If you enjoy having new and different looks for your home, living within a decorating budget might seem almost impossible. Although it can be a challenge, having a budget can help you make smart choices about your purchases. You will also feel better about saving for other expenses in life, as you find alternative ways to get new looks for a lower price tag. Consider these tips to help you stay within your decorating budget.
Have a plan. Visualize how you want each room of your home to look and feel, before going shopping for furniture and accessories. You may find it helpful to draw a floor plan of the space and fill in details of how things might fit together. There are decorating budget worksheets and forms available on the internet to guide you. This will prevent you from shopping aimlessly and buying whatever appeals to you in the moment.
Focus on what makes the highest impact. Start decorating by making choices about the high-impact pieces in the room. For example, with a bathroom, spend more time and money on a great-looking shower curtain, then shift your attention to other accessories as your budget allows. Break up your decorating project into smaller areas, and remember that you don't need to get everything all at once.
Concentrate on harmony. A tasteful, inviting room appears balanced in scale, color, and decorating style. Even if you get the most expensive items, they may not work well together in your space. When shopping for your home, get value for your dollar by taking time to comparison shop at several stores. Think about mixing high-end items with department store purchases and with flea market finds.
Repurpose furniture. If you are thinking of purchasing a new piece of furniture, first go through all your existing furniture and consider whether they can be refinished, reupholstered, or repurposed in some other way. A simple coat of paint can dramatically transform a piece of furniture. You may find new and unexpected uses for items that are not being used or stored away in the basement.
Do it yourself. When it comes to accessorizing your home, ask yourself this question: What can I make, sew, or paint instead of getting new? There are many do-it-yourself home projects that don't require lots of skill or time. For example, you can make your own wall art, use bed sheets for curtains or table skirts, sew pillow covers, and add embellishments to lamps or curtains with hot glue.
Consider faux finishings. Rather than breaking your budget by purchasing the real thing, faux finishings can be very effective in getting the same look for much less. Consider imitating the look of marble or granite for your kitchen countertops with paint techniques. Or consider textured floor tiles that resemble hardwood flooring if you need to replace your current flooring.
Inject your personality and style. Bear in mind that a warm, attractive home doesn't need to be decorated with all the designer bells and whistles. Often, a lived-in look that is also clean and clutter-free is more appealing. So make your home your own, and your family and guests will appreciate what you have done with the space.
Senior staff writer Jessica Ackerman of WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, writes .How To. articles on decorating with tropical fish wall decor and wall art trees.