I know, I know, it’s the “B” word: “Budget”. It can feel like a daunting task when you feel unsure or stuck with how to decorate a room, let alone what your options are when you don’t want to, or can’t, spend a lot.
Decorating your home on a budget can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have be overwhelming or a barrier to having a beautiful home. In fact, I would argue that a home looks more warm, inviting, and intriguing when the decor is “collected” versus matchy-matchy.
What do I mean by “matchy-matchy”? Here’s what I mean by a room that’s straight from a general big-name furniture store:
Words that come to my mind to describe this room would be…bland. Boring. Stiff. Lifeless.
Here’s what I picture as the quintessential eclectic and inspired room in which everything looks like it was bought in various thrift stores and flea markets…aka “collected” over time:
Much more vibrant and welcoming of a room, not to mention the price tag was probably much less for each of the items you see.
My hubby and I have always had a very tiny budget for decor, starting with our small basement apartment, to our rental home, and now our first owned home, an early 1900’s American Foursquare. I’m talking tiny as in…I ask for certain items for my birthday and Christmas gifts, or I use gift cards and small cash gifts from a birthday or Christmas for the majority of our decor. Sometimes I’ll use cash I’ve earned back shopping through *Ebates (*affiliate link), taking online surveys, selling things on craigslist and ebay…you get the idea. It’s small.
How do you decorate with such a small budget? In retrospect, I’m really glad that I’ve only ever had a little money for buying decor because of what I’ve learned over the years. Here’s what having to be frugal has taught me.
6 Easy Mindset Shifts to Help Decorate on a Budget:
Only buy/keep things that you truly love and have meaning to you.
There’s a game I like to play when I see a neat item that’s very cheap, such as a $3. I look at it and ask myself, “Would I still love it as much if it was $25?” If the answer is “no”, I put it back.
For adding meaning and a story to your home, use items such as old black and white family photos for framed wall decor versus store-bought wall art. A small table that brings back memories of when it used to sit in the foyer of your grandmother’s home and that you used to play checkers on it with your grandfather.
This mindset helps to not only save your money for the things you adore, but it also keeps you from buying useless clutter, which brings me to my next point…
Embrace minimalism with your decor.
I know that many of you, myself included, find that clutter stresses you out. It can feel like we’re constantly dropping bags off at Goodwill and still making only a dent in the amount of “stuff” in our closets, drawers, garage, etc. Now what do you picture when you read the words, “a clutter free room”? If you’re struggling to visualize such a room, think back to one of those shows on HGTV when they do the big reveal of a room or house, or look at the pictures in a home magazine or book.
What common things do you see, or not see? Many times, those rooms have the bare minimums for decor, and yet they look fully put-together, comfortable, and fresh. You feel like you could walk into that room and feel at ease.
Try to picture those kind of rooms as you look over each room in your home and decide what can stay and what needs to go.
Another tactic could be walk into a room and ask yourself, “If I had to move in 3 days…” or, “If I could only keep what I could fit in a pickup truck…” Anything that you wouldn’t take with you, be rid of it.
Do your best to seek items that don’t require repairs or restoration beyond your skill level.
(or would cost an arm to hire someone else to repair).
I know that sometimes when you find a good deal on an item, it’s because it’s in need of some kind of repair or needs a facelift. Of course if you think you’re up to the task of mending or refurbishing it, by all means, do it! It’s always great to teach yourself new things. Heck, that’s how I started painting furniture! However, if your down-time for such things is already limited, or you have a few items you bought to do as projects that you’ve been meaning to do for years but they are now collecting dust, do yourself a favor and pass it up.
p.s. – if you’d like to paint furniture, the most important step is the prep work! Check out my tutorial for everything you need to prep furniture for painting!
Try to pick items that have stood the test of time with your personal style.
What might be the color trend of today may be passe by the following year. Mid-century style furniture and decor may have had a resurgence and been hot 3 years ago, but now rustic Farmhouse decor and shiplap is in. By next year it may be Parisian or even Disco fever, who knows. But know what style you like, and stick with it rather than trying to ride the seasonal waves of decor trends.
When possible, wait for the item to go on sale.
Places such as Tuesday Morning, Christmas Tree Shoppes, Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, Kohl’s, Michaels Crafts, even booths at antique malls will have sales at the changing of seasons as they try and make way for new merchandise. If you’d rather not chance waiting, many of these places also have store coupons, so use them to your advantage!
Except for Christmas, avoid buying seasonal decor.
I know that out of all of these suggestions, this one might ruffle feathers the most, but hear me out and let me ask you this: how much storage space and money have been devoted to seasonal decor in your home? Really and truly think about that.
Now here’s another question: how many days out of 365 (a year) do you use these seasonal decor items in your home? Are they worth the storage space, money, and time spent setting them up and taking them down?
Those are the questions to consider, and I’ll leave it to you to decide, as I know it’s a personal decision. For me, I grew up watching my mom decorate for almost every holiday: Valentines, St. Patty’s, Easter, New Years, July 4th. etc. She dedicated almost a whole closet and several cabinets, garage space, attic space, drawers in her dining room hutch, and basement space to store it all. Admittedly, about half of it was Christmas decor, but the other half sat in storage for the majority of each year. Although it was nice to see the decor pop up in our house as a way of sensing the progression of the seasons, it also took time that I know she didn’t have much of. I do believe she enjoys decorating, as do I, but I learned after watching her through the years that I didn’t want to spend so much time and space and money on seasonal things.
If you’re out there nodding your head up and down but not fully convinced, why not try bringing seasonal plants from your yard into the home? Use colorful fall leaves for your Thanksgiving tables, Springtime cherry blossom branches arranged in a vase, pine cones and holly for Christmas, Sunflowers for summer. It’s all free and beautiful, and is nature’s key telling signs of the seasons.
As for Christmas decor, buy it when it is heavily discounted at the end of the season, in thrift stores, estate/yardsales, and Craigslist. Just again keep in mind that less is more. Garlands, a few wreaths, and different sized Christmas trees in some of your main rooms can be all you need.
Once you begin to train yourself to pursue only the things that you treasure and hone a little thrifty creativity (and sometimes patience), you’ll find your personal style begin to unfold. Your home will reflect a sense of your deliberate choices of the items in each room, making clutter go away.
As a result of being purposeful in what you bring home, your budget will be more flexible and perhaps even more reserved. From my own experience, I don’t feel pressured to figure out my “decorating style”, which can often feel vague. Instead, concentrate on colors, patterns, shapes and textures that call your name and gel with each other. I know this mindset of buying what is both within my budget and what I love has worked for me in such a way that it’s rather freeing, and it’s allowed me to learn to even trust my gut instincts for what I like when browsing in places.
I hope that this helps to free you a bit as well from the stress of figuring out how to decorate your home!
If you would like more ideas for WHERE to shop when decorating on a budget, hop over to read online ways to score awesome thrift finds.
Also in this series:
How to Decorate Around a Brown Sofa
DIY Designer Strategy: Thrifty & Quick Pillow Slipcovers
Pin for Later!
Shared On: makeitprettymonday, totallyterrifictuesday
