What if we told you a well designed home doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag?
Indeed, it turns out there are a number of clever and simple ways to create a gorgeous home on a really tight budget. Read on to learn about 9 such ways so that you can update your home for less.
Shop your own home
Most people automatically assume that shopping around for new pieces to style with is the only approach to redesigning their home. It may well go against our intuition, but the answer to updating a space can often be found in the home already.
Take a wander through your home and be on the lookout for items you can swap from one room to another. Some rotation of your decor can go a long way in making a space feel fresher and updated, and best of all you won’t have spent a single penny.
Along with smaller decorative items, consider moving larger pieces like tables and paintings from one room to the next and you should start to see your home take on a new lease of life. Don’t be afraid to experiment and take risks as the payoff can be huge – if your favorite artwork has always graced the living room then see what the results are when you move it to the bathroom.
The garage, attic, basement and other storage spaces may prove useful in broadening your horizon when it comes to a budget redesign. Let’s face it, we’re all guilty of neglecting some great pieces or it may have just been that they didn’t fit into our vision during past revamps, so now is the chance to give them a second look. You never know what you might find.
Shopping around the home is the cheapest resource you have and should be the first step before splurging on new items.
Rearrange furniture
If you can’t swap furniture between different rooms, try instead to rearrange the existing pieces within a room. It really is as simple as it sounds, but if you need some ideas, consider moving your sofa away from the wall, or if that’s already the case then maybe push them up against the wall.
Maybe your living room furniture has adopted an L-shaped arrangement, in which case you could change things up a little by having the sofa and chairs face each other, lending to a more conversational environment. Never underestimate how much difference a change of layout can make to your home, and best of all it doesn’t cost anything.
Declutter
Another option to consider before hitting the shops for new items is to clear out the ones you don’t want or need anymore. Depending on the extent of the decluttering, it can make your home feel more spacious, brighter and refreshed, all at no additional cost.
It’s important to work with a clean slate, so you’ll need to remove all your clutter from the room – even the ones you intend to keep. Areas which need particular attention include bookcases and coffee tables as these have a habit of attracting clutter.
With everything in a pile outside the room, you can begin sorting through the clutter. Items which are dated or have seen better days can be thrown out, while anything else that’s deemed nonessential should be carefully considered before returning it to the room. A useful rule of thumb is to discard anything that does not spark joy.
Paint
A new lick of paint is one of the best ways to update your home, but painting every single wall can be very expensive. Fortunately, a small-scale paint job in the right places can have breathtaking results for the entire space.
In other words, paint any notable areas such as a recess or niche in the wall using a pop of color to help highlight interesting pieces of decor, and just like that your home is well on its way to looking and feeling transformed.
To satisfy your adventurous side, consider aiming your paint brush at furniture, floorboards and trims. These small-scale projects only require a small pot of paint and you can finish the job within an afternoon or over the weekend.
Affordable art
Updating your walls with affordable art is another great way to bring fresh change without breaking the bank. The internet has done wonders in terms of providing choice, so you’re bound to find something that matches your tastes, and remember to opt for a print instead of original art to save on costs.
Instead of scattering art all over your home without any forethought, try to pinpoint areas which would benefit from a gallery wall. Areas which are lacking personality are the best candidates for a gallery wall because of how high-impact they are.
With that said, you should probably avoid a gallery-like presentation of art in rooms which already have a good balance of visual interest.
Add greenery
Plants have a great deal to offer from an aesthetics point of view as they add color, texture and interesting organic shapes. Since large indoor plants can be quite pricey, consider going with multiple smaller plants and display them at varying heights to give the illusion of one larger plant.
Another way to save money on greenery is to ask friends for cuttings of their own plants. Certain plant species, including the highly popular Devil’s Ivy, are very easy to propagate – simply cut a piece of stem, submerge its base in water for a couple of weeks, provide a bit of light and you’re good to go.
If you don’t fancy caring for a living organism, gather some branches from your backyard and place them in a vase for a fantastic design touch. It’s a super easy way to create natural beauty in your home and not to mention it’s a great example of how to be resourceful without spending a dime.
Switch up your decor and accessories
At some stage you will probably need to hit the shops and spend a bit of cash to complete your home’s new look, but you can still do this in a budget-friendly manner. Remember to target the small details before splashing out on new furniture or a full renovation as the small things can make a big difference.
For instance, in the living room look at changing your sofa cushions as these are excellent for ushering in new colors and patterns. The same goes for the coffee table display, as this one surface can often bring all the other items in a room together, so a change of books, coasters and vases can play a vitally important role in making a space feel anew.
As for the kitchen and bathroom, new hardware wouldn’t go amiss. Specifically the handles on all your cabinets should be swapped for something fresh and up to date. Although this may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, knobs and handles can ruin a space if they look worse for wear or aren’t cohesive, so think of them as being the cherry on top of a room’s design.
Up your shelf game
The design of a shelf itself is often overlooked because we get excited about what we can display on them, but there are some shelves out there that will give your most striking piece of decor a run for its money.
Take geometric wall shelves as an example – their design draws inspiration from the mathematical world and the result is a storage showstopper that’s sure to serve as a feature in any part of the home, so long as you have a knack for good shelf styling and can refrain from filling them with any old junk.
Shop smart
While it’s great that you’ve chosen to update your home on a budget, that doesn’t mean price should take precedence over quality every time. Always going with the cheaper option could end up being more expensive over the long run, especially when it comes to furniture.
To explain, a cheap sofa is likely to need replacing sooner than you had hoped for, and that’s a big problem when you consider that low cost sofas are still fairly pricey.
That’s why it’s wise to shop smart and balance quality with price – be willing to spend a little more on those integral furniture pieces like sofas, tables and beds than you plan to use for years if not decades.