Skip to Content

The Top 5 Tips for Decorating on a Tight Budget

If you came to my home right now, you would notice I like the farmhouse look. Things aren’t perfectly tidy, but I like to keep things light and flowy. A few more visits to my home and you would think I bought all new decor. Not quite.

The thing that makes me different than most of the others, is I get it on clearance, or I continue to use what I have. I hate paying a ton of money for home decor.

It is possible to give in your love of decorating your home on a tight budget. I have been doing it for years and to this day I still can not pay full price for something.

I love to scroll through Pinterest for inspiration on decorating. I’m not a fan of clicking through the posts to find out how much the items cost.

I thought I was moments away from a new home makeover. But that beautiful Galvanized horse tank they are using for their raised garden beds is actually $95. And we would need four or five. Now I’m at $500 plus the soil to fill, and the seeds. Well, we know starting your own seeds is the frugal way. But that cost? Not something I want to do on our debt free journey.

If you feel the pain of posts like that, stick around my blog. I can’t afford that stuff, and I don’t want to pay that much.

Since I work from home, the majority of my time is here. I like to make it cozy and rearrange things. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

But if it is yours, here are 5 quick tips to help you decorate on a tight budget.

Fabric Coverups

tips for decorating on a tight budget
I bought these slipcovers that worked great for kids. Once a week I’d throw them in the wash with bleach.

Is your couch disgusting? The kid’s stains are all over. The dog slobber and whatnot? If you change one piece of furniture in a room you’ll feel better. You may be thinking one piece of furniture isn’t going to help.

Try it. Let’s take your couch. Maybe it just needs a good deep clean. Let me tell you Resolve spray does wonders and makes micro fabric couches sparkle again. ( I got the chair slipcovers (4) on Amazon for $20 here.)

tips for decorating on a tight budget


But after all that, you may be feeling like the color needs to go. This is where you can get an inexpensive slipcover. They have come a long way. Like everything in our world, the options are overwhelming for everything. You can see the before and after of our couch here.

Wayfair is one of my favorite sites to keep an eye out for deals. But I have a whole post here on how I did this for $20. That’s right the slipcovers I found were brand new for $20. Read that here.

For $20 you can give your furniture a new look. You can do this for chairs and more.

Read or Pin: How to Stop Dog Hair From Getting Stuck to the Bottom of Your Chair

Swap Curtains

Swap out or add curtains. If you have roman shades, consider picking up some curtains from Walmart to give your room a little character. I have found Walmart’s curtains to be an excellent quality and a super price.

tips for decorating on a tight budget

We are in the middle of finally updating our bedroom. I’m amazed at what a difference curtains make. We’ve had these super old roman shades that give the room a completely different feel. Sorry, the lighting is awful, another thing that needs updating.

READ or PIN: How to Update Your Home With Lighting

Walmart’s home decor, and clothing is taking a turn, and it’s incredible. ( The Scoop line is fantastic.) Take curtains from one room to the next and see what happens.

Rearrange

tips for decorating on a tight budget

Use what you have. It’s such a simple thought, but I don’t see many people talking about it. If you have an accent table in your kitchen, move it to your dining room. It’s incredible how you can rearrange things and feel like they are brand new.

tips for decorating on a tight budget

I moved the table I painted from the dining room to the office. Turned it into a little homework area. The chair was already in the office and it matched the table. The kids loved it and did their homework right away to try out the “new ” table.

I put the cart that was in our kitchen where the table was.

Our minds become so used to seeing things just as they are in the home. When we change things up we notice, and we think it’s new.

We have tried to incorporate pieces from our old barn throughout our home. We topped it off with an accidental FREE DIY coaster find.

Read or Pin: How we Made a Bar Wall Out of Barn Wood

I have a whole post on some of the items I had moved around doing this and more tips on how to use what you have here.

tips for decorating on a tight budget
I like to keep these two green wreaths to swap throughout the year.

Wreaths

I like to keep three wreaths that can be interchanged throughout the seasons. When I switch a wreath from the kitchen to the living room, it’s a whole new fresh feeling.

If you don’t have a classic wreath to use, go for the classic Boxwood. I got mine at TJmaxx. Target has smaller ones too for $10. Another classic I use constantly is the wood wreath like this one.

Paint your Furniture

chalk paint table makeover

I decided to paint our dining room table and the buffet table. I was so tired of the dark, outdated wood. I got both of these pieces used. I didn’t want to waste my great deal. I bought chalk paint from Walmart and went to town. I have the post here if you are curious.

Start with a small piece and go for chalk paint if you are nervous about painting. I feel like chalk paint is very forgiving.

Check out our DIY Kitchen Makeover with just painting the cabinets.

DIY Isn’t always cheaper.

I’m sorry, but making it yourself is not always cheaper in today’s world. Today it seems like retailers can’t keep up with the constant packaging changes, items not selling fast enough. The clearance is everywhere, and it’s only getting better.

If you start to look for clearance at every store you shop at, you’ll find it. If you are thinking right now, ” I haven’t noticed any.” That’s because you weren’t looking. Give it a try next time you are out. I have a few stores that constantly have clearance and are my favorites in a post here.

Check out my Dollar General Recent Clearance Haul Here.

What are you excited to try in your home?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.