FROM THE “DUH-WHY-DIDN’T-I-THINK-OF-THIS” DEPARTMENT comes this clever idea courtesy of designers Martha Angus and Phillip King and Metropolitan Home’s Designer Showhouse in San Francisco. To give a boy’s bedroom a clever spin, Angus and King hung striped wallpaper sideways instead of vertically. You could do the same with any striped paper, making a common (and oftentimes inexpensive) pattern feel fresh and bold. I also like the way they incorporated budget  finds, like West Elm’s ubiquitous Parsons Desk, which frequently shows up in high-end interiors, but is on sale right now for a paltry $299.

Photos: Matthew Millman/Metropolitan Home

I HAVE UNRESOLVED ISSUES regarding waste receptacles. I see attractive ones all the time, but I can’t bring myself to spend a lot of money on something I toss used Kleenex in. A recent roundup in House Beautiful, however, proved that stylish wastebaskets can also be affordable. There were attractive offerings under $20 from IKEA (below) and The Container Store , but one of the cleverest entries came from Mollaspace.com, whose $44 Tubelor Trash Can (above) features a colorful sleeve that slides over the inner receptable, allowing you to conceal the plastic-bag lining inside. Now I just need to train my dog not to pick out the trash and spread it around my home ….

Photo: Mollaspace.com/IKEA.com

I LOVE HOME MAKEOVERS (as long as they don’t involve sick children and Ty Pennington). But few are as thrifty as the one that Brad Ford pulled off at his parents’ guesthouse in Russellville, Arkansas. With just one week and less than $3,500, the New York designer transformed the 1,000-square-foot bungalow from bland to beautiful. In an article in Country Living, Ford relates how he draped a throw across the back of a boring sofa instead of reupholstering it, papered the bathroom with color plates torn from a $22 book, and adorned the walls with framed leaves he picked up in the yard. He swapped out some of the pedestrian furnishings for funky finds he found at rummage sales and antiques shops, and augmented them with new pieces from Pier 1 and Target. In the end, Ford proves that it’s personality–not provenance–that counts. 

Photo: Lucas Allen/Country Living

I RECENTLY READ AN ARTICLE in House Beautiful about the pros and cons of painting a single wall in an accent color. I’ve never been a huge fan of this practice, but in certain cases it can be very useful–like when you have a room with no focal point or architectural interest. “Painting an accent wall behind a seating group can define a living area–sort of like a rug, but on the wall,” explains designer Steven Sclaroff. A contrasting color can also make a wall appear to advance or recede, so it’s great if you don’t like a room’s proportions but can’t afford to remodel. And let’s face it–most of us are too cowardly to paint an entire room a bright color. But just a single wall of it, as in the example by Amanda Kyser, above, can cure your color cravings without a major commitment.

Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo/House Beautiful

MY 1960s RANCH HOUSE WAS COMPLETELY DEVOID OF CHARACTER when I bought it 15 years ago, so I decided to add some wainscoting to lend the rooms architectural interest and scale. Since real wood paneling would have been prohibitively expensive, I faked it using drywall and MDF (medium-density fiberboard). I applied a smooth finish to the drywall on the lower half of the wall, then had my carpenter top the MDF baseboard with vertical battens installed at regular intervals using nails and adhesive. After the top rail went on, I painted it all with white semigloss paint, so the drywall actually looks like painted wood paneling. It really transformed the interior, and people are always surprised to learn that the background is nothing more than Sheetrock.

WHEN IT COMES TO DECORATING, I’ve always been a move-the-furniture-around-the-room kind of guy. But all of that changed when I discovered the wealth of free room planners available online. With these fun, easy-to-use programs, you can arrange furniture icons any way you want atop a scale drawing of your room, then print out the results. I’ve tested a number of these, and my favorites include the Jordan’s Furniture Room Planner (above), Bassett’s Room Designer,  and Better Homes and Gardens’ Arrange-a-Room. All three are super-easy to use, and because there’s no actual lifting involved, it frees your mind to try things you might not otherwise consider. Feeling ambitious? Bo Concept’s Furnish takes longer to master and doesn’t work on Macs, but rewards you with 3-D views of your interior, just like the costly professional programs.

THURSDAYS ARE AN EXCITING TIME AROUND MY HOUSE, and not just because it’s trash day. That’s the day the New York Times Home section arrives. And with the downturn in the economy, The Gray Lady has taken pains to choose home stories that reflect the economic climate. Case in point was the October 8 feature on the Catskill home of artist and antiques dealer Sean Scherer, whose acquisitive eye turned a down-at-the-heels farmhouse into a quixotic showcase for oddities and ephemera. While few of us would think to make something beautiful out of an anatomical model, Scherer proves that it’s not the cost, but the character in something, that counts. I like the way he anchored the fireplace wall in his parlor by painting it a dark olive, and painted the floor to make it look like tile. He used old newspaper and even blank ledger pages to cover his walls, and built his bed into a nook that looks so beguiling (and simple to replicate) I fancied myself snuggling in its embrace.

Photos: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

WHEN I COULDN’T FIND A LAMP I LIKED for my living room at a price I could afford, I decided to make my own from an inverted vase (above). Practically any item can be turned into a lamp–from jars, vases, candlesticks, wine bottles and driftwood to baskets and musical instruments. Lampmaking kits are available at most hardware stores for less than $15 and contain wiring, a socket, a finial and a harp (the armature that holds the shade). Directions for making a lamp are included in the kit, or you can consult these easy lampmaking instructions from Lowe’s. 

If you don’t want to do the job yourself, consider hiring a professional (you’ll find them in the Yellow Pages under Lighting Fixtures). The cost will depend upon the business and whether the lamp will need to be drilled, mounted on a base, fitted with a special finial, etc. Figure at least a hundred dollars for a simple project with no base to more than $250 for a piece requiring a custom base and matching finial. Shades are extra.

IF YOU LIVED THROUGH THE 1970s, then you’ll remember carpet tiles as the bottom-feeder of the floorcovering kingdom—aqua and orange pieces of felted rubber that attracted stains and withering stares in equal measure. So I was skeptical when I heard about FLOR tiles—that is, until I saw them. Fun, affordable, and altogether beguiling, this new generation of carpet squares is designed in an arresting array of hip colors, patterns and textures, letting you create a customized area rug or wall-to-wall carpet at an affordable price.

Each FLOR tile measures 19.7 inches square and is secured in place by four peel-and-stick adhesive tabs, so there’s no gluing. The tabs are low-tack, so if you don’t like what you’ve done you can move the tiles around (the adhesive won’t damage the surface underneath). And if a square gets soiled, you simply pull it up and replace it. Best of all, FLOR starts at less than $10 per square, with most designs priced in the low-to-mid teens. The user-friendly Web site, flor.com, includes a gallery of ideas to get you started, plus a design tool that lets you plan your carpet right on the computer. (If you want to see the tiles before you buy, you can purchase a packet of three swatches for $5.) Order your carpet squares online, lay ‘em down, then step back to admire your handiwork. Rarely has high design been so fun and so affordable.

Photo: FLOR

SAY WHAT YOU WILL, but Pottery Barn has done a lot to make chic design affordable. Two pieces jumped out at me from their latest catalog. I totally dig the Benchwright Bookcase ($799), with its cast-iron frame and rustic wood shelves–just the thing to add an industrial kick to an otherwise-conventional interior. And their charming new Hadley Woven Bench ($499) features a woven-rush top that adds a  touch of country without the corn. (It’s a table or bench, giving you two functions in one.) Drawers open from either side, making it perfect for storing all that clutter that collects in a family room.

Photos: Pottery Barn