Decorating and furnishing your home is a daunting task, and can be expensive – but it’s often necessary; from needing to fill the first home you buy, to wanting to make your mark on a rented property.
And at this time of year, when we’re doing our spring cleaning and getting ready for longer days and better weather, it’s natural to want to spruce up where you live a bit too.
But making interior design changes certainly doesn’t have to cost the earth! If you’re on a budget but still fancy transforming your home this year, here are a few tips to prevent you from splashing too much cash.
Embrace hand-me-downs
If you’re struggling to furnish your home, take what you can get from family and friends and find a way to make it work. Even if they don’t go perfectly with your colour scheme or décor, you can always add a cover or throw to a faded sofa, paint wooden furniture white for a shabby chic feel, or disguise an old table with a nice table cloth to make them fit in with your home. Hand-me-down furniture can be replaced when you have more disposable income, and it’s better than the alternative of living in empty rooms! If you don’t know anyone that’s getting rid of furniture, try looking online at places like Freecycle or Gumtree, to see if there are any people in your area giving away something you need – or for a not-quite free option, raid the local charity shops instead.
It doesn’t have to match!
Often, you’ll need more than one of something – two lamps for the bedroom, six chairs round a dining table, more than one sofa so that your family has enough space to relax – but furniture and decoration that comes in sets can often be more expensive than their standalone counterparts. But who says these things have to match? Some of the most stylish interiors play around with mixing and matching colours, patterns and textures – and finding reasonably-priced items that will all complement each other in your home will add an air of individuality to your decorating.
Upcyling is your friend
We’ve already touched on the idea of making changes to any hand-me-downs you receive, but what about giving the things you own a bit of a spruce up? Something as simple as repainting a table or adding new handles to your chest of drawers – or even new taps to your sink – can give your rooms a fresh new feel at a tiny price.
Create a feature wall
Decorating a whole room in a bright colour or busy pattern can be overwhelming and make the room appear smaller – but as well, it can also be expensive to buy enough paint or wallpaper to finish the job! Choosing one wall to focus your decorating efforts on is a low-cost alternative but one that’s high on style.
Become an artist
Having paintings on the wall always adds a homely feel to a room. To get interesting and unique art for practically nothing, DIY it! A craft shop will provide you with the canvas and painting materials you need, and if you don’t consider your doodles particularly realistic, have a go at some Jackon Pollock-esque abstract pieces instead!
Make a wall display
Image source: Pixers
If you can’t or don’t want to change the wallpaper, and don’t feel up to creating an artistic masterpiece, think outside the box when it comes to decorating your walls. Decorative dishes, heirloom quilts and decals are all low-cost options to brighten up a boring wall – and you should never underestimate the difference a nice mirror can make in adding space and interest to your room, either.
Main image by: Stacie @ Flickr
