How to Decorate on a Budget
Small decorative touches can boost the entire feel of your apartment—and they don’t have to be expensive. From refurbishing old furniture to hanging a few mirrors, you can make your apartment look stylish without having to take out a furniture loan. After all, you don’t need a house to have a place that feels like home. So go ahead and freshen up your apartment with these 22 tips on how to decorate on a budget.
Overview
- Throw down some rugs
- Add more lamps
- Incorporate candles
- Go green (with plants)
- Go second hand
- Display your beer bottles & wine bottles
- Put on a fresh coat of paint
- Accent with fresh flowers
- Remember less is more
- Design with washi tape
- Be intentional
- Build your own headboard
- Create your own artwork
- Put decor on your gift list
- Sew your own pillow
- Bring in wood elements
- Print & frame your photographs
- Employ a theme
- Make your own shelving
- Display your collectables
- Repurpose a ladder
- Install Mirrors
22 tips to decorate on a budget
1. Throw down some rugs
A colourful rug can lift the look of an entire room. Choose a large rug to fill the space underneath your larger pieces of furniture such as a sofa, lounge chair or bed and choose a small rug to place beneath your smaller pieces of furniture like a coffee table, desk or vanity.
Keep an eye out for sales at rug and carpet stores, or look in antique shops and secondhand stores. You’ll be able to find rugs with plenty of character at a fraction of the price. Be sure to coordinate your rugs throughout your apartment. They don’t have to have the same patterns and colours, but the general vibe should be similar.
2. Add more lamps
Though inexpensive, lamps alter the mood of any room as they generate more light and create an ambience to any room. Try placing small lamps on side tables and end tables or arranging a standing lamp behind a sofa.
Lamps are a great way to decorate on a budget as they will not only make your apartment brighter, but you’ll be able to set the mood how you want—whether that’s for reading or a low-key dinner party.
3. Incorporate candles
Candles of varying styles and heights add dimension to any existing decor. Place them on your mantle, desk, or dresser for a textured look with plenty of style.
Be sure to choose scents and fragrances you’ll enjoy all year long. The best part about candles is you don’t have to light the candle to use them as a home decor piece. Sometimes all you need to do is open the lid and your room will smell divine.
4. Go green (with plants)
Potted plants make any room feel a bit more earthy and natural. Find plants—like succulents— that are easy to maintain. Consider placing them on a shelf, bedside table, or even a kitchen windowsill.
Other green plants that are best for the indoors:
- Spider plants
- Philodendron
- Aloe vera
- Rubber fig
- Mint
- Cactus
- Dracaena
Plants are a natural, fresh way to decorate on a budget and with most indoor plants you can propagate to make more plants without spending more money. This is a great solution to decorating on a tight budget, especially if you like to bring the outdoors in.
5. Go second hand
Buying brand new items isn’t the only option. Plenty of treasures can be dug up at secondhand shops, such as dressers, chairs, desks, tables, lamps, rugs, and much more. Head to the store to see what you can find (you might be surprised!).
Often family and friends will also have furniture, lamp shades, and other decor they’re not using or they want to donate. Forget about budget home decorating ideas – go for the freebies!
6. Display your beer bottles & wine bottles
Accent your kitchen or dining room with a row of beer bottles or wine bottles. Collect your favourites and arrange them symmetrically or asymmetrically, depending on your personal style. Old bottles make for great conversation pieces, and they’re also nearly free. You can also use old wine bottles to hold singular or small bundles of flowers to decorate on a budget.
7. Put on a fresh coat of paint (but only if it’s allowed)
If you’re looking to decorate your apartment on a budget, consider painting at least one wall with a fresh coat of paint. If you’re doing just one wall, try an accent colour that will add dimension and character to your room.
You’ll want to make sure your landlords are okay with the idea of you painting, so be sure to ask before you buy a can of blue summer breeze or regal ruby red. No matter if it’s a wall, piece of furniture or a pile of coffee table books, a pop of colour can make any room feel fresh and new for cheap.
8. Accent with fresh flowers
Taking a walk in the park? Have a field of flowers behind your apartment building? Snag a few colourful flowers to add some eye-catching appeal to your small apartment decor. Place them in vases on your tables and bookshelves for a fresh, vibrant feel. Flowers are one of the home decorating ideas on a budget to freshen up a space.
9. Remember less is more
Interior designers know that simple is often the best way to go. When decorating your apartment, ask yourself: how much do I really need? Scaling back and sticking to the items you love will keep your design simple and beautiful, rather than cluttered.
Another thing to keep in mind, is to focus on the essentials first (i.e. coffee table, TV unit, bookshelves, couch etc.). Once you have these, the rest of your interior decorating will effortlessly follow suit.
10. Design with washi tape
A relatively new phenomenon, washi tape allows you to create designs full of colour and texture. Use washi tape to add borders around your photographs, create stripes on your old coffee table, or add colour to a bathroom wall.
