Designing on a Budget
When my first roommate moved out, I was left with a very empty living room and a lot of free time. I needed to re-set my life and the first way to re-set your life is by creating an oasis at home, even with a small budget.
Designing a home you want isn't hard, it's about knowing what you want. It's taken years to get the living room I want and yes, it's taken money, but not a lot. I aim for simple colours I know will work for years instead of statement pieces I will change. I do things in pieces instead of all at once so it's not overwhelming. I am going to yarn you now, you will need time and patience, you will also need some painting capabilities.
Today I am going to show you five ways to revamp your space on budget and easy tricks to make any space feel more like yours!
I never expected to write this blog post, so apologies for the poor pictures, it was originally just for friends and family to see.
1) Paint your tables
When I moved out my parents gave me tables and as much as I want you to have new tables, those are so expensive and old solid wood will bring you a long way. I got coffee tables from 2003 and they were orange from oxidation. They were solid wood and in good shape, so I spent a weekend sanding them down and I painted them white. All in all, it took two days and some white paint which is pretty cheap.
2) Design a statement wall
Statement art pieces cost a lot of money. I know so many wonderful artists that do amazing work and as much as I want to support local, I can't go cash poor for art. It's not a priority, but I still want nice walls, so I compromised with smaller pieces.
It's so easy to pick five pieces around the same size a few smaller to make an accent wall. Just lay all your favourite pieces on the floor and rearrange for them to compliment each other. I have two pieces from Home Sense, a piece I made, and I framed some poster art from a few years ago.
Pro tip: if you get the Michaels app they always have a decent coupon and you can use it on frames for posters you like or your own art.
3) Get slip covers
I didn't really have a couch for the first few months living by myself. It sucked, but eventually, the right deal came along and some family friends were selling their couch at a reasonable price of $200 for the couch, a chair, and the ottoman. I got my slip covers on Surefit, but the site is American and I ended up paying $300 for slip covers. I suggest you get them on Wayfair.ca because the shipping is free.
You can also re-upholster things by yourself, which isn't that hard, but more work. There are some great tutorials online.
4) Change your lampshades.
The quickest way to modernize a classic lamp is with a new lamp shade. Lamps are so expensive and it's $15 for a new shade.
5) Customize Ikea furniture
I got an entertainment centre that cost $300, but had this rather large hole where a TV could go. I did not have a big TV (no I don't want one either), so my dad made some shelved from pine wood and now the piece looks complete.
I hope your designing goes well and let me know hows it goes.
Thanks for reading,
Samantha