RENOVATIONS: Cheap chic can bring life to your home

There's no stopping style -- not even during a recession.

Homeowners may not be out shopping for expensive high-end furniture and accessories but they're still bringing the designer look into their abodes with a new trend that has Canadians seeking cheap chic. "People have always wanted to be fabulous on a budget," says Matthew Finlason, a host of HGTV's The Stagers. "Being cheap chic makes you the envy of all your friends for not a lot of money. It's like having all your girlfriends hate you for having the best pair of shoes for less than $20."

Pulling off cheap chic in your home can be as easy as investing in a can of fresh paint. Fresh paint still provides the biggest bang for the homeowner's buck and the most inexpensive way to create a transformation."Select neutral colours and avoid binks and bellows -- beigey pinks and beigey yellows," says Finlason. "They are paint catastrophes. They make everything look dated."

Instead, Finlason suggests going with an earthy palette of greys with soft green or brown undertones. "During the day your walls will appear clean and soft and in the evening when the light comes down, they will look warm and darker," he says. Giving kitchens and bathrooms a facelift can also be done on a budget. Remove the old doors from your kitchen cupboards and buy new ones from inexpensive places like Ikea. Couple that with new hardware and it can turn a drab kitchen into a fab kitchen.

"It's incredible," says Finlason. "I did it in my kitchen and it went from old to brand-new."

Elizabeth Falconer, owner of Vancouver-based Frugal Chic Interior Design, says transforming a blah bathroom into a spa getaway can also be done inexpensively and quickly.

The first step is to remove all clutter and hide it behind closed doors -- be it a medicine cabinet on the wall or in a vanity. Donate all your old ratty towels to a local dog shelter and replace them with crisp white ones. Paint the walls a rich chocolate brown, buy a new white shower curtain and add a beautiful bouquet of flowers and the transformation is done.

"You can do that in one weekend," says Falconer. "It's the greatest look for an inexpensive bathroom redo and it creates a serene spa-like feel."

Making your own artwork is another way to be chic on the cheap. But you don't have to be the next Picasso to pull it off -- in fact, you don't even have to paint at all.

Rachel Ashwell, creator of the Shabby Chic style in 1989, founder of Shabby Chic home furnishing stores and author of the bestselling Shabby Chic and Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide, admits she can't draw a straight line -- but this doesn't stop her from bringing a personal touch of art into her home.

She uses small vases and flowers to break up a monolithic piece of furniture such as a bookcase. "I think if you have a shelf of books and nestled within those books is a little vase of roses, to me that's how you give something beauty that might be a little less decorative."

(prepared by Rachel Naud/Vancouver Sun)