Successful decorating is about being clever with what you have, so try to see your home in a different light.

Wouldn't it be great to have the money and time to redecorate your home from scratch? The reality for most of us, however, is a limited budget and even less time. Luckily successful decorating is about being clever with what you have, so try to see your home in a different light. With new paint or a length of fabric, your home can become the inviting place you want it to be.

Top 4

Try paint!

• Before you discard a piece of furniture, ask yourself whether it could be painted, covered or used in a different way.
• Painting still has to be the most powerful and inexpensive way to get great results. Explore techniques in painted finishes for more subtle effects.
• Furnishing fabrics from discount fabric shops can be made up as tablecloths, scatter cushions, table runners and more - an affordable alternative to buying the same ready-made. You'll achieve an individual look in your home.
• If you don't like sewing, gather information together on no-sew decorating techniques, such as casual swags tied in large knots at the ends and draped over a pole.

Work wonders!

1 Collections can be of anything
Their common theme will unite very different objects and make an impressive display. Whether bought, collected from second-hand shops or new items made to look old, things such as these bird houses look great when grouped together.

2 Hang a sign inside
A vendor's sign is a cute alternative to a framed picture in the same position.You could use a plant hanger and paint your own sign onto a board of MDF plaque available from craft outlets.

3 Flowering bulbs
Plants arranged together in a basket make a great display. Line the basket with plastic to protect it, even a shopping bag will do.

4 Coloured glass
The luminous nature of glass makes a simple statement, collect wine bottles or sugar shakers, shown here.

5 Colour
The brilliance and impact of colour cannot be underestimated. Give a drab kitchen an economic makeover with brightly painted cupboards.

6 Splashback
Add a splashback of tiles in a chequerboard layout using two plaincoloured tiles for a dramatic effect, or multicoloured if that's more you.

7 Floorboards
You may be pleasantly surprised to find floorboards under old lino begging to be polished.

8 Decorate with the unexpected
You may not have an old aviary but the concept of rescuing old and weathered objects from the garden is appealing as they bring a contrast in textures.

9 Numbers of paintings
Gather a number of paintings along the edge of a narrow shelf, which is somewhere between a picture rail and an ornament shelf. Add decorative pegs below and hang more pictures on ribbons.

10 Prints
Rather than buying prints, your family is sure to have some old photos tucked away somewhere. Get them colour photocopied or enlarged by the colour-imaging computers found in many photo labs, leaving the originals intact and unharmed.

11 Jars
Readily available storage jars in a range of different sizes look great filled with staples from your pantry cupboard. Cinnamon sticks, rice and kidney beans all add colour and texture.

12 Mix and match
Resist the inclination to cover up your timber furniture even when none of the pieces match.

13 Black and grey tones

In small amounts, a charcoal finish on furniture or accessories on a black and white tiled floor will make other colours come alive.

14 Bottles
For a generous result with only a few flowers, collect attractive clear glass bottles and pop one stem into each.

15 Objects
All sorts of interesting objects from a collection of chairs to a collection of ornaments can be grouped together when they are chosen for shape and colour.

16 A dash of colour
Introduce glorious colour to your existing beige or white room by painting the skirting, dado rail or timber mouldings like the surround of a fireplace.

17 Fabric
A little designer fabric goes a long way if you use it as the inspiration for choosing other, less expensive fabrics which are more readily available, such as checks, stripes and colourful plains. Even one pillow on a bed or chair can lift a whole room.

18 Outside chairs
Don't overlook an old wicker chair or nicely aged garden seat and try it in a bedroom for a cheerful touch.

19 Sideboard
Treat your sideboard as a restaurant would, showing off silverware, china and fresh fruit as the basis of an ever-changing display which you can add to and take away from regularly.

20 Everyday items
Put out the baskets platters, bowls and other items which really do the work in the kitchen. They can be just as interesting to look at as decor items
and don't have time to gather dust.

21 Add personality
Arrange photos in groups of twos and fours, whether hung on the wall or resting on a surface.

22 Open shelves
Extra shelves whether they're freestanding units like a plate rack or attached to the wall, give ample space for things that are too pretty to hide away.

23 Glass bottles
Bottles also work well where the light shines through like jewels. For a similar arrangement, keep to one or two glass colours, with small, squat shapes mixed with others which are tall and lean.

24 Colour keyed
A collection of objects with few common themes looks good together if it is colour keyed.

25 For quick and easy display
Buy a small particleboard bookshelf, then paint and secure it to the wall as you would any other kitchen cabinet. Loaded with beautiful crockery, the shelf will look brilliant.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens magazine