true today as it always has. Junk does not necessarily mean “junk”. Many people throw away decent furniture simply because they can afford to do a total revamp of their entire room every time they redecorate. Most cities have a bulk pickup day where you will see large furniture items lying on the sidewalk. Try finding out when this day is and take a walk around your neighborhood the night before or early in the morning and you are sure to pick up some little treasures.

Garage sales, flea markets and thrift shops are another place where you can pick up furniture very cheaply. When looking around these places, just make sure that the furniture is in decent condition and can be repaired cheaply if needed. Sometimes just a new coat of paint will create a brand new item, but be particularly wary of furniture that would need reupholstered as this can end up being costly.

Model homes are a great place to pick up designer furniture at a majorly reduced price. Once again just make sure that the furniture is in decent condition and that no major repairs are needed. The great thing about model homes is that it is possible to buy an entire “room” in one go.

Wherever you decide to look for cheap furniture, don’t be afraid to negotiate or haggle to get the price reduced. The majority of second hand furniture is exactly that, second hand, and people are looking to get rid of it and are happy to drop their price instead of having to transport it back and forth to the flea market.

With the holiday season fast approaching, now’s the time to make sure your home looks nice and inviting for all those guests. If your living room furniture is showing its age and you’re feeling embarrassed at the thought of visitors seeing the worn out upholstery and garish 1980s pattern, don’t worry. Whilst new furniture may be way out of your budget, inexpensive slipcovers can transform your old sofas and chairs for much less.

As a guide, ready made sofa slipcovers cost around $60 each, armchair covers around $40. Compare this to the cost of having your seats re-upholstered or the cost of buying new furniture, and you can save yourself a significant amount of money. A big bonus of having removable slipcovers on your furniture is that it’s easy to keep them clean. So, if anyone spills their drink or drops their food on your couch over Christmas, you can just put the slipcover in the washing machine, rather than spend ages scrubbing the upholstery by hand.

As slipcovers come in standard sizes, it’s possible that they might be a bit loose on some styles of furniture. A slipcover that doesn’t fit properly can look even worse than the tired upholstery it’s trying to hide. However, there are a few tricks you can use to help get a slipcover to fit like a glove.

If your slipcover is too large for a seat with wooden or very narrow arms, you can still get a snug fit if you wrap something over the arms to pad them out to the size of a regular seat. Foam batting that you can buy cheaply in a craft store is one material you could use, or if you happen to have an old blanket or towel lying unused at the back of a drawer, you could use that. You can also use foam batting to stop a slipcover from slipping on faux leather or vinyl upholstery. Just cut a piece to size and fit it over the seat before fitting the slipcover over the top.

For slipcovers that are just slightly too big, getting them to fit really just involves lots of tucking. Tuck all the excess fabric into the gaps around the seat until you’ve got a smooth fit. If you’re worried about it untucking when someone sits on the seat, you can buy special plastic grippers to insert into the gaps and hold the fabric in place. Or you could improvise and make your own from rolled up magazines held with rubber bands.

Slipcovers are quick and easy to fit and can make a huge difference to the appearance of your whole living room – without blowing your budget. So, if your furniture is crying out for some attention, why not use slipcovers to give it a budget makeover this holiday season?