How to Decorate on a Budget

Co-authored by Karen Parziale

Last Updated: March 7, 2022 References

Decorating on a budget is a creative exercise that can be rewarding and fun. Spend a little money to change the basics in your home or office, such as your curtains, cushions, lights, and accessories. Where possible, do as much DIY work as you can to save money. Quality furniture makes a room feel homely and classy, so keep an eye out for sales and bargains or consider refurbishing your existing furniture. Add colour and personality to your walls with home-made art, feature walls, and personal photographs. Enjoy the decorating journey!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Changing the Basics

1
Replace the curtains and lampshades if they look tired. These items are generally inexpensive, but can make a big difference to the way that a room feels. Consider purchasing matching curtains and lampshades to give the room a sense of cohesiveness. Purchase the items new or look in second-hand shops for a bargain.^{[1]
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- If you’re a confident sewer, consider making your own curtains to save money.
- This is a great way to quickly freshen up an office, lounge, or bedroom.
- Paint or cover up your lampshades for a new look for less money.
2
Remove clutter from surfaces to make the space look fresh. Minimalism is a classy and popular look that is easy to achieve. Re-home as many items as you can from all your surfaces, such as desks, countertops, tables, and shelves. Leave only a few of your favourite items on each surface. Decluttering is a great way to bring more attention to the items that you love.^{[2]
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- For example, remove everything from your office desk except for your pen jar, a photo-frame, and a vase of flowers to create a clean and fresh look.
- Try taking items off of your coffee table and only include items that look nice or that are functional.
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3
Add beautiful pillows or throws to bring colour to the room.^{[3]
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Karen Parziale
Home Stager & Interior Designer
Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.} This is an inexpensive and effective way to brighten up almost any space. Choose pillows or throws that match your colour-scheme and are made from fabric that you love. Place these items on your bed, lounge-suite, office chair, or ottoman. If you are decorating your entire home, consider purchasing matching pillows for both your lounge and your bedroom.^{[4]
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- Purchase pillows or throws from a homeware store or make your own.
- Buy pillow covers or fabric to cover existing pillows for a fraction of the cost of new ones.
- A couple of pillows can really transform the tone and look of your room!^{[5]
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  Karen Parziale
  Home Stager & Interior Designer
  Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.}
- Try choosing the pillow colors according to the seasons of the year so they compliment the rest of the decor.^{[6]
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  Karen Parziale
  Home Stager & Interior Designer
  Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.}
4
Purchase new accessories to cheaply modernise the space. Household and office accessories tend to be inexpensive and can quickly change the look of your space. Consider adding new accessories, such as placemats, door handles, light-fittings, tapware, tablecloths, vases, and coasters.^{[7]
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- If your budget is particularly limited, simply decorate one room at a time. This will give you a sense of completion as you finish each room.
- Get a few houseplants to improve the quality of the air in your home and add fresh looking décor touches.
5
Add extra lamps or lights to give the room a fresh atmosphere. Lights are a wonderful way to change the way the room looks and feels. Bring a new standing lamp into the room, add a hanging light, pick a new desk lamp, or simply replace a bulb with a high-wattage option to brighten the space.^{[8]
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- Avoid tampering with electrical wires in your home or office, as this can lead to electrocution. If you want to install new lights into your wall, hire an electrician to do the job safely.
- String lights are also a nice way to add mood lighting to an area.
6
Use DIY skills where possible to refurbish cheaply. Hiring trades-people is often one of the biggest expenses when re-decorating. If you have a few decorating skills and the necessary tools, try completing the tasks yourself. Consider building your own deck, laying wallpaper, installing vinyl or hardwood flooring, or painting the exterior of your home.^{[9]
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- This can often save you 100’s if not 1000’s of dollars.
- Search online for DIY tutorials for almost any type of project. Ask professionals at a hardware store for tips as well.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Finding Bargain Furniture

