5 Tricks for Decorating on a Budget
Who couldn’t benefit from decorating on a budget?
My husband and I are finally making the move from the home we’ve shared for 12 years to another, more fabulous home. At least I’m planning on it being fabulous–we are still in the phase of getting our current home ready to put on the market before we start looking at new houses yet.
One thing I do know for sure, we won’t have much money to put into decorating our new home right away. Our plan is to put everything we can into the our down payment and that means coming up with creative solutions for decorating our new space.
So, in making sure that I’m prepared when the time comes, I’ve come up with 5 tricks for decorating on a budget. I will follow these to make our new home aesthetically pleasing AND affordable.
1. Buy Pre-loved
Image: Maegan Tintari
Estate sales, yard sales, Craigslist and Freecycle are all budget-friendly ways to acquire new-to-you furniture and more. Need a bookcase for your office? Try Craigslist. Or need a desk for your office? You might be able to find a gorgeous Art Deco 1930s piece at an estate sale that just needs a little TLC.
Image: eren {sea+prairie}
Even if you aren’t all that handy, there’s still a lot of decorating on a budget that you can do yourself. With a little research you can learn to reupholster a chair, make a coffee table from pallets or make a corkboard from leftover wine corks. The biggest rule of DIY decorating is to not be afraid to make mistakes. The spirit behind DIY is to experiment and become empowered with your new ability to make stuff.
3. Repurpose and Recycle
Image: Paris on Ponce & Le Maison Rouge
You might be surprised what you can make do with when you are committed to reusing furniture and home decor items when redecorating. You might also be surprised what you can make into something new! Like for example, this fab patio cooler which used to be an old fridge.
4. Rearrange it
Image: reiner.kraft
For those of you who aren’t looking to decorate a new space but spruce up an existing space instead, try rearranging the furniture, artwork and decor elements. My grandmother always said the best way to make your home look like new is to move the furniture around. She was right and I rearrange my living room at least twice a year (it’s also when I do a deep cleaning for all those dust bunnies). Rearranging is not just for furniture though, swap stuff in and out a rooms to create what will feel like a completely new space.
5. Give Yourself a Budget
Image: mikecogh
Finally, and probably most importantly, you must create a budget and stick to it. Without taking the time to create and update your budget you are more likely to fall victim to splurge purchases. If you stick to your budget, in the future you may actually be able to make some of those splurge purchases because you’ve saved so much money from decorating on a budget.
Happy decorating!
Top image: Tax Credits
