Decorating Your Apartment: The Easy and Inexpensive Way

Whether you are just moving into a new apartment or getting tired of the same old look you have on your loft, decorating your apartment is a fun project you could undertake.  Decorating your new place or redecorating an old one does not have to be a fussy or overwhelming experience that involves a lot of cash.  You can do it easily and inexpensively!

Here’s how:

1. Know your budget. Sit and ask yourself honestly just how much you are willing to spend for a decorating project.  This will help limit the countless, and oftentimes overwhelming, design choices you have.  This also helps you make sure that you do not end up with a half refurbished or partly decorated apartment because you ran out of funds.

2. Have an idea of what you want your apartment to look like. Browse design or home improvement magazines to get design concepts. Develop or create a design or decorating philosophy or style.  Are you comfortable with a classic or traditional look? Alternatively, would you like to have a modern or neo-modern minimalist living space?

List down all the things that you will need.  From the basics to the icing on the cake, you should have an inventory of the things or the materials you would be utilizing.

3. Spread the word. Tell your family and friends that you are trying to decorate your apartment and enlist their help.  You may have friends who are good at carpentry, or whom you can commission for certain personalized artworks like paintings or sculptures.  Ask around for anybody who might have furniture that they no longer use.  Call them and ask if they could give these to you or sell it at a discount.  With a concrete idea of what you want your apartment to look like, you can figure out which pieces to take and which to leave.  In the end, they will thank you for freeing up their storage space, while you get free or discounted furniture.

4. Check out what is available. If you need more pieces, you can check out the Salvation Army or yard sales to see what would fit your decoration and design philosophy.  This would help you cut down on purchasing brand new and expensive pieces of furniture, artwork or keepsakes and mementos.

5. You could also take a look at the things you have in your house. Will your current sofa do for your new decorations?  You may need to repair or re-upholster them, but these are just like polishing old photo frames or painting them to make them more suitable.  Do you have art collections that you could frame?  Paint, polish, varnish or refurbish anything that you have in the attic or the garage that you could use in your new living space or any new room in the house.

6. Be creative. Look at various ways you could spruce up and re-purpose old things that you have.  For example, clean oddly shaped and interesting bottles and fill them up with colored water, and arrange them on a table top to create a beautiful array of display pieces.  Perhaps you could fill old jars with different colors of beads or beans.  Convert old ashtrays into potpourri holders.  The secret is to be creative with whatever materials that you have.  You’d be surprised to discover that when it comes to decorations and curiosities for the home, you don’t necessarily need to buy them all.

7. Have a party! If you have just moved in, you may want to have a housewarming party.  You can sign up at your local retailer to use their registries, listing down the things you need or want, and your friends can give them as housewarming presents.

8. Go DIY. If you have the talent for woodworking, maybe you could fashion a nice looking bench that you could use in your living room, or perhaps an accompanying table or two.  There are also shops that sell DIY furniture kits that have been pre-cut and are easy to assemble or put together.

9. Be sure that all elements you put in, will fit together and match your design philosophy. In getting your new decorations and furniture from a lot of different sources, you may have items that won’t look good together.  A good way to avoid this is to know what you want and having an idea of how the redecorated apartment or room would look like the overall.  If you still get stuck with mismatched furniture, try to determine if you could paint them to have them of the same color or stain.  If not, try to rearrange things around a bit.  Or you could mix and match by putting different things together for a more eclectic look.

With creativity and a good eye for aesthetics, you don’t need to spend so much just so you can come up with a stylish home.  Beautiful rooms don’t need to cause you an arm and a leg.  Just use whatever resources you have and use your imagination, too.