1
Search second-hand stores and auctions for a bargain. Nice furniture helps to set the tone for the entire room, so it is worth searching for great items.^{[10]
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Karen Parziale
Home Stager & Interior Designer
Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.} This is an easy way to find quality pieces of furniture at a good price. Make sure to hunt around for furniture that is made from quality materials, as it pointless buying items that will quickly wear out or break. Opt for solid wood instead of laminate coatings and real leather instead of leather look-alikes.^{[11]
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- Keep an eye out in your local paper for garage sales.
- Search online for auction sites, such as Craigslist, eBay, and Gumtree. These sites often have furniture for sale.
- Check to see if people in your area are selling items. If they are, you may be able to negotiate a great price on something that you can pick up right in your neighborhood.
- This is a great way to decorate, because it adds a lot of your own personality to the house. Modern style can be very sterile and cold, so you can counter that with vintage furniture.^{[12]
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  Karen Parziale
  Home Stager & Interior Designer
  Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.}
2
Refurbish your existing furniture to cheaply upgrade its look. This is a great option if you are looking to spend very little and have some DIY skills. Sand the varnish off your wooden furniture and restain it or paint it. If the furniture has fabric, reupholster it or purchase new cushions. This will help to give it a fresh new look.^{[13]
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- Sanding wooden tables and desks and painting them white is a popular decorating trend.
- Search online for DIY tutorials to help you complete your refurbishments.
3
Buy unvarnished furniture and then stain it yourself to save money. Many furniture warehouses and stores will sell furniture that doesn’t have a top coat of stain or varnish on for a cheaper price than what you would pay on the store floor. Ask the manufacturer what kind of stain or varnish they recommend to use on the furniture. Apply the stain with even brush strokes and apply at least 2 coats.^{[14]
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- This furniture is often higher quality than display models, as scratches can’t be hidden by varnish.
- Desks and tables are easy items to stain yourself.
- The display piece in furniture stores is often an unfinished piece that you can buy for less.
4
Keep an eye out for bargains to get quality items at a good price. Head to the stores during the big annual sales, such as Easter, Boxing Day, New Years, and Black Friday. Large furniture stores will often slash their prices by up to 75% during these sales. Also, keep an eye out for closing down and birthday sales for extra deals throughout the year. If you are willing to be patient, this is a great way to find furniture that you love that is within your budget.^{[15]
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- Search online for sales in your area to quickly check the local deals.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Decorating the Walls

1
Decorate the walls with your own photographs to add personality. This is a great way to personalise your home and add colour to your walls at a very low cost. Frame your photos or print them onto a canvas. This can generally be done for less than $50. Search online for a photo printing service or contact your local printing shop.^{[16]
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- For a modern and fun look, use sticky-tak to stick polaroids or small photographs onto your walls. Assemble them in a square, rectangle, or heart shape.
- If you have a large wall, consider placing a few photos next to each other to make the wall look less bare.
- Try printing stock photos from websites and framing them for an inexpensive way to add pictures and art to your home.
2
Upcycle old items into wall hangings to give a vintage look. This is a great way to reduce your waste and also create beautiful decorations. Try turning old planks of wood into floating wall shelves. Alternatively, make origami creations out of an old piece of paper and hang them on the wall. Another option is to use chipped plates to make a piece of mosaic artwork.^{[17]
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- Be creative and express your own personal style!
3
Paint 1 wall an accent colour to change the atmosphere of the room. Painting is an incredibly inexpensive way to quickly and dramatically change the look of any room.^{[18]
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Karen Parziale
Home Stager & Interior Designer
Expert Interview. 21 April 2020.} Choose a colour that complements the existing wall colour and looks nice with your furniture.^{[19]
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- White walls and a deep-blue feature wall are a beautiful combination. Light-grey walls and a pale-pink feature wall is another calming and pretty combination.
- Hold different coloured paint cards up to your existing walls to help determine which colours will look good together.
- Stencil 1 wall or cover 1 wall in wallpaper to create an accent wall.
4
Display your own art to showcase your unique style. Art makes your home feel extra homely and makes the space feel more interesting. Consider painting a picture, framing a completed puzzle, doing some embroidery, or simply hanging a piece of fabric that you love.^{[20]
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- If you don’t feel confident making your own art, consider asking a friend or family member to design you a piece.
- Hang your art on the walls or lean it on a desk or mantelpiece.
5
Purchase cheap artwork from thrift stores. This is a wonderful way to add artwork to your walls without breaking the bank. Keep an eye out at different thrift stores for art that you like. If you spot a piece that you like that has a bad frame, consider re-framing it, as this much cheaper than buying new art.^{[21]
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- If there are no thrift stores in your area, search for online thrift stores.

Expert Q&A

Question

How can I decorate my house on a low budget?

Karen Parziale
Home Stager & Interior Designer
Karen Parziale is a Home Stager, Home Organizer, and the Founder of The Real Estate Staging Studio based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Karen has over 15 years of home staging and decorating experience and has staged over 5,000 homes. She specializes in project management, space planning, material selections, and builder, architect, and client relationships.

Karen Parziale

Home Stager & Interior Designer

Expert Answer

My number one answer is a can of paint. It can literally change your entire home! Color is transformative and brings its own personality to the walls, so that's the best way to transform your house without spending too much.