Budget Home Decorating Ideas
Have you ever wanted to redecorate your home but started to rethink the idea because of how expensive everything is? When buying/renting a place you want your house to feel like a home as soon as possible but decorating a home can get very expensive, very quickly. We have put together a list of 8 helpful budget home decorating ideas.
Overview:
- Declutter
- Thrift
- Talk to friends and family
- Repurpose
- DIY projects
- Make everyday items decorative
- Add greenery
- Take advantage of chain stores
8 of the best home decorating ideas when on a budget
1. Declutter
Sometimes people get the urge to redesign their homes when all they really need to do is a declutter. Decluttering your home once in a while is great to have a fresh, clean environment and is essential especially in a small space. Take a look around and see if there is anything you can bin, sell or replace to clean up your area and have a blank canvas to start redecorating.
A good declutter might lead to selling off old furniture on Facebook Marketplace or having a garage sale and donating other pieces to charity stores like Lifeline and Salvation Army.
2. Thrift
Many people underestimate the use of thrift shopping to find cheap pieces of furniture or decor as a budget home decorating idea. A coat of paint, replacing the fabrics, or glueing up a cheap piece of furniture can be an easy and quick way to find new decor within a tight budget.
Head to places such as your local charity shop, Facebook Marketplace or even the Ikea As Is Market which sells discounted, second hand or ex-showroom display Ikea furniture for a great price. Most of the time you can find good quality furniture here that just needs a sand down, glued piece and/or a coat of paint to be good as new.
3. Talk to friends and family
If you have a low budget for home designs, never underestimate the value of family and friends helping with home decorating. You never know if someone in your circle of loved ones would have a few decorative items or pieces of furniture they are hoping to sell or donate that would be perfect in your home. It never hurts to ask and you can always get a bargain with the family friends discount.
4. Repurpose
When looking around your home, look at the things you don’t like. Does it need to be sold or can you repurpose it? Repurposing and getting creative with the items you already have is a key budget home decorating idea, instead of getting rid of the piece give it a new sense of life.
Some simple, low cost ideas for repurposing furniture include:
- Take an old shelving unit and use it as a TV stand, extra kitchen storage or a doll house for the kids.
- Use a set of drawers inside of the closet instead of having it on display, it’s still there but hidden from everyone else.
- Buy a couch cover to get a new looking couch without emptying your pockets
- Stain wood pieces to clean it up
- Design and build some cabinets into the base of a dining table to make a kitchen island
5. DIY projects
When you are on a tight budget and don’t want to buy new decor that can add up quickly, why not try your hand at DIY? Similar to repurposing furniture DIY can be a quick, easy way to redecorate without buying more pieces for your home. DIY is also the easiest way to get exactly what you want by doing it yourself. You can find helpful beginner tips on Pinterest and blogs on the internet for different DIY tasks.
Some easy DIY hacks include:
- Painting old vases or objects
- Learn to crochet coasters
- Painting a picture/ abstract over a piece of art you no longer love
- Cover the old cushions by sewing a few new covers with budget friendly fabric
- Paint an old ladder and use it as towel rails in the bathroom
- Wash out old glass/wine bottles and use as plant vases
6. Make everyday items decorative
Many people believe that decorative pieces for the home and everyday items are separate, but with a bit of imagination, any item can be decorative. We all have everyday items so why not find a way to make them look aesthetically pleasing, especially with high-quality, expensive items?
Tips for making everyday simple things decorative on a budget:
- Add some hooks to the kitchen walls and hang your wooden cutting boards up as a wall hanging
- Add hooks to the walls and hang up some hats to make the hats a feature
- Display bigger books (also known as coffee table books) on surfaces as extra height and texture to a coffee table surface
- If you have any shelves on display, display a handbag there and appreciate the everyday item in a viewable spot.
This way you are decorating your home with practical, useful solutions while using your already owned things and sticking to a budget friendly option.
7. Add greenery
Another way to decorate on a budget is to bring the outside in. Indoor plants are a great budget friendly decorating idea that brings life and colour into a room easily. Using plants in a creative way around the house will allow the room to stay fresh, an easily changeable interior design choice and be a conversation starter with all visitors.
When sticking to a budget, pothos is a very popular indoor plant as it is very easy to grow and propagate from the cuttings. Another option is to use artificial plants which can be another cosy yet budget friendly option, places like Ikea have some great realistic artificial plants.
8. Take advantage of chain stores
The home decor industry has many stores all around Australia and has made a revenue of US$2.09bn in 2024. This figure shows how popular the home decor industry is and is attributed to the decor stores selling their products at a premium price.
While the pieces are high quality and will hopefully last a long time, save your money and take advantage of the chain stores around you. Places such as Pottery Barn and Pillow Talk are great, good quality stores to find home decorating ideas in Australia; however, you can find more affordable, aesthetically pleasing home items at Kmart, Target, Ikea and Big W.
Love the decorating ideas but still looking for extra money?
Sticking to a budget is always the best way to make sure everything you are buying is important to the overall scheme of the redecoration process. However, if you want to have a bigger budget for decorating your home don’t worry, Swoosh has you covered! You can apply for a secured personal loan that can help you with your home renovations today.
Our secured personal loans are 100% online and have fast approval. We also offer flexible repayment options and have no hidden fees to be worried about. Learn more about our small loans today.
