Decorating Your Home on a Budget

Sep 17 | Household Tips, Money Saving Tips

Another thing I enjoy doing is decorating my home.  Making it a place of comfort and refuge while being appealing to the eye.  I've found myself, over the years, drooling over beautiful magazine spreads and jaw dropping images of interiors around the web.

Not to be discouraged by the high price tag of the rooms I've been admiring, I've found my own ways to create rooms I love on a budget.

Paint

I'm sure you've all heard this before, but a can of paint really can do wonders to a room.  Painting one, three or all four walls can transform the feel of a room in an instant, for less than $50!  Take a whole bunch of paint sample chips home and place them against the walls throughout the day to pick a colour that will be right for you.

Don't always think of paint in terms of walls.  Pick up a quart of paint for some old furniture that needs a facelift.  Or my favourite, spray paint!  I spray everything from candlesticks to mail boxes.  I like to go with bright colours for these items since they add a bit of personality or drama.

Repurpose

I've been known to take old greeting cards and frame them in a cheap frame to create art for the walls.  Or another favourite of mine, I buy nice, inexpensive dish towels to use as table runners for my coffee and kitchen tables.  Think creatively!

Accessorize

Really, it's all in the accessories you use!  Accessories are cheap in comparison to furniture pieces.   Go for items in colours you'd never have the guts to use in large areas.  For example, my kitchen, quite accidentally, is full of red accessories.  These accessories happen to be practical though.  A dish towel here, a red spatula there, and my piece de resistance, my beloved red KitchenAid mixer!

Play around and have fun with smaller items.  I have a shelf of items that I like to rotate around my home so I don't get bored with a certain look.  I like to call it shopping at home!

Splurge

Yep, you heard me, I said splurge!  Just be smart about it.  I'm a believer that with some items, like furniture, you'll save money in the long run if you purchase quality the first time.   Have patience when it comes to buying the more expensive items as they will most likely end up on sale at some point!

Be Inspired

While looking through magazines or the like, ask yourself if you can recreate something you saw with items you already have or something from the thrift store.  Fell in love with a dramatic black dresser with glass knobs?  Make it yourself!  It'll be a fraction of the cost.  Inspiration can be found everywhere.   A store window, a piece of fabric, a photograph or even scrapbook paper!

All in all, use your brilliant ideas to create the home of your dreams, that functions just as you want it to and is full of your own personality!