How To Upgrade Your Home On A Budget
Everyone has a perfectly conjured-up picture of what their dream home should look like. And now with so many home decor and interior design ideas available, you are never short of inspiration of how to style your dream home or apartment.
However, with an abundance of ideas sometimes comes a shortage of the ‘mulla’. So you can’t always buy that expensive couch, rug, or mirror and take your home where it needs to be.
The good news is you can still upgrade your space to look fancy and luxurious on a budget. Keep scrolling to find out how.
1. Add A Fresh Coat Of Paint
You’d be surprised by the wonders some fresh paint would do for your home. Painting your home is the quickest and most inexpensive way to upgrade your space. You can decide to paint yourself with a little help or call in a painter.
With painting, there are so many ways to express yourself, you can go with simple, warm, and enticing colors to match the current color scheme of the room. Or you can go for a bold contrasting color. You can also decide to paint an entire accent wall.
If the thought of painting doesn’t appeal to you, then you can always go for wallpapers.
2. Switch Up Your Hardware
“It’s the little things that matter”. This saying also makes a lot of sense in home decor as well. You don’t always have to make huge changes to your home when upgrading, you can make small changes as well. Replacing your worn-out door or cabinet knobs, and handles as well as cutlery can make quite a difference.
The best part is you can get new and inexpensive upgrades from several online marketplaces. You can find plenty of intricate knobs available on Amazon, Etsy, and other sites that would revamp any old kitchen cabinet.
If you prefer to go the DIY path, you can also spray paint your old kitchen hardware with gold, metallic, or bronze spray paint.
Want to upgrade your cutlery set? You can begin with some matte gold, silver, or black silverware. It will add a touch of vintage fancy to a perhaps boring-looking kitchen.
Supposing you like a little play on colors, then a white-gold cutlery set would definitely be a good fit for you. You can get a set in black-gold, pink-gold, rose-gold, and many other fun colors that match the style of your kitchen.
3. Time For A New Rug
When it comes to upgrading, a new rug is a major essential. It gives your home a fresh and luxurious look. I would recommend buying a large rug, as they give a more defined look to your living space. They can also serve as dividers, marking the difference between the living room and dining area.
You can go crazy when picking your new rug and still stay within your budget. If you’re looking for a bold yet beautiful and ornamental rug, you can go for an oriental-style Persian rug featuring a medallion-pattern design. They can be found on online marketplaces at bargain prices and are usually available in different colorways.
04. Throw Some Pillows
Throw pillows are an amazing way to add color, texture, and dimension to your home. They are also a great alternative for you if you’d love to change your couch but can’t afford to.
You don’t need to be an expert to style your sofa with throw pillows. When picking your pillows, all you have to know is that they don’t have to match. Whether in color, size, or pattern. However, they do have to blend in, so pick colors that go well together.
For example, magenta + violet + mustard yellow or brown + milk + dark blue. The color combinations are endless, so it’s up to you to decide which you find more alluring. You can also pick pillows with different patterns (floral, polka dot, etc.) or sceneries.
Again – the pillows don’t have to match, you can mix round, square, or cylindrical pillows. The possibilities are unceasing. Out of everything you can do to upgrade your home, adding throw pillows is one option you’d have the most fun with.
05. Style Up Your Coffee Table
The key to having a perfectly styled coffee table is to maintain balance. Everything should be in moderation– there shouldn’t be too much of this or that.
Some tips to implement while styling your coffee table are:
- Divide your table into grids (this is best applicable to rectangular/square tables);
- Items placed on the table shouldn’t be on the same eye level;
- Tabletop items should have colors that contrast with the table;
- Leave enough space.
To make things pretty simple and green, you can style your table by placing a plant in the middle. Or you can place flowers, which you should change regularly to emanate an air of freshness.
You can also make it personal by styling your coffee table with items that tell a story. Coffee table books, cloches, candles, and candle holders – all of these will work if nicely arranged. Don’t go overboard and make sure that the set is harmonious and not chaotic.
06. Upgrade Your Shelves
Your shelves are a great way to take your home from a 5 to a 10. Add some books and a few other items like vases, ceramic plates, knick-knacks, and collectibles. Make sure each of these items goes well together and they shouldn’t have more than three colors.
Just like with the coffee table, everything shouldn’t be at the same eye level. If you aren’t a fan of a regular bookshelf, then you can opt for a floating shelf. You can add a couple to the wall and place them strategically so there’s enough space between them and they add to the room’s overall aesthetic.
It’s best to get floating shelves in muted tones as they are easier to style and don’t upset the aura of the room. A wonderful idea to vintage-upgrade your space is by getting an old, Victorian-style shelf that will make a statement piece for your living room. You can go thrifting for one in a number of places from street fairs and garage sales to online marketplaces.
07. Recreate Your Lighting
The way your home is lit plays an essential role in the home’s ambiance. The kind of lights and even bulbs used are key to ensuring everything looks put together.
To begin you should be replacing your current bulbs with Edison bulbs. Online you can easily find a set of bulbs hovering around $20 or so. They will instantly add a retro feel to pretty much any space.
If you still want to take your lighting game to an ethereal level, try wall sconces or pendant lights. You could even use both!
