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Decorating On A Budget – 5 Easy Steps to Success

You know that I love to decorate my home.  The only problem is my budget is usually really small or nill.  That has never stopped me.  Thrift stores, consignment shops, goodwill, hotel liquidators, garage sales, and Facebook marketplace are all great options.  Furniture makeovers and small upholstery projects can usually transform anything that even a beginner can do.  Today I thought I would share some tried and true tips for Decorating On A Budget – 5 Easy Steps to Success.

 

My style has been all over the board over the years.  That means I have a lot of different styles of furniture and accessories that I’ve used with all these different styles.  There is a lot of furniture and accessories that can transition well into multiple styles, so don’t think you have to start from scratch when you want to create a room that you will love.

 

If I step back and take a good look at a room that I want to change, it helps to decide what works and what isn’t working.  Taking a picture also helps – it is amazing how something that is not working jumps out in a picture.  Now make note of what is good about the room.  Is the furniture arrangement great?  Are the colors good and the ones that you love?  Does the room look cluttered?  Do you need accessories, or not so many?  Take a GOOD look at everything.   Not everything has to change, find out what you like and can stay and what needs to be replaced.    If you want to change the style or update your style, look at Pinterest for rooms that you like and figure out what you like about them.  What items do you have that are similar?  Know what style you want or what your style is before you start making any changes.

When we moved to this new house 4 years ago, not all of my previous furniture worked the same way in this house.  Even though the living room was designed with the same layout, the furniture didn’t work in the same layout.  I needed to make a few changes to get the room and home that I wanted.  Every house is different so it isn’t always easy to take furniture from one house and plop it down in the same spaces in a new house.  I followed my tried and true plan – Decorating On A Budget – 5 Easy Steps To Success.

We all have some favorite furniture pieces that we want to use and probably a few things that we think won’t work.  Take a good look at everything and I do mean everything.  Unless you just hate it and can’t figure out any way to transform it, keep it.  If not, sell it and make some money to put towards something you might want.  Sometimes we’ve always used a piece for a certain purpose and in a certain room.  Maybe that piece could work in a different room and serve a different function.  It is so tempting to take the same furniture and arrange it the same way in the same room in a new house.  If you like the sofa and where it is, maybe you just need to swap out chairs or tables.  Maybe those curtains are all wrong and some of the accessories don’t really fit.  Take out everything that you think is not working and then shop your house to see what you have that could replace those pieces.  I really like to take all the accessories out and look at an empty room, then start from there.

Here is what my living room looked like in the previous house.  Much more traditional and cluttered than I want my new house to be.  This room was ok, but not me anymore.

This was my living room in this house when we first moved in.  Trying to make what I currently had work in the new house, really didn’t work.  Some pieces of furniture were just too big for the space or too heavy on the traditional side.  All that dark wood seemed to drown the room.

The front window inset space was not as wide as the last house so I removed one leather chair.   The huge mirror overpowered the room and the cowhide rug chopped up the floor space and made the room look busy.  Trying to use the same furniture in the same room in a different house just wasn’t working.  This living room had two story ceilings and huge 9 ft. windows.  The architecture of this room was much more contemporary.  All of my traditional style furniture and accessories weren’t working.

Now that I knew what didn’t work, how to fix it.  What did I keep and what changed.  The basic pieces were all good, just not mixed together for this room.

What changed.  I got rid of the big mirror and found another statement mirror at AtHome for $99.00.  Next came the rug from  eSaleRugs – 7 x 10 for $135.00.  The coffee table came from Overstock and cost $150.00.  I swapped the white tufted chair I had in the bedroom with the leather chair.  The cowhide rug went to the family room and I sold the coffee table.  The plant was a gift.   Now my room looked like me and fit the style of the house.  All in all, I spent about $375.  I still call that Budget Decorating.

(Notice how much more up-to-date the style of this room is.  Same major furniture pieces, a new coffee table, rug, and mirror changed the entire room.)  The white chair blends into the wall and doesn’t seem to take up space.  Since this area is smaller than the previous house, that made the room feel more spacious.  The rug defines the seating area and blends in with the beige tones of the floor.  The coffee table disappears into the room and creates a more updated contemporary style.  The brass compliments the brass mirror.  Removing the wood coffee table made the rest of the dark wood furniture seem less heavy and gave the space some breathing room.

Where did the other furniture pieces and accessories that I kept go?  Moving that cowhide rug to the family room became the grounding focal point of that room, so that move was a total win.

