If theres no room in the budget for decorating this month, I’ve got you covered. I’m a firm believer that you can decorate with what you have already in your home.
What gives a home the most charm is not how expensive or on-trend it looks, but that its decorated and styled in an intentional and inviting way.
Its 100% possible to give your home a total refresh with just a few of the tips I’m about to give you. So if you’re on the search for home decorating ideas on a budget, follow along here for my best ideas you can get started on today.
This post is all about how to decorate with what you have.
Important Tips Before You Start:
1.Think in terms of “styling” not “decorating. During this process, we are not necessarily bringing new items in, but styling what we already have. It’s going to be a process of embracing the beautiful items you already have in your home that have been collected over time. I am a firm believer that you can achieve a warm, inviting home without investing tons of money into the newest, trendiest decor pieces. It’s so easy to work with what you already have, thrift some really great pieces, and fill in the gaps with new items when you can.
2. Give yourself grace and accept the fact your home will never be perfect. I have rooms in my house that are only halfway completed and that’s okay. Those rooms are still worth styling and enjoying even when they aren’t perfect. Be content and do what you can with what you have until the time comes when you can invest the time or money to finish it.
3. And on a similar note- especially if you have kids of any ages- come to terms with the reality that your house is not always going to be show ready. Nor should it be! Your home should be a reflection of the lives lived there. It’s okay to not have that magazine cover look in every single area of your home. Yes, it is important to have a level of order and organization in your home, and you can still have that.
Best Ways to Decorate with What you Have:
1. Purge, but don’t really purge!
We’re going to un-decorate for a quick minute here. Clean up any old decor items that don’t work for you anymore. Take out all those knick knacks that are just cluttering up your space- but don’t get rid of them just yet! We might have another spot for them as we go down this list. Just collect everything in a box or area for now and remove it from the space. Again, don’t go crazy. The goal is to work with what you have, and you may just need to be content with that outdated lamp in the corner that you’ve been wanting to replace. It’s okay, we can work with it!
2. Re-arrange your room
You might be surprised how much the way you arrange the furniture in your room can affect the ambience. I actually think rearranging rooms is one of my personal favorite hobbies and something that energizes me more than coffee.
Gather inspiration from Pinterest and experiment with different layouts. Here are some of my favorite tips for arranging furniture:
- In a living room, create conversation spaces by arranging the seating facing one another.
- Take a piece of furniture out of one room, and use it creatively in another room
- Experiment with placing furniture pieces on an angle
- Place furniture in a way that makes sense for the flow of how you traffic through or how you use the space daily
3. Style your shelves with cherished items
Does your home have built in shelves that you’re overwhelmed at the thought of decorating? Go shopping in your attic or basement (or from your purge pile!) for all those meaningful items that you’ve never quite known what to do with. You’ll be surprised by what you find.
Shelves are a great place to display gifted and collected items. And the great part about this is that these items get to come out of the boxes, bins, or drawers they’ve been sitting in, and get some appreciation by being displayed for the family to enjoy.
Here’s some other examples of things you could display on your shelves:
- Candle holders
- Small pieces of artwork or family photos
- Kick-knacks
- Family heirloom pieces
- Personalized gifts
4. Put new artwork in old frames
This one is probably my personal favorite. If you’re anything like me, you have boxes of old frames or artwork stored away in the attic. Whenever I am decorating a new space in the house, I always go up to my attic to see what I can work with. The thrift store is another great place to get cheap frames. But let’s first work with what you have.
It is so simple and easy to decorate with old frames. I personally like to go to Etsy and look for some artwork prints that fit the style of the room I am decorating and you can get these really inexpensively. However, you can also find free printables online as well if you search! I’ve linked some nice ones that I’ve found below.
Inexpensive Artwork Prints Shops on Etsy:
NorthPrints
Prints2Paper
Links to Free Artwork Prints:
–https://michealadianedesigns.com/botanical-prints-free-printable/
–https://www.blesserhouse.com/free-oil-painting-kitchen-art-prints/
5. Spruce up (or don’t) that old piece of furniture
If you don’t already have something on hand, I’m willing to bet you’ve got family members looking to get rid of an old piece of furniture or two. I will never say no to a good hand-me-down. In fact, I prefer older furniture. Pretty much everything in my home from our coffee table, to dressers, to our dining table- are all old, and I just love the look they have especially when styled well and paired with some more modern accessories.
Here are some ideas for you:
- Add modern chairs to old dining table
- Re-paint a dresser, nightstand, or end table
- Use an old buffet table as a coffee station
- Sand and stain an old coffee table
6. Put your food on display
I like to keep an abundance of seasonal fruit hanging in this basket in my kitchen. I love the pop of color it adds and feel like it gives life to my kitchen. It’s also super functional as it allowed me to free up counter space by not having a fruit bowl on the counter top. An added bonus is I also keep my daily vitamins hidden in the middle basket for easy access, and again, this keeps me from cluttering up the countertop.
Which brings me to my next idea…
7. Display your pretty serving or cooking items
You probably have endless decor opportunities sitting in your pantry or cupboards. Why not work with them and see what you can use in your everyday decor. Have a nice cheese tray or charcuterie board? Lean them up against your backsplash to be displayed when you’re not using them! Or incorporate them into a centerpiece.
When designing my kitchen shelves, I decided to use my cast iron skillet as a backdrop to my pantry items. I think it added some visual interest, and brought in a little bit of black which is what I was going for.
8. Display musical instruments or other hobby items
Now this may cramp your style a little bit, but hear me out. Your home and how it is styled should encourage and call you to do the things that are most important to you. Your guitar is not going to get played if it’s sitting in the corner of a closet. But maybe it will get played if it’s displayed as part of your decor (I know, yikes, but we can do it tastefully- I promise!).
A tip- do this somewhere where its displayed, but not necessarily the focal point of the room. Create an isolated “nook.” That way, less attention is drawn to it.
If you have a hobby that is important to you, take on the challenge of incorporating somewhere on display in your home. There’s always a tasteful way to do it.
This post was all about how to decorate with what you have. Now you’re ready to get out there and start tackling the tasks of purging, rearranging, and styling the beautiful things you already have on hand. I hope you found these tips and ideas helpful.
You may also like to read this post on how to decorate a fireplace mantel.
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