Tips for Decorating Your Home on a Budget
Two years ago, my husband and I were newlyweds and had just moved into our first one-bedroom apartment together. We spent the better part of that first year researching and shopping for the best bargains for furniture and home decor, and it brought my heart so much joy to have the freedom to arrange and decorate a place that would be our safe haven. We learned a lot throughout the process, like how to budget, when to buy new or used, and how to get creative with making a space both cozy and functional.
We all want the most aesthetically-pleasing homes, but often don’t have the financial means to make them happen. Sometimes we don’t even know where or how to start. It’s definitely not an overnight process, but it most certainly is possible to create the space of your dreams with just a little bit of savvy research, shopping, and even DIY-ing.Here are some tips for building your own home without breaking the bank:
1- Find Your Style.
Back when I lived in a pre-furnished student apartment with roommates, I didn’t really have a particular style. I just hung photos everywhere and tried to keep things tidy. In my first real apartment, however, I looked to Pinterest to get an idea of how I would want my home to look. I created a board for apartment hunting tips and home decor, and little by little I was able to envision what I wanted. You can do the same with any style you’re looking for, and trust me, there are quite a few options out there. There’s traditional, rustic, chic, minimal, bohemian, industrial, eclectic- you name it! If you want to have a space that looks put together, it’s important to define the style you want for yourself in advance before you buy things. I believe in the saying “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail”. This applies to decorating because if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, you could waste a lot of money on different pieces of furniture and decor that don’t go well together. In essence, creating a vision board is the first big step for planning. You can also take online quizzes to see what interior design style best suits you. Here’s an example of one: https://www.modsy.com/design-style-quiz/.
Below are some screenshots of what my Pinterest board looked like. As you can see, I was collecting images that included wooden accents, modern grey furniture, with hints of warm tones like terra cotta. Of course, you can use other means of researching interior design styles whether from magazines or printing images from the internet to put on an physical flat surface such as a poster board, cork board, or journal. Whatever helps you find your style, as long as you take steps to find it.
What I looked at on Pinterest versus what I designed after:
2- Set a Budget.
This one can be really tricky when you’re first starting out. I’ll admit that I had a bit of a decorating fever in the beginnings stages of moving; I was so excited to dive in that I often lost sight of the costs of things (which definitely add up over time). I can’t tell you how often my husband frowned at our grocery cart and made me remove a plant or two, or how often I managed to convince him to let me keep the whole haul while our bank account shed figurative tears. It’s important to realistically assess how much you plan on spending on home decor and furniture or you’ll run into financial trouble later. Remember that while it’s great to make your home feel like home, you have to find a balance to avoid being overly materialistic (a great reminder for myself first). Setting a strict budget for yourself in the beginning can help with that. You can either set a large number in the beginning and buy everything you want/need at once, or set smaller amounts per month and take your time to find separate items. My husband and I took the second option, which I would recommend because it gave us time to research and think twice before we bought anything. This brings me to my next point:
3- Shop Everywhere Before You Buy.
Whether shopping for a new/old furniture or even just a photo frame, don’t buy the first thing you see at a store. Take your time and do research. The first few weeks of my home decorating venture consisted of hours of shopping online and comparing prices. Then I would spend time visiting several stores like Ross, HomeGoods,Target, Walmart, and Ikea. For certain items like our couch and bed, I bought online from Wayfair, but only because we couldn’t find what we wanted after visiting several furniture stores. If you want something that is high-end, see if there are cheaper dupes elsewhere! And if all else fails, don’t be scared of tackling a DIY project to recreate an expensive item. You’d be surprised at what you can achieve with some tools and spray paint. I also would not underestimate shopping for used items from Craigslist, thrift stores, or using apps like Offerup. We scored lots of great used items like our dining table and office chair.
4- Aim for Function and Form.
My first apartment was a one-bedroom and there wasn’t a lot of storage space. We had to get really creative with finding decor that helped double as storage. Here are three ways you can achieve this:
1- Cubicle and Ladder Shelves: Load your shelves with whatever items you need stored, whether it’s books, binders, supplies, or even kitchen items like teapots or a grill set. Make sure it’s organized neatly and then dress up the shelves with plants, framed photos, and whatever home decor items you have. Now you have functional and pretty storage spaces.