The white chair really works in the living room and the leather chair gave the bedroom character.  Before you buy anything, take a look at what you have, and that includes everything you have.  We sometimes think a piece only works in a certain room, move things around, just like my chairs, they look so much better in their new rooms.  (That leather chair had always been in the living room in two previous homes, but look how fabulous it looks in the bedroom.)
This should be the most obvious.  You can paint a piece of furniture or reupholster a seat cushion and change them completely.  What felt dated and all wrong, now fits your style perfectly and makes the room come to life.  How I painted my $79.50 Headbord.  Sew your own drapes, there are some fabulous tutorials all over blogland.  I have a really simple step-by-step tutorial that I’ve shared here.  Get crafty and redo some of your accessories, or change a piece of art to be your style – even better paint your own art. This painting is quite a statement piece, but it was all wrong when I found it.  It had a lot of baby blue in it.  I liked the size-36×48, basic design, frame color, and price ($69) so I did a little diy painting and covered the blue with more brown, gold, and cream.  Think outside the box when you are shopping, maybe you just need to tweak a piece and it will be perfect. 
If you have a piece of furniture that the style and size are right and you love it, paint it, or strip it down and refinish it.  It will turn out to be a favorite piece and a treasure.

Way too often I see someone use small decor items and lots of them.  Larger decor pieces and fewer of them can elevate a room to the next level.  Large baskets, urns, candle holders, and lamps are statement pieces. That’s what you want. This coffee table arrangement only has three things, large candle holders, large tray, and a large plant.  So much better than a lot of little things crowding the surface.  The candle holders are glass, so they are see-thru, the tray has a lot of character and texture and the plant is unique by itself.  Together they make a statement – just keep in mind how that statement compliments the room.

Pillows and throws can brighten up and make any room feel more welcoming.  They are the perfect way to change up a neutral room.  They can make it moody, cheerful, or serene.  Pick larger pillows and use fewer of them.  Notice how large the pillows are in relation to the back cushion of the sofa.   Make sure your lamps are large enough for the size of the room and tall enough to give you light over your shoulder when seated.  If they are a little short, use a couple of books to elevate them.  Replace that worn-out or too small shade with something that is the right size, shape, and color.

Make sure your lamps are large enough for the size of the room and tall enough to give you light over your shoulder when seated.  If they are a little short, use a couple of books to elevate them.  Replace that worn-out or too-small shade with something that is the right size, shape, and color.  You can find fabulous lamps and accessories at Goodwill and Thrift Stores.  Keep your eyes out for classic items that you can paint, stain, or add a little Rub’n’Buff to for some bling.  A $5 thrift store lamp with a new shade can look like a $100 lamp.

Choose the style of your accessories to create and compliment the style of the room.  If your room is filled with classic style furniture, then you can go modern, traditional, farmhouse, french provincial, or even transitional and a little boho.  Don’t add fussy french provincial accessories to a modern room, those two don’t quite mix.

You can truly have your dream home with a little thought and planning.  Look out for sales, revamp or repurpose what you can and then splurge on that one thing that will make your heart jump.  A living room sofa that will only be used occasionally can cost less than the one in the family room that the whole family will use every day.  Unless you are sitting or sleeping on the floor, don’t impulse buy anything because of a low price just to get by.  That will turn out to be the most expensive thing you buy in terms of not working, or looking good and certainly not comfortable.  You will almost always definitely regret impulse buys.  Buy slipcovers for that sofa or chair until you can find and afford exactly what you want.  Don’t forget to look at consignment stores, sometimes they have great upholstery pieces at really affordable prices.
Have a design style in mind and create a plan for the room that you want.  If you don’t rush, you will be able to create that room in a shorter amount of time than you think, and one that you will love walking into.
I love my home and it was all done on a budget.  Decorating On A Budget – 5 Easy Steps To Success is the formula I used throughout my entire home.  My Living room sofa was $100 second-hand.  It was custom-made,  hand-tied, and down-filled cushions.  I bought it from a neighbor.  Our leather recliners in the family room were a splurge, but they make me so happy every time I see them and sit in them.  I also think they make the room.  Most things were found on sale, consignment, or from some thrifty shopping, but some things were worth the full price.  My home was still done on a small budget, but I think it looks like a million.  Most of all I am happy with it and you should be with your home too.  If it fits your personality and you love being in your home and looking at your rooms every day, then it is perfect, no matter what the current trends or styles are.  Make sure it is YOU.

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2 Comments

  1. elle
    May 26, 2021 / 3:10 pm

    Such a helpful post! Thanks for going through all the details about what worked for you and what didn’t — that is so instructive.

  2. May 28, 2021 / 7:12 am

    These are such great tips!!! I agree that looking at a photo can really help to put things into perspective….go figure! And being able to DIY is so helpful when on a budget. By the way, I love your headboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Thanks for sharing your tips for budget decorating:)

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