Reuse, recycle, rescue and refurbish

Today's green craze fits in with my first tenet of decorating - you don't have to be rich to have fabulous interior design as long as you are willing to do a little digging. Estate and garage sales; the Goodwill and Salvation Army; Reuse it stores and thrift shops and auctions offer fabulous stuff at bargain prices. And the old excuse that you don't have time to sift through frogs to find a prince is trumped by the ease of Ebay where that perfect item is just a click away. Sometimes you have to use your imagination, but paint can transform just about anything. Besides, I like to think about the people behind that old desk, chair or table. I have a lot of old English furniture from the 1940's that must have survived the war. What stories they could probably tell. Anyway, I figure buying second-hand stuff is worth a bunch of Al Gore's carbon credits.