Just about every homeowner or renter dreams of crafting the perfect living space. Most of us have a vision of what our ideal house looks like and what it would take to achieve it. For some people, realizing the perfect home is an ongoing project that will keep them busy for the rest of their lives.
Sadly, for many, the main obstacle between them and the home of their dreams is their bank account. Home Advisor estimated that completely decorating your home from start to finish could cost well over $10,000. That’s nearly 16% of the average annual income for an American family this year.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that creating your perfect home doesn’t always have to cost an arm and a leg. In the following, we’ll discuss some effective tips and tricks you can use to realize your big vision on a tiny budget with your home decor.
Prioritize Where Your Money Will Go
The tricky part about home decorating is that every single aspect could potentially cost a fortune if you want the best of the best. That will never work on a tiny budget, so it’s critical that you decide where you want most of your money to go. There are a couple of different ways you can approach prioritizing your budget.
Spend Equally Across the Board
If you want the most well-rounded approach, you can equally distribute your funds across the paint, furniture, decor pieces, etc. While this means you won’t get the best of anything, you won’t have to settle for the worst of anything either.
Prioritize Your Centerpiece and Supporting Pieces
If you want to guarantee your home will pop (and make it easier to overlook any blemishes), you can opt to put most of your money toward your centerpiece. Since your centerpiece is meant to draw the most attention and unify everything else, splurging here can yield you a great piece that no one can take their eyes off of. Since your family and guests will be focused on your centerpiece, they’ll overlook the fact that some of your other items may not be top-dollar.
Invest in the Pieces that Will See the Most Wear and Tear
In home decor, the quality you pay for is often the quality you get. For items that will see a lot of use, such as your sofas, chairs, and area rugs, it might actually make more sense to invest in higher quality at the start. While this may mean sacrificing your immediate wants, it all but guarantees that your big pieces will endure. This will buy you time to save for your other items without worrying about having to quickly replace your most used items.
Go DIY Instead of Store-Bought
Nothing says working on a tiny budget like taking on some DIY projects. Opting to skip a trip to the decor store and heading to the crafts store instead can offer some big advantages to you, including:
- Saving money
- Not being limited to a store’s selection
- Introducing a unique, personal flair to your home you can’t replicate with store-bought
- The ability to customize to your liking
You might be wondering exactly how much you stand to save by doing some DIY decor projects. Brit+Co made a couple of price comparisons that show you just how much you stand to save.
Decorative Wall Art
Average store-bought price: $110 per piece
Average DIY project cost: $70
Hanging Shelves
Average store-bought price: $43.59
Average DIY project cost: $17.05
Curtains
Average store-bought price: $175 (per panel)
Average DIY project cost: $55 (per panel)
Repurpose Your Household Items into Decor
This goes along with opting for DIY projects, although in many cases, you don’t have to put in any work at all! If you’re working on a tiny budget, converting household items that you don’t really use anymore can be a great way to save money, save time, and create a wholly original look for your home.
To give you an idea of what might work for you, I’ve listed a few popular ideas for household decor below.
Plants from Your Garden
Plants and flowers have always been a popular, inexpensive way to make a home beautiful. You stand to save even more money by using the plants you’ve cultivated yourself! You’re not limited to plants either – branches, sticks, and stones from your garden can also make great decor items.
Mason Jars as Light Bulb Covers
For conveying an old-timey, vintage look, you can’t go wrong with mason jars. Once they’ve run their course in the kitchen, you can affix them to your hanging light fixtures to create some gorgeous light bulb covers.
Wine Bottles as Plant Vases
The fun doesn’t have to end when the bottle is empty! You make a gorgeous vase for your plants and flowers using old wine bottles. Just peel off the label then pain to your desired color. Less garbage, less money spent, better decor!
