Decorating a Small Home on a Budget

Today, I’m sharing parenting tips on decorating a small home.  Whether you’ve moved to a smaller home because of financial constraints, kids have moved out, or because the house was too big, you still have to make sure the new place looks good. You’ll want to create a homey feel, give it a personal touch and make it is a special place you’ll love coming back to at the end of the day.

Decorating a small house on a budget needs careful deliberations. You don’t want to make the house look cluttered, and at the same time, you want to stay within your budget.  

 

 

decorating a small home

 

Decorating a Small Home

 

Consider the Cost of Installation and Maintenance of Projects

Some home spruce-up ideas are easy to install but require more maintenance which means you’ll use more money in the long run. Other ideas might not use up a lot of your money, but they need a lot of time to install.. 

Curb appeal is important regardless of the size of your house.  One way to spruce-up your home is  artificial grass installation. The grass will look good throughout the year and doesn’t need any watering, fertilizer, or mowing. It’s the perfect lawn alternative if you don’t want to take care of a garden or lawn or don’t have the time.

Another consideration for your curb appeal is paint.  A good paint will serve an aesthetic purpose, but it should be durable.  Especially, if you have a pet or small kids. Select oil-based paints instead of water-based ones because oil-based is more durable. For the outdoors, choose exterior paints.  They’ll withstand harsh weather elements such as the sun, rain, and snow.

 

Prioritize Storage Space When Decorating a Small Home

When downsizing, storage space will be at a premium.  To avoid cluttering the house, utilize all of your storage space, but keep it organized.

Consider installing cubby holes around your bedrooms or even under the bed.  Furthermore, an excellent idea when maximizing storage space is using furniture with hidden storage. For instance, use a chest of drawers for storage or old an TV armoire.  

Install a linen cabinet under your bathroom sink and add wall-mounted shelves. It will give you additional storage space and keep everything clutter-free and organized. 

 

Control Your Buying Habits

Space is the primary consideration when buying new items for your smaller home. Too much will make the place look cluttered and will affect the mood. So, think about your space when you’re purchasing new furniture or if you really need the item.  Being more selective with what you buy will also save you money

 

 

 

decorating a small home

 

Prioritize Lighting

A small dark space tends to feel even smaller and dull. Good lighting can significantly affect the mood, especially when you’re living in a smaller home.

Ensure all rooms have adequate lighting by having light fixtures or opening up dark corners. You can open rooms or add more windows to let in more light. Also, use accent pieces such as LED lights, candles, and lamps strategically placed at corners or above storage units.

When decorating a small house, make a small space look larger by adding mirrors. Mirrors aren’t just for decoration and vanity anymore, but they can create an illusion of a larger area. If you have a small hallway or staircase, place a mirror in the wall opposite to see if it gives off an optical illusion that makes the place look bigger and brighter. 

 

Decorating a Small House Requires Quality

Although budget is a significant factor, always go for quality products and services even when they cost more. For instance, dealing with contractors and other service providers that are less expensive doesn’t mean they don’t deliver quality. 

Today, I’m sharing tips on decorating a small house.  You’ll eventually spend more when you have to get them to come over for repairs or look for someone else to repeat the job. For example, if a contractor specializes in renovations or carpentry work instead of painting, don’t let them handle paintwork to save on expenses. 

You can also apply the same strategy when hiring a professional cleaner. Instead of hiring cheaper ones, go for cleaning services with high ratings and positive reviews to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth. It will save you a lot of stress in the long run and protect your valuables. The same goes when choosing paint. It’s always worth spending a little extra money on paint that will last longer.

 

 

decorating a small house

 

Give The Home a Personal Touch

Do you have a particular theme or color scheme that you can’t seem to shake off? The idea is to decorate the home with furniture and other items in colors and patterns that you love. It will make your home reflect your personality, making you feel happier with the results. 

However, don’t overdo it. Ensure you have a balance between what you can afford and what makes you happy. You can also throw in some extra colors with accents such as paintings, decorative pillows, lamps, flowers, and plants. 

Don’t be afraid to mix patterns or color.  They can create a bold look and make your decor stand out.  

Also, decorate by room instead of doing it for the entire home. It will make styling less expensive and less stressful. It will also give each room the intended personality. You’ll be happier with the result, and it will also be easier to change the design. 

Unique Interior Design Features For Your Home

 

unique interior design features

 

Any parent knows keeping the interior of your home spic and span is difficult.  It’s almost impossible when you have little ones running around.  However, that hasn’t stopped the population from adding uniquedoing home improvements.  The nation spent $152 billion last year remodeling their living areas.  More and more families are installing fun and unique features to provide entertainment.  Furthermore, they’re looking for a calming ambience and much needed storage space.  So, whether you’re looking to update your property on a budget or go all out, there’s a family friendly feature that’s perfect for you.

 

Indoor water features

Indoor water features for the home are a great way of creating a tranquil and peaceful environment.  It’s a perfect way for tired kids and tantrum throwing toddlers to relax and calm down.  Another option is to install a indoor water table for your offspring to play in. Water games and activities are particularly beneficial for a child’s development and can improve their gross motor skills.  Additionally, it helps with hand and eye coordination. It’s also an effective way for youngsters to get creative and have fun.

