By Mary Beth Breckenridge

When the Christmas decorations come down, your house can seem as blah as the winter landscape.

Now would be the perfect time for a decorative makeover - perfect, that is, if holiday bills weren't threatening to make off with what's left of your bank account.

The use of brightly colored glassware and candy dishes, like these from HomeGoods, can serve to brighten a room. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

Take heart. We'll help you give your surroundings a little cheer on the cheap.

We asked area interior designers for their suggestions on giving a home a decorative boost for $100 or less. They came through not only with ideas, but often with money to spare.

The best place to start is with what you already own, several designers suggested. And that won't cost you a dime.

Chances are, you moved your furniture to make room for a Christmas tree or other decorations. So when you take those holiday decorations down, resist the urge to put things back where they were, Canton designer Robin Brechbuhler said. Just rearranging a room can give it a new look, she said.

While you're at it, change the artwork around, too. When art is positioned in a different place, you start noticing it anew, Brechbuhler said. ''It's amazing how it just refreshes the room.''

Even your holiday decorations might be fodder for some longer-lasting decorative oomph.

''See what doesn't scream holiday,'' Hudson designer Pamela Bayer suggested, and consider giving those items an extended life in your home. A jewel-toned runner can look appropriate throughout the winter, for example, and a topiary can outlive the holidays if bows or other seasonal accents are removed.

A few new toss pillows are an inexpensive way to add color or texture. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

Silver and gold

Metallics are hot now, Bayer said, so use your gold or silver candles to add sparkle to the winter months. You might even comb the after-Christmas sales for metallic candles and other decorative items with cross-seasonal appeal, she said.

Paint is an affordable tool for making a big decorative difference, but if you balk at the work involved in painting an entire room, focus on just one accent wall, said Suzanne Catlette of Flickinger Interiors in North Canton. It doesn't involve a big commitment of time or energy, she said. And for the risk-averse, it's less scary than changing the color of an entire room.

Investing in a few brightly hued glass pieces such as bowls, vases or candy dishes is another simple way to brighten things, Catlette said. They add both color and sparkle at a dreary time of year, and they can often be found inexpensively at places such as import and discount stores.

Catlette and Brechbuhler are both fans of fresh flowers, which provide an emotional lift along with their decorative appeal. Pick up an inexpensive bouquet every week when you do your grocery shopping, and you'll have a colorful, constantly changing accent until it's time for Mother Nature to take over outside. Think of using bowls, bottles or other containers you already own as vases, Brechbuhler said.

Good artificial flowers can work too, said Jim Pesce, an interior designer from Cuyahoga Falls. Stick artificial narcissus blossoms or other spring flowers into real bulbs lined up in a dish so it looks like you forced the blooms, he said. You can even try planting the bulbs outdoors later.

Small fabric items are an inexpensive way to introduce color or texture, the designers said. Invest in a few new toss pillows or a chenille throw to enhance a sofa, or make covers for your existing pillows, perhaps with place mats or runners purchased on sale, Pesce said.

Fresh flowers are an inexpensive way to give your home a decorative boost after the Christmas decorations come down. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

Place mats, napkins, a tablecloth or chair covers give your dining room furniture new interest, Pesce and Bayer said. In the bathroom, spring for towels or a new shower curtain, maybe in an iridescent copper tone or an interesting texture, Bayer said. Even pretty paper fingertip towels can give the bathroom a boost, and they won't so much as bend your budget, she said.

Just tying back your curtains with a bit of wide wired ribbon adds interest, Pesce said. Or consider using a tension rod to mount your curtains partway down your window frame, so the top part of the window is left uncovered. The effect is almost like a transom, Pesce said, and it lets in more of the light we crave this time of year.

Speaking of light, buy yourself some new candles, and burn them to bring warmth and shimmer to this season of darkness, said Donna Horst of Cynthia J. Hoffman Interior Design in Akron. The light of candles symbolizes promise, she said, so their impact is emotional as well as visual.

And don't ignore the power of scent, Horst said. An aromatherapy diffuser might not add a lot to your decor, but it could lift your spirits as much as a new rug or lamp.

Display photos

Another decorative element with emotional appeal is personal photos. Computers make it easy to print prized pictures in almost any size you want, so you can change your display on a whim.

Use existing frames and size photos to fit, Pesce said. If you want a more contemporary look, print color photos in black-and-white.

Or try this idea from Jeff Andrew of Garth Andrew's Associates in Bath Township: Attach photos with double-stick tape to black mat boards - say, a 3-by-5-inch photo on an 8-by-10 mat - and lean them on a ledge hung on the wall. The ledge need be only about 4 inches deep, he said, with a groove cut into it a half-inch from the front edge to keep the photos in place.

If you buy mat boards that are black on both sides, you can flip them over and stick on some new photos when you're ready for a change, Andrew said.

And when spring comes, you can take a whole new crop of photos - to brighten your home next winter, of course.

New candles can bring warmth and shimmer to this season of darkness. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

Mary Beth Breckenridge is the Beacon Journal home writer. She can be reached at 330-996-3756, or at mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com via e-mail.