2- Peg Boards and Wall Shelves: If you don’t have a lot of space on the ground, work your way up the walls! I bought a Peg Board for cheap from the local hardware store and had Rayan glue wooden blocks to each corner so he could nail them to the wall. Then I inserted baskets and organized my art supplies in them. We also nailed small wall shelves throughout our home and put home decor pieces on them.
3- Storage Furniture: If you have too many pillows or blankets, or maybe just need some extra storage to hide things from guests, get a couch that has multiple functions. Our Wayfair couch tripled as a regular couch, sleeper sofa, and a storage unit! It came in really handy for having guests over while also holding items inside it. Plus, it looked very modern and aesthetically-pleasing. You can also do this with ottomans or indoor benches.
An Inside Look at My First Home:
Rayan and I strived to piece together a space that provided the comforts of a home but with the creative expression of two artists in their respective mediums (me with my art supplies, and him with his cameras and digital equipment). Our vision in concrete “interior design” terms has been modern-bohemian. For us this meant incorporating modern furniture with lots of plants, wooden details, candles, bookshelves, and some eccentric accents that give the place more personality. At bottom is a small gallery of photos with links for some of the items (or similar products) that we purchased for our first home.
The Living Room
As young newlyweds, we had to be smart shoppers to find the best deals for our furniture. We got our pull-out couch from Wayfair for about $550 (it’s perfect for overnight guests and even includes a storage space in the L-shaped part). Our coffee table was from Ikea for only $30. My favorite part of this space is the framed Etsy prints on the wall featuring a map of Kurdistan, Rabat, and the night sky of the date we had our wedding reception. My other favorite part is the Moroccan pouf on the floor- a small accent that speaks worlds to where I’m from and how I’m tying my roots to the current western culture I am unmistakably a part of.
I’m quite proud of how everything came together in the living room, from the tribal-themed pillows, the coffee table with its slab of wood and resting candle, and the TV stand with its various plants. Of course, the cherry on top, almost quite literally, is the hanging globe lights, which were another wedding registry gift. Since there wasn’t an electrical light source in the living room space (only in the dining room area), we resorted to hanging the lights across the living room, and plugged them in the outlet connected to the light source so that they turn on whenever we press the switch. It gives our space a sort of fairytale, romantic feel. It’s especially comforting when my husband and I eat our dinners in the living room under the string lights and light candles. It’s the simple pleasures of life that make it worth it.
The Studio
Next to the living room is my pride and joy: my art studio. It features a double desk from our wedding registry on Amazon, a corner wall shelf, and a pegboard we installed ourselves. My goal with this new studio is for it to be as organized as possible, especially since it was now going to be shared between my husband and I. The pegboard we bought from ACE hardware store has come in handy with clearing desk space and organizing supplies, and can even make a decorative appearance if organized properly. I installed hooks to hang up my tubes of paint and miscellaneous supplies like my ruler, lint roller (to wipe away eraser bits on my desk when I’m drawing), and packaging tape. I also installed shelves for holding containers of brushes and markers.
The Bedroom
They say that your bedroom is your sanctuary, and I wholeheartedly agree with this. I tried to make our bedroom a modern bohemian oasis by including lots of plants on our shelves and combining white and grey furniture. Our platform bed was from Wayfair for about $200-400 (can’t remember the exact amount). We got our nightstands and dresser from Ikea for a great price as well. I tried to keep a consistent color scheme with white, grey, and matte black and I love how the terra cotta pots and green plants added pops of color. At night, I turn on the oil diffuser on the nightstand to soothe myself to sleep with the scent of lavender or spearmint. Gotta do what you can to take care of yourself and feel at home.
By no means was setting up all of this easy, but I can say it was certainly fun and rewarding. Rayan and I spent a lot of hours on the floor of our living room assembling and arranging furniture. The hard part was doing while still studying full-time and working part-time. In hindsight, however, we’ve made a lot of memories and bonded over building our life together, one piece at a time. And to that end, it’s always worth it. Here’s to creating more in the future, insha’Allah.
Your Turn!
What were the challenges you faced when you moved into your first home and how did you overcome them? What tips do you have for decorating a home on a budget?