 Interior Design tips

Unique bookcase and storage 

Lack of storage is a problem in many households.  Children usually have toys, games, books and knick knacks which all need a home.  Installing clever storage options are the perfect solution.  Chairs and seating areas can be cleverly designed to incorporate storage within them.  Storage can installed in the arms and underneath the cushion.  Alternatively, the area beneath your staircase could be converted into a bookshelf.  Everyone can quickly and easily access a book when they wish.  Unique interior design features can be created for individual homes.

 

Fun & games 

Your home is where you and your family spend time together.  So, why not make it as fun and family friendly.   A useful feature to also add is a chalkboard wall.  Grown ups will find it useful to keep shopping lists and memos.  The little ones will love creating their own designs with chalk.  If you have room, an indoor slide and or swings are another option.  The swing and slide will keep the kids busy during bad weather.

It’s important to get the interior design of your home right.  Unique interior design features like water fountains, clever bookcases, and storage units are great for families.  Additionally, fun indoor items like slides are an excellent way to bring the whole family together as well.

How to Decorate a Dorm Room On a Budget

 

how to decorate a dorm room

 

Student life is anything but easy.  Making new friends, checking things off your bucket list and living like there’s no tomorrow.  College life brings all this and much more.  However, it also brings financial difficulties. You are expected to survive on the allowance that you get from home.  As a result, you cannot afford everything that you desire.

We have several solutions when it comes to creating a comfortable living space.  So, it is not essential for you to ask for more money than you already get.  What matters is how you manage the resources that you currently have. You can adopt several money-saving techniques to ensure that your funds do not run dry.

One of the easiest ways to save money is to look for cheap student accommodations. Instead of living in an apartments, you could choose to live in homestays or shared dorms.  You would be able to split the rent and if lucky, even cover your meals in the rent amount.

Another important tip is to look for DIYs instead of purchasing everything retail.  For instance, instead of purchasing retail explore DIY options.  Check out our tips on how to decorate a dorm room on a budget:

1.     Thrift shopping

Scan through thrift shops or flea markets for out of the box household items like antique candle holders, scented dried flowers, hand carved bowls and even rugs. These items will not only be unique but will also come at a very reasonable price as compared to regular showrooms.

 

Thrift Store Ideas

Source

2.     Use Old Records

Get hold of some junky, old records from the flea markets and hang them on the wall. You could hang them all in a single line or create patterns. You could also add an extra edge to them by adding color or painting them. If you are a music lover looking to add a vintage touch to your room, this could be an excellent idea.

3.     Use Photo Collages

The idea of decorating your dorm room with photo collages can never go wrong. It adds a personal touch to your room, and helps you feel connected with your loved ones. Get a few pictures printed and simply tape them to your walls to create a collage.  Also, if you want to be more creative, use lights to create your own little space of happy memories.  You could even get personalized messages from friends and stick them adjacent to their respective photographs. Just looking at these pictures could help you de-stress after a long day at school.

4.     Hang a Tapestry

A tapestry prevents your room from looking dull as it occupies a lot of space. It often becomes the center of attraction. You could look for cheap options in a thrift shop or even create your own tapestry. So, what are you waiting for? Get your creative hat on and create a beautiful piece to hang in your room.

5.     Use Wrapping Paper

How to decorate a dorm room with wrapping paper you wonder?  First, know that wrapping paper is multipurpose. Choose to cover one of the walls of your room with wrapping paper to spice it up a little.  You could even create decorative items using wrapping paper. Use wrapping sheets to create photo-frames, DIY wall décor and lots more.

6.     Hang Maps

Maps can be bought from any stationery shop at extremely affordable prices.  When you’re thinking about how to decorate a dorm room, think about using maps.  They can help in decorating your room with minimum effort. Especially if you are a traveler or a geography-enthusiast, this idea should work wonderfully well for you. Just choose one wall in your dorm room to paste maps of different parts of the world on. You may use dart pins to point out places to visit on your bucket list. You may even hang pictures from trips made to places previously to show how much you have already travelled. Check out these cool DIY Map décor ideas.

7.     Canopy Bed

If you wish to add a majestic feel to your dorm room, a canopy bed can really up the game for you. Do not worry; we do not expect you to do away with your old bed for this. You could make a canopy for your old bed. We’ll tell you how. Go to a place that sells sheer fabric, you could choose the pattern as per your liking. Make sure it is wide enough to wrap around the perimeter of the bed. Stick the fabric to the ceiling such that it hangs down beautifully into a half canopy. You could even use 4 hooks and tie a string to connect them all. Then add the fabric to all four corners and Voila! You’re set. If you are in the mood to experiment even more, add fairy lights to create a magical appeal.

8.     Use Bright Bedding

One thing that can truly add color and flavor to your dorm room is a bright piece of bedding. Get your hands on unique yet affordable pillow cases. Use bed sheets that are vibrant and go well with the walls of your room. If you have a roommate, you could coordinate the beddings so as to help the dorm look bright and cheerful.

Finally, we hope that you find our tips on how to decorate a dorm room helpful.  Have searching for thrift ideas and be creative.

Author Bio:  Bella Williams

As an academic researcher & private tutor, Bella guides the new age professionals and students with their career. A graduate from Monash University, Bella organizes free coaching workshops and promotes free sharing of knowledge. You can also find her on LinkedIn. https://iambaker.net/sugar-cookie-christmas-wreath/