Budget-friendly decorating ideas for a cozy home

Both challenging and rewarding, decorating an apartment on a tight budget truly does call for ingenuity. You’ll have to be twice as agile and have an eye for bargains, have a lot of time on your hands to browse antique stores for unique items, and if you’re a nature lover, draw inspiration from the outdoors. Here are some budget-friendly tips that might help you breathe new life into your apartment scene.

The most exciting part of a revamp is materializing your ingenious design ideas. Take a moment and visualize what you’d like your place to look like; then re-arrange items around the room to suit your needs and bring in some greenery; live plants are a welcome addition to any room and can give a space an entirely new look. If your apartment has big windows you’re in luck. Keep them unobstructed or use some sheer drapery for a classy feel.

Using natural materials will transform your home into a warm, cozy and inviting place. You can fill glass jars or bowls with interesting pieces you find outside like river rocks, pebbles or twigs. They will instantly add brightness and color to your décor.

If you’re living in a rental, you’ll probably want to work with what you’ve got; that’s not ideal, but hey, at least you have a starting point. You can refinish, reupholster, wallpaper or re-paint old pieces of furniture to give your home an instant appearance change. Not hard at all and the results will be worth all the trouble. You’d be amazed to see what a little inspiration combined with primer, paint and sandpaper can do to an old coffee table or shelves on a wall.

While I’m a big fan of cost-effective, do-it-yourself projects, I don’t always find the time or possess the skills to accomplish big things. This is when I turn to my artistically inclined friends. A fun idea to re-decorate is having a “remodeling party”. Think of your home as a canvas and ask your best buddies to come over for a painting job/bash. While they bring over creativity and inspiration, you’ll have to provide the raw materials; paint, brushes, plastic gloves and hats, and some homemade sandwiches from time to time to replenish energy. Ant there’s your re-design team. Not bad at all, is it?! To spice up things some more, you could organize a “best painting contest”. A little competition never hurt anyone. Besides having tons of fun, you’ll end up with a whole new place, abounding in positive oomph and warm feelings.