5 home decor on a budget ideas

On a shoestring budget? You can still create a space that looks like a million bucks with KSL Homes' budget decorating ideas. Choose your theme, adjust your rose-colored glasses and open your coin purse. We’re going shopping!

1. Shop at home

Actually, before heading to the store, do a little browsing around your own home. Give new life to your burned out decor simply by rearranging items. Move your plants, baskets, candles, books and other decorative items into different rooms. The vase on the fireplace looks surprisingly different when it’s full of flowers on the piano. That rug in the living room you’re tired of? Place it under the dining room table. Use your cake plate to hold a small stack of books in seasonal colors (red covers for February, green for March). Switching up where you see a favorite piece can rekindle the flame. Ah, new love.

2. Add some color

If you’re tired of your basic gray or boring brown couch, you don’t need to throw it out. Make it feel new again by adding a few colorful accent pillows or a throw blanket. Use varying textures — fuzzy, soft, nubby — to create more dimension and interest. You can completely change the theme of a room with pillows — bold patterns for bohemian, geometric shapes and lines for modern or dainty flowers for classic. 

Even better? You don’t need to buy new pillows. Update the ones that came with your sofa — or pick up deeply discounted ones that only your grandmother would buy. Pop on a pillow cover, and no one is the wiser. Covers are usually less than half the price of a pillow, so you can feel comfortable switching them out anytime you want a refresh. And you can toss them in the washing machine so they smell fresh, too. Save even more by making covers yourself out of vintage pillowcases or tablecloths. 

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3. Collect art prints

Original artwork is generally too expensive when you’re budget decorating, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things. Consider art prints. We’re not talking band or cat posters that filled your teenage bedroom walls. Prints are quality reproductions of original artwork, printed on fine surfaces such as canvas or archival paper. These won’t be serious investment pieces, but that also means you won’t need to be fully committed to them, either. Honestly, it’s kind of exhilarating to be daring with your decor without the threat of buyer’s remorse. 

4. Create an accent-uated wall

Another way to quickly and cheaply change your room’s look is adding texture, pattern or color to your walls. And you don’t need expensive molding or carpentry skills to do it. To create depth, pick up dozens of picture frames, paint them your existing wall color and hang them as a gallery piece. They’re usually only a dollar or two each, so you can get a basketful for chump change.

Patterned, removable wallpaper immediately creates visual interest in a room. It can get expensive, though. If you're budget conscious, use it on a small wall, on an accent table or even as artwork in a picture frame.

Of course, just painting a room can make it pop. Paint over your beige, white or gray walls with a trending color such as magenta, periwinkle blue or tangerine. Instant glam! Not that brave? Paint the interior of your bookshelves. 

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5. Go thrifting

After scoping out ideas from Pinterest and your local big box store, shop your local thrift shop, home discount stores and KSL Classifieds for something similar … but much more budget friendly. As you shop, look at the bones of a piece — is the shape attractive? For instance, a dining chair or nightstand can be easily turned into a modern piece with a fresh coat of paint and new hardware. Turn an armoire or china cabinet into a craft closet with a bit of paint and an assortment of storage bins. Or repurpose an old ladder into a bathroom towel rack. Clever is cool, which your friends will call you when you show off your carefully crafted home.

Cheap interior decorating ideas don’t have to be boring. In fact, sticking with a small budget can inspire your creativity. It’s also a chance to try decor styles you may not have considered. Whether you’re looking for a fixer-upper, a new build or something in between, search KSL Homes for the house you can decorate to a T, without breaking the bank.