How to Decorate with a Limited Budget

Don’t we all wish we had an endless flow of cash to decorate our homes? Until you strike it rich, win the lottery, inherit a boat load of cash or find a long lost loaded cousin, chances are you will have to be smart with your money and decorate your home on some sort of a budget. It doesn’t matter what your budget is, large or small, there are a few tips that will help you prioritize and decorate your home on a limited budget.

Let’s go back to when my husband and I got married. We literally had nothing. Our home consisted of inherited hand me down pieces from our parents and a few purchased items we bought with money that was gifted to us from our wedding. We had to prioritize, save and be creative. These 3 principles have gotten us through every phase of life from college, graduate school, starting a career, living from paycheck to paycheck and raising our 5 babies.

For fun, here’s a look at our home when we were in graduate school. The pine armoire was the very first piece we ever purchased with our money we earned working 2 jobs. We were so excited to buy something new for our home that we bought by working so hard! We may not have had high end furnishings and the latest fabrics and accessories but we had a clean, beautiful place to call home through every phase. It just took prioritizing, saving and lots of creativity.

Lately, I have had so many readers ask how to decorate on a budget and prioritize purchases, that I decided to share some of my best tips on how to decorate with a limited budget and prioritize your purchases. My budget now, is not what it was when my husband and I first got married, but the principles I used to decorate then, are the same I use now. No matter your budget, these principles can help you decorate on the budget you have.

Everyone has a different budget amount. It would be impossible for me to write a post with sources to pieces that everyone would want or could afford. Instead, I am sharing principles that will help you prioritize your purchases with the budget you do have. The items I have linked for you in this post are the items we have in our home, plus similar ones for less.

ANYONE CAN HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME!!! You just need to be smart!  Here are a few tips that I hope will help you decorate your home on a whatever budget you have.

How to Decorate with a Limited Budget

Prioritize your Purchases

• Make a list of all the things you need / want for your whatever room you are decorating.
• Start with the room that bugs you the most!
• Go from room to room making your list of needs and wants.
• Think about the staples of a home. What is a staple you ask? The sofa, beds, dressers, kitchen table and chairs. Everything else is secondary. You can live without a nightstand or side tables.
• Buy the most durable upholstery pieces your budget will allow.
• Save for those pieces you want. Find simple ways to cut your expenses. It may be a simple as saving spare change, eating out less or keeping your thermostat at a lower temperature. I have been a stay at home mom for 18 years. There were times in our marriage that I didn’t have enough money to buy anything for our house. We would pick up furniture from the side of the road and paint it. My dad helped us fix a king sized bed we found in the rain in someone’s trash. We painted hand me down tables to make them look more current. Anything that we could do to make our house more homey for little to no cost. When I really wanted extra money, I would find a way to work from home. I sold handmade cards to local boutiques for money. When my baby’s were little, I started a baby blanket business on eBay selling blankets and burp cloths. Find a creative way to increase your budget. With a little determination and hard work, you can do anything.

Decorate in Phases

When I decorate a room, I decorate it in phases {for an example, see my daughter’s pink glam bedroom or my dining room reveal}.

Very few people can afford to go out and furnish a room in one day. Use your want list from above to break your design project into 5 phases. You can decorate with a limited budget! Just focus on one phase at a time. Use items you already have or that will get you by, until you can purchase the pieces you really want to complete the project.

1. Purchase Staple Pieces {couches, beds, dressers, kitchen table or chairs – depending on the room}

Always start decorating with those staple pieces. They are usually your investment and inspiration pieces. If your room already has the basics, skip to Phase 2.

For a little over a year, I have been designing our upstairs family room / game room. I began creating a list of what we needed for the room. We sold unwanted pieces, donated unneeded items and started saving.

When we had enough money saved, we purchased those staple pieces – a sectional, and side chairs. We used pillows and accessories we already had to make the room “look nice” until we could get what we really wanted for the room. After over a year, we are in the final phase of designing that room! I can’t wait to share it with you soon!

Here’s a sneak peek at the mood board I put together for the room.

2.  Select Fabrics and Paint {pillows, drapery, bedding, paint}

This phase is where you can add some color and fun to your space. Stick to neutrals for your staple pieces, but here you can mix color and pattern. If you are painting, select colors that are timeless and neutral.  This way you can swap out pillows and accessories for a new look without having to paint or buy new furnishings.

Paint is the most inexpensive way to transform a space!!! Take a look at our master before with dark brown walls and after with these creamy white walls. Check out the shot below is a shot of our master bedroom with dark brown walls. See the difference a can of paint made to the room!!!

Paint – Ralph Lauren’s Edwardian Linen mixed by Dunn Edwards

Pillows and bedding are one of my favorite ways to decorate a room. Visit my bedding page for tons of bedding sources.

3. Buy your Secondary Furniture Pieces

Buy your side tables, nightstands, consoles, accent chairs, etc. I tend to spend less on these pieces.  They also don’t need to be as durable as those staple pieces.

4. Add Lighting

This is the jewelry of the room! Make your room special with your choices. If you plan to keep the lighting for awhile, you may want to up your budget. If you like to switch things out a lot, spend less.

Kitchen Sources {click here} 

Below I have my exact lanterns linked and similar less expensive options sources as well

5. Accessorize

Accessories are the frosting on the cake. They give your room personality. Less is more here. Invest in a few pieces that will stand the test of time. My favorite accessory that goes with any style and color scheme is the ginger jar. Shop a few of my favorites below. You can also visit my ginger jar page, faux floral and accessories pages for more options.

Yep these are all faux florals!

 

Shop Smart

Whenever I decorate a room, I always start with those staple pieces. I am currently redesigning our guest bedroom, The first piece I got was the bed. I’ll design the rest of the room around it.

The bed I wanted was way out of my budget. So, I searched and searched for something similar that was in my budget. I found this gorgeous velvet bed. Still out of my budget. So, I waited for it to go on sale. The minute that email came through saying there was a 20% off sale, I jumped on and ordered that baby! Then I found it for a fraction of that price here!!! Major, major bummer!!!! Moral of the story, there are so many “knock off” pieces out there. Be patient and find them! I love to look on Wayfair for the best products for the best prices.

Use these tips to help you save, prioritize and decorate your home. You will be able to have a beautiful home and still decorate with a limited budget! Be patient, be smart, be creative and have fun!!!

If you want to know when I post, sign up my weekly newsletters by clicking the button below…