"I liked being able to create our own design and our own color scheme," said Uratsuka, an executive assistant. "And I wanted to give Kylie the experience of creating something that she would use."

The Uratsukas aren't the only families finding less expensive ways to improve their homes.

Besides hand-painting your own furniture, homemakers are turning to rugs, silk flowers and colorful walls as relatively quick ways to improve interior surroundings.

Sometimes, that means bringing in an interior designer, said Kathy Gurski of Kathy Gurski Design LLC.

"The designer evaluates the person's needs and space and comes up with things that they themselves may never have thought of," Gurski said. "Custom design does not always have to be expensive. With proper choices, you get more for what you spend."

One inexpensive suggestion, Gurski said, is to color your walls, whether it's paint or material.

"Color, whether shades, tints or combination, is a design tool that can express your personality and alter your space," Gurski said.

Do-it-yourselfers

Uratsuka and Kylie took classes from hand-painted furniture artist Cari Lee Mizumoto, who holds a monthly class at At Home Naked Furniture in 'Aiea.

Part of the fun for Kylie was watching the project turn into a family affair with her brothers Kody, 8, and Konner, 4, helping out.

Picking the design and color — a turtle and blue paint — was another highlight, Kylie said.

"Our greatest challenge was not realizing how much time it takes, how intense it is," Uratsuka said. "I assumed that you would basically just paint it, not realizing that the undercoating, the sanding, all of that come into play as well as the finishing process. Cari was very instrumental in going over the importance of that."

Uratsuka said she started her new hobby with small items. She just completed a small footstool in one of Mizumoto's classes and plans to do more. She spent about $150 in material, $35 for the class, and about $400 for the armoire she purchased at At Home Naked Furniture.

Mizumoto said handpainted furniture can add custom touches to a person's home: "Having handpainted furniture in your home, whether it is one piece or several, can add a special individual feeling to one's home. Whether you are into whimsical, tropical, wild and sexy or shabby chic, having a handpainted piece can be an expression of oneself and it can make one feel happy to see it in one's own home.

"Of course, it is pricey because it is labor-intensive, but if you can take on the project yourself, it just takes time and patience, and the results will be fun and satisfying."

Amy Higa, who is retired and lives in Mililani, took the class from Mizumoto a couple of weeks ago. She created a whimsical design — beehives with bees buzzing about — for a painted chair.

"(Taking the class) saved me from making (costly) mistakes," she said. "I do plan to buy more expensive pieces and refinish them myself.

"Looking at the finished product, I can't believe I did it myself. It's so much more than what I had expected. We all worked on a footstool and we all had our own different designs in mind. I didn't expect (the design) to come out as well as it did. Our instructor gave us all these little pointers to bring (the beauty) out. I was impressed by everyone's (design). You see it naked and what everyone did to their own piece was amazing.

A helping hand

Not all hand-painted pieces have to be so labor-intensive. Peter Dunn-Rankin gave a picture to Hanalei Bay Designs and had a custom Tibetan rug made. Rugs by Hanalei Bay Designs are hand-knotted in Katmandu, Nepal.

Hanalei Bay Designs has its own rug designs, but Dunn-Rankin wanted to create his own design from his original artwork. He was an avid painter until he got shingles and couldn't paint anymore. For this project, he created his artwork on a computer, drawing an ulua fish first by freehand and then coloring his drawing using Photoshop.

Dunn-Rankin, a retired professor of educational psychology at the University of Hawai'i, said the rugs are "terrific" and marvels that his rug has about half a million individual knots.

The rugs cost about $150 to $4,000 and take three to six months to make. Hanalei Bay Designs liked his design so much it added four of Dunn-Rankin's designs into its collection.

If walls could talk

When Karen Canesa-Lewis' landlord first saw the faux finish walls she had painted herself, her landlords were so impressed they thought the walls were covered with wallpaper. Canesa-Lewis used a technique she learned at Home Depot in which she dabbed a rag in the paint and sponged it on the wall. Home Depot is also where she works as a décor specialist.

Her walls look especially attractive because they were already textured. She layered gold-beige paint on the walls so they now resemble stone walls found in a Mediterranean-style home. She also painted a long green stripe on one wall of her living room to elongate the room.

"The fun part was when I stood back and looked at it. I loved it. I went crazy and finished the entire kitchen. I was only going to do one wall. It's so easy to do," said Canesa-Lewis.

It took her less than a day to complete the project.

She spent $7 on discounted paint and the rest of the material — a rag and painter's stripe — she already had in hand.

Got silk?

Silk flower arrangements can also add custom touches to a home.

Silk Flower Paradise Inc., established in 1987, offers a free custom arrangement with purchase of silk flowers. Po Yun Yu, the store's president, guides customers through the designs they're aiming for.

Individual flowers range from $1.89 to $16.95.

"We cater to what the customer needs," said Yu. "For example, if they want an Oriental style we arrange (the flowers) for them. Or if they want to match (the color of the flowers) to the color of the (home interior), we assist them and help them make the right size and color choice that would go with their (home décor.)"