Are you looking to spruce up your home’s interior without spending a fortune? With a bit of creativity and strategic shopping, you can give any room a stylish new look on a budget. Keep reading for my top 5 best and cheapest home decorating ideas that will instantly elevate your space!
Decorating your home can seem daunting, especially when you’re working with a tight budget. However, with some clever tips and affordable finds, you can create a beautiful space that looks far more expensive than it actually is.
In this post, I’ll share my favorite ways to decorate your home inexpensively, focusing on easy DIY projects, strategic purchases, and subtle upgrades that make a major impact. We’ll cover quick living room refreshes, kitchen organization hacks, ways to spruce up your bedroom, and more!
Follow these budget-friendly decorating ideas, and you’ll be amazed at the dramatic difference you can make in any room without spending a lot. Let’s dive in!
Give Walls a Fresh Look with Inexpensive Paint
One of the easiest and most affordable ways to revive any room is with a new coat of paint. Painting walls, ceilings, doors or trim can completely change the look and feel of a space for relatively little money.
Stick to budget-friendly paint brands from home improvement stores, and opt for white or neutral hues, which tend to cost less than bold colors. For added dimension, consider painting your trim and/or ceiling a lighter shade than walls. This simple tweak makes rooms look crisp and polished.
Beyond walls, don’t overlook furniture, accessories, or dated cabinets as potential paint projects. A worn dresser or side table can be revived with a layer of chalk paint or spray paint and new hardware. Drab kitchen cabinets get a face lift with paint and updated knobs. Shop dollar stores for inexpensive frames, vases, baskets and more to paint and customize. The options are endless!
Use Contact Paper to Transform Surfaces
Another wallet-friendly way to givesurfaces a new look is withcontact paper. This self-adhesive covering comes in a variety of patterns, textures and colors to suit any style.
Use contact paper to refreshcountertops, cabinets, shelving,drawers, furniture and more. It’s an easy afternoon project that doesn’t require messy paint or renovation. Just clean the surface, measure and cut your contact paper to size, peel and stick!
Some popular ways to use contact paper for an instant room makeover include:
- Old kitchen counters updated with marble-look contact paper
- Dresser drawers lined with a chic wallpaper print
- Plain cabinets transformed with wood-grain contact paper
- Shelves edged in a colorful border print
Contact paper is an affordable solution for covering up worn floors, outdated tile, laminate counters, wood paneling, appliance fronts, tables and so much more. It peels off easily whenever you want to change up the look again. With so many prints and textures to choose from, you can customize your space for a fraction of the cost of a full remodel.
Use Strategic Lighting and Mirrors to Enhance Any Space
It’s amazing what a few carefully placed lighting fixtures and mirrors can do for a room! Take advantage of these subtle yet impactful elements to make your home feel brighter and more spacious.
Adding lamps in under-lit corners illuminates dark spaces and creates a cozier ambiance. Install dimmer switches to control light levels and set the perfect mood. Mirrors reflect light and give the illusion of more space – especially helpful in small rooms.
When choosing lighting and mirrors on a budget, check out thrift stores, garage sales, Facebook Marketplace and discount home stores. Affordable clip-on pendant lights, table lamps, sconces and floor lamps can make a big decorative impact for less. For mirrors, look for inexpensive leaning, hanging or stand-alone frames, or even frameless mirrors attached directly to the wall.
Get creative with lighting and mirrors to highlight beautiful architectural details, double the feeling of space, and add stylish new focal points to your rooms – all without a huge investment. The right lighting transforms!
Display Artwork Creatively on a Budget
One of the best ways to elevate any space is by decorating walls with beautiful artwork. Yet framing and buying investment-worthy art can cost a small fortune. Luckily, you can decorate stylishly on a budget with these affordable art display ideas:
- Gallery walls using a mix of thrifted frames and prints
- DIY modern grid or asymmetrical arrangements with dollar store frames
- Handmade wall art using canvases, wood, fabric, metal signs, etc.
- Floating shelves to display sculptures, vases, baskets and other objet d’art
- Washi tape or patterned masking tape to create geometric wall art
- Framed pages from old books, sheet music or maps for an instant vintage vibe
- Photo collage walls or calendars turned into art
Don’t overlook Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or apps like OfferUp as places to find secondhand art. Also check out Etsy for handmade prints, digital art downloads and more one-of-a-kind finds that won’t break the bank. Get creative hanging art in groups, mixes of frames, and by “framing” objects in interesting ways. With a little imagination, you can curate gallery-worthy walls at a fraction of the price.
Refresh Rooms with New Linens and Accessories
An easy way to breathe new life into your home is by updating worn linens and swapping out old, dated decor accessories. These small switches make rooms feel fresh and current without spending a lot.
Consider switching out:
- Old bedding and blankets with new duvet covers or quilts
- Outdated curtains for budget-friendly panel pairs or stylish shades
- Throw pillows and area rugs in fresh colors and patterns
- Kitchen and bath towels or mats in new colors
- Accent pieces like vases, trays, baskets, candles and tabletop objets
Stores like HomeGoods, Marshall’s and TJMaxx are great places to hunt for discounted sheets, pillows, blankets, curtains and home accessories. Watch for sales at Target, IKEA and department stores too.
Mixing new textiles and decor with a few key furniture pieces you already own helps rooms look curated and pulled together. Little upgrades make a big difference!
Conclusion
With these budget-friendly decorating tricks – creative use of paint, contact paper, lighting, art displays, linens and accessories – you can give any room in your home an affordable mini makeover. Use my tips to get started transforming your space room-by-room.
The best part is, none of these cheap home decorating ideas require expensive renovation or full room overhauls. Small touches like a fresh coat of paint, new light fixtures or artfully displayed collections make a world of difference in enhancing your home’s style.
Experiment with these thrifty upgrades first in one or two rooms to see what works best in your space. Have fun playing with different looks and swapping out accessories until you achieve a styled, designer feel on a practical budget. Get inspired by blogs, Houzz and Instagram for even more affordable decorating ideas.
With a dash of creativity and a few key inexpensive additions, I’m confident you can give your home a stylish, updated look that belies its modest price tag. What cheap decorating trick are you most excited to try first?