Washi tape comes in colours like orange, pink, blue, and green, along with festive styles such as glittery gold and silver. Even if you don’t use washi tape permanently, it can be a way to boost the colour in your apartment during the holidays and other special times of the year.
11. Be intentional
Before you start collecting items for decoration, think of your plan and the vision for your place. Having some ideas in mind—like adding lamps or rugs, or bringing in some fresh plants—will give you direction for your projects.
When you have a plan, you’re more likely to work out what your budget is and how you can stay within the budget when decorating or doing anything else for that matter.
12. Build your own headboard
Purchasing large furniture pieces, like headboards, can rack up quite a bill. That’s why our favourite tip for decorating on a budget is to DIY! Consider building your own headboard out of wood or left over scraps from other woodworking projects.
Keep the design simple or go for something more intricate, depending on your woodworking abilities. In the end, the piece you create will be both beautiful and personalised, because you built it with your own hands. It’s a fantastic idea to decorate your bedroom on a budget.
13. Create your own artwork
Using stencils, paints, or whatever art medium you feel most comfortable with, you can design beautiful artwork to hang in your apartment.
By crafting your own art, you’ll have pieces that match your personality, and make for great conversation starters when guests come over. No matter the level of your art skills, you can paint a beach scene, landscape, or field of flowers.
If you’re not comfortable creating art on your own, head to a local paint and wine night at an art studio. Most cities offer places for people to come in and create their art along with the help of instructors.
14. Put decor on your gift list
Whether it’s for your birthday, Christmas, or other occasion, provide some wish list items to your family and friends. Include anything from lamps to rugs to artwork to coffee tables. By receiving these items as gifts, you’ll not only save on cost but also have meaningful pieces from the ones you love – it’s such an easy budget-friendly decorating idea!
15. Sew your own pillows
Creating pillows is a simple DIY for anyone who knows how to sew (or wants to learn). Reuse old fabric or find discounted patterns from craft stores. The good news is there are plenty of fabrics out there to match any style of decor. Find a pillow insert that matches the size you want and follow a pattern to be sure it looks professionally done. What a great way to decorate on a shoestring budget!
16. Bring in wood elements
A natural and generally inexpensive material, wood is a great way to accent a room. Use wood-sliced cookies to place under candles, vases of flowers, or to prop up on a bookshelf for a display item. You can even find attractive pine cones while out on a walk to add as an easy earthy feature to make your house cosy for free.
17. Print & frame your photographs
Do you have stunning photos from a recent holiday or hike in the woods? Consider printing and framing your images to create your own artwork. Beautiful photos often turn into the most meaningful art pieces in your home. Printed photos are an easy decorating idea and a way to personalise your home on a budget.
18. Employ a theme
Consider choosing a theme for your apartment. Will it be a zen place to listen to music and kick back? Can it be the place to watch sports and grab a beer? Will it have a natural, earthy vibe with plenty of plants and softer colours?
Deciding on a theme will help you save money by only choosing items that truly match the vibe you’re going for. You won’t feel the need to pick up everything you see—just the ones that fit into your vision. Having a vision board to display what theme you are planning will definitely help you stay within budget while having a beautifully decorated home.
19. Make your own shelving
Skip the shelving purchase by creating your own. Using wood and paint or stain, you can design simple shelves that fit into any room in your place.
You can create tiny single shelves, a full bookshelf, or a row of shelves to hang on the wall. And your shelves need not be fancy. Most shelves add a bit of character and texture to a room and can be decorated with items that bring your personality to life.
20. Display your collectables
Do you love old glassware, historic cameras, or magazines? Why not use your favourite items as decor?
Rather than just letting your collectables gather dust, you’ll put them to good use by having them out for others to enjoy. Chances are, they’ll spark some interesting conversation and storytelling.
21. Repurpose a ladder
Ladders make for the trendiest way to decorate a space on a budget. You can attach wire baskets to the rungs for more storage space, or you can hang towels or blankets for easy access. You could also make your ladder into a shelving unit by adding a flat piece of wood to each step.
No matter how you decide to repurpose your ladder, it’s certain to be a ‘wow’ factor in your apartment.
22. Install mirrors
Mirrors generally make rooms seem larger, so adding them to your wall decor is beneficial, especially in a bedroom or small living room. Try ornately designed mirrors or simple ones. Most importantly, when choosing mirrors to incorporate, be sure they coordinate with other decor in your space.
Need financial assistance for a decorating project? Swoosh has you covered!
Decorating your apartment and making it feel like your very own brings a sense of confidence and peace to your life. If you’d like some financial assistance with your home decorating project or even a loan for moving house, talk to us at Swoosh! Our friendly team is here to help.
If there are some must-have decor items that aren’t in your budget right now, why not opt for an online loan? Swoosh helps take the stress out of decorating, so you can kick back and enjoy your stylish apartment.
