I have lived in my rental house now for a year and a half, and while my house looked clean and cute... I was ready to do some major upgrading!
I'm very tight with money on decorating because I tend to change my mind frequently on what color scheme/theme I want to do in each room. So I have made an effort to put more of the money into things I can change up the rooms by keeping some essentials.
I believe it is alright to dish out some money on good quality stuff if you are planning on keeping it for a while, better than having to replace cheap quality stuff every year.
But I love the bright colors and really am not digging the white walls that come in our rental home so I have found some ways to add some color and make your house look great on a budget!
Pinterst is a huge help for this type of thing, if you are not familiar with it, I highly recommend making a profile so you can get so many ideas to give your home the best potential!
TIP- Check the app store on your phone to see if the stores in your area have an app, most of the time they will have extra coupons to those "VIP" customers! Cartwheel is Target's shopping discount app and holy cow, talk about good savings! Kirkland's has an app called "Spin to Win" where you can get a coupon every day! Michael's and Hobby Lobby always have a 40% off coupon on their app also. So before you go shopping- do your homework and find the deals!
1. Color Schemes!! A very successful way to decorate your home like a PRO is to pick a general color scheme AND STICK TO IT! Pinterest (or google) has a million different ideas for color schemes. Usually they will consist of 5 or so colors that will accent each other! When trying to decide a color scheme, keep some things into consideration! Find a color scheme that will incorporate your couch color if you plan on keeping your couch/sofa set.
TIP- Check the app store on your phone to see if the stores in your area have an app, most of the time they will have extra coupons to those "VIP" customