Decorating can be stressful. Having to find a design you love that also fits your budget can seem impossible. We totally understand, which is why we have gathered some tips that we found helpful when trying to decorate on a budget.

Paint

Paint is your friend. You can do so much more than just paint your walls, but that is a great place to start. If you feel like your room needs a change but don’t want to completely redecorate or buy new furniture, a fresh coat of paint could be just the thing you need. With painting a room, you could also make a small space feel bigger or create an accent wall by painting one wall a different color. Beyond painting walls, you can also paint your furniture! If you have some older pieces that you want to revamp or have found a well-loved item from a thrift store or yard sale, a fresh coat of paint will definitely help. 

Rearrange

The best part about rearranging your furniture or decorations is that it doesn’t cost any money. All you have to do is move items. If having your couch on one end of the room makes you no longer want to hang out in your living room, then move it! It is amazing how different a room can feel just by moving furniture around, it will almost be as if you had entirely redecorated. 

DIY

This is the best advice we can give. If you want an accent piece but either don’t want to spend the money or just can’t find exactly what you are looking for, the best thing you can do is to make it yourself. Not only will you feel pride in what you have made (something we found out is called the “IKEA effect”), you will save a ton of money, and will most likely have fun doing it. Some fun DIY ideas that we found were creating fun wall decorations with fabric and a simple picture frame. You can choose a pattern that you love that fits with your room theme and just stick it in the picture frame. Voila! You have a creative and simple piece of artwork and you have leftover fabric that you can use to DIY napkins, placemats or even curtains that could help tie the room together. You can even make your own rug! If you don’t want to splurge for a large area rug, you could buy several smaller ones and sew them together. 

Shop Secondhand

If you don’t have something that you could re-purpose at home and you can’t make it (or don’t want to!) the next best thing is to find it secondhand. Thrift shops, online secondhand stores, yard sales or even antique stores (this one could get pricey so be careful) are going to be your best bet. Something to keep in mind when shopping for previously loved items, it’s okay if it is a little worn down as long as it is still usable. You can always revisit our old friend, paint, to retouch or DIY your own slipcovers for a well-loved couch or chair. If you find yourself revamping pieces you find secondhand, have fun with it and make them your own.

Keep it Simple

Sometimes all it takes to give a room new life is to replace one item, add some small decorations or maintain a theme throughout. Adding decorative plates as wall art is one way to add some fun to your kitchen decor. It’s simple yet effective and it won’t break the bank. If you have a limited budget it is important to focus on details. It could be just a simple lighting fix, a replaced faucet or new curtains your home needed, and replacing or adding one item is so much less expensive than redecorating the whole space.