It’s no secret that I believe that anyone can have a beautiful home on any budget. Right now, as we’re all spending lots of time at home, having a space you love is more important than ever.
While many of us would love to turn around our homes completely, the reality is that we don’t have the time, budget or space to do this. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t create a new look for your space even on a tiny budget. There are some simple things you can do breathe new life in to your rooms, making them feel refreshed.
Before I get in to the tips, it’s worth mentioning cleaning and decluttering as the starting point. With a lot of us being at home more, the clutter and mess tends to build up quicker than otherwise. Tackling these two things will dramatically transform your home and they don’t cost a penny. So before you do anything else, pick a room, remove all the clutter and give it a good old spring clean.
7 ways to improve your home on a budget
1. Re-arrange your furniture
When I was a kid, every 5-6 months, my father would gather us all in a room and tell us we would be rearranging the furniture that day. We would spend a couple of hours moving furniture around, trying different placements and angles until my father was happy. At the time I hated these ‘rearranging’ days (as we came to call them) and as we got older, my brother and I would try and predict when the next one was coming and make plans to be out!
In retrospect I realised that just switching up the layout of a room has a huge impact. Now I make my kid help me! Jokes aside, try it. And don’t limit yourself to big furniture, try swapping around plants, accessories, artwork, floor/table lighting and all. You can even swap pieces from one room to another. If you’ve got an open plan living/dining area, you can completely change the look by moving everything around. You’ll be surprised at how different a room can feel simply by changing the layout in the space of an afternoon.
2. Paint it
If you want to add a breath of fresh air to your home, one of the best ways to do it is with a lick of paint. Simply adding a fresh coat can do a tired looking room wonders! If you don’t want to paint entire rooms, here’s my favourite shortcut – I keep leftover paint for every room and once or twice a year, I touch up all the marks on the walls. Makes it easier and quicker than repainting the entire room but still makes a big difference.
If you’ve got leftover paint and sample pots lying around, you could even create an accent wall. Paint one wall in a different colour or try a two tone wall or try painting large geometric shapes to create a feature. There is so much you can do to your walls with just paint. Paint goes beyond walls too – paint your furniture, doors, tiles, floors, radiators – there are lots of ways to get creative with a tin of paint and it really can transform your home.
3. DIY it
One of the least expensive ways to improve your home is DIY. It’s not the quickest or easiest solution but it can be super transformative. You could do things like updating furniture you already have. For e.g. take an old dresser/chest and paint it, add new handles and legs and your piece will be unrecognisable. Similarly, add new hardware to kitchen cabinets or upgrade a room by adding some moulding to the walls for wow factor. Another of my favourite DIY ideas is to paint furniture to match the walls. The DIY possibilities are endless and the satisfaction you get from doing it is priceless.
4. Switch up your soft furnishings
Throws, pillows, blankets, bedding, storage baskets, rugs are all things that can easily be moved around within a room or from one room to another. I tend to swap things around every season using cosier fabrics in the colder months and lighter linen and cotton fabrics in summer months. I’ve also dyed the odd duvet cover and throw to change the look. It’s a fun way to capture the mood of the season in your home and it also changes up the look of a room.
5. Add a statement piece
Often the addition of one statement piece in to a room can transform the feel of your space. Statement lighting is one of my favourite ways to add drama to a room, whether thats one big light or a cluster of lights. Think large industrial ceiling lights for a living room or a bunch of smaller lights hung at different heights in a dining area. Another statement idea is a wall rug hung above the bed in a bedroom or a large unexpected piece of art in the kitchen The key here is to not overdo it.
6. Tidy up with stylish storage
There are things that we need to have accessible in our homes that may not always be aesthetically pleasing. Hiding away these things in stylish storage boxes, crates and baskets will instantly lift up your room – whether thats a pile of shoes in the entrance or toys in the living room. Combine small storage containers with bigger closed units so that everything has a home where it can be easily put away.
7. Less is more
I’ve talked about adding stuff to your rooms or switching stuff around but there is one last tip which is equally important, if not the most important. Often times, improving your home is about taking stuff away. I don’t mean just the clutter but perhaps you have too many side tables or too many decorative accessories. Maybe you have way too many throw pillows – I’ve been guilty of this! Take a good look at your room before you make any changes and decide what needs to go before adding anything.
Which room in your home needs a little improvement?
Image credits: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
In partnership with Industville Lighting. All ideas, tips and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support my blog and help me continue sharing fun ideas with you.
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