Freshening up your home doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of creativity and some elbow grease. If you’re willing to undertake such tasks, we have a few ideas to help you start changing your home on a budget!
1. Refinish Your Old Dresser
Bring new life to your old dresser with a simple refinishing. It’s one of the easiest DIY projects you can do. All you need is to sand it down and apply a fresh coat of paint. If you’re not confident with a paint brush, you can use a spray paint instead. This helps to make the finish appear more consistent.
2. Have a Focal Point
A focal point is that one item that takes center attention in the room. This can be helpful if you want to take away the focus from your least favorite decor items.
It can be a large framed wall art, a brightly colored dresser, or a statement rug. Just be sure you don’t mix and match carelessly as this can make the room look incohesive.
3. ReUpholster the Sofa
You don’t need a brand new sofa to make your living room look new again. High quality furniture will have good bones to them so it would be a waste to throw them away. If you have it reupholstered with new fabric, a couch can change your entire room. For the best results, be specific about the design you want from the direction of the fabric to the size of the welt.
I am the first one to tell you that I am not good at projects that take days or weeks to finish. If I start something, I want it finished that same day. Zero patience. I also don’t sew – I can, I just don’t – hubby enjoys doing that. So I was really thrilled to see this no sew video above on reupholstering a chair. I have a recliner that is in need of some serious help and this looks like something I can actually do!
4. Rethink Your Layout
Another easy way to change the design of your home is by rearranging the furniture. By now you’re probably used to where everything is placed that you can’t imagine arranging it any other way. But, you might just be able to find a new layout that works better than your old one.
This requires an open mind on your part so start by looking at your space with a fresh pair of eyes. What’s the first thing you want to see? What is your ideal foot traffic? How accessible do certain items need to be? These are some questions you want to think about when rearranging your furniture.
See: 10 Best Free Online Virtual Room Programs and Tools
Once you have a good idea of what you want, get the measurements of the pieces you want to move and utilize room layout apps for playing around with different arrangements.
5. Play with Different Color Palettes
You can try out different color palettes by changing up the fabrics and accessories of your decor.
For instance, you can change your textiles such as your throw pillows and rugs and put together a color scheme that you like. Pick two to three colors that work with your current place and switch it up until you achieve your desired aesthetic.
A 2020 Interior Color Trends According to Designers survey states that design is moving in a new direction. Moodier hues are trending, those dark, rich colors that make you feel all warm and cozy, the colors that turn your home into the retreat you’re craving. Dark is the new neutral my friends. If you really want to get ahead of the game, check out the color trends for 2021 from Behr.
6. Give It Away or Sell It
Changing up your home’s design can mean eliminating that one furniture or decor that doesn’t fit anymore. Maybe it’s a lamp that sticks out like a sore thumb or a bulky couch that makes the room feel cramped. Just because you’ve had these items for long, doesn’t mean you have to keep it.
Give it away or sell it on places like Facebook marketplace. You might even be able to come up with enough money from it to buy a more appropriate furniture in place of your old one.
7. Repaint your Walls
For a tried and tested way of changing the look of your room, repaint your walls in a new shade. It’s very easy to do but has a great impact on making a space look new again.
For this, you’ll want to swatch different shades first to see how they look on your wall.
Which of these tips are you going to apply in your home? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
