Decor on a budget

Published On: June 28, 2019 08:59 AM NPT By: The Week Bureau


Home decor can be dispiriting when you are on a budget. Once you have acquired your own space, furniture, fabrics, silverwares and art play a big role in making it an actual home and giving it personality. If you want good sustainable decor for your home, it tends to be a bit of an investment. But with a little thought and care, home decor can be just as efficient and chic even when you are on a budget as it’s all about being creative and thinking outside the box. To get you started, we offer you a few tips and tricks that can make your space look beautiful and elegant without you having to break the bank.

Be resourceful
Being thrifty is great, but being resourceful can save you a lot of money. From honing your painting skills to learning how to repair broken furniture, there are many home skills that you can acquire that can prove to be valuable. Learning to decoupage (the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf and other decorative elements) can help you to create your own art. Although it might not be an expensive masterpiece, with proper effort it can come pretty close to looking that way. It’s really worth it to push yourself out of your comfort zone to learn a new craft to create decor with a high-end look. There actually are a remarkable number of sophisticated projects out there to take on, you just have to hunt for them or follow a décor blog or look over a proper decor YouTube channel.

Repaint the walls
Painting your walls is one of the most cost-effective decorative updates you can make to your home. But if you’re on a shoestring budget, the two cans of paint might not be enough to, say, paint your entire bedroom and give it a facelift. In that case what you can do instead is consider painting an accent wall. A few cans of paint is all you’ll need to cover a single wall, which can make just as much of an impact. If your room lacks a focal feature, you can add one by painting one wall in a contrasting color. If just one wall is deep red or bright green while the rest of the room is white or beige, the vivid color will naturally draw the eye towards it. Place furniture and art against this particular wall of the room to take advantage of the new focal point.

Be eclectic
On the spectrum of home décor styles, eclectic designs are often the easiest to replicate. The look is all about mixing and not matching. There’s no need to find that particular side table for your bed, or an exact shade of blue to match your curtains, or a pricey antique piece, especially when you are working with traditional interior design. Succumb to your bohemian self, and shopping for furniture and décor will be much more affordable. Mix and match using decor pieces ranging from cheap to pricey, and use colors from calm to bright. This hodgepodge should help you cut down on your budget as you can shop more freely and at flexible prices.

Rearrange the furniture
You can often change the look and feel of a room dramatically just by rearranging the furniture. For instance, if the first thing you see when you walk into your living room is the back of the couch, it tends to get dull after a while. Simply moving the sofa to the opposite wall can create a new focal point, improve the flow of the room, and make the room look a whole lot more inviting, all at the same time. 

Similarly, moving showcases, art and even swapping out carpets from one room to another will work like magic when it comes to making your living space look new and fresh. And best of all, it costs absolutely nothing. If you can’t find a good way to make a comfortable arrangement of the furniture in the room, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need new furniture. Before you hit the stores, try “shopping at your house.” Perhaps the very piece you need is already sitting in a different room, and all you need to do is swap it for one of the pieces you’re using now.

Focus on the details
It’s amazing how much difference a small change can make in a room. Often, something as simple as replacing hardware or accessories can give a room a whole new feel. Even the most well decorated room won’t look good if there isn’t enough light. You can fix the problem by adding higher-wattage bulbs in your existing fixtures. You can also move your lamps around to improve light distribution throughout the room. Similarly, replacing the knobs on your cabinets can give your kitchen or living room a dramatically different mood – and it’s a lot cheaper and easier than replacing the cabinets. A vase of fresh flowers, a green plant, a colorful bowl of fruits, or a couple of candles can brighten up a room for very little money. Family photos can also make good decoration, but they look best when they’re all in similar frames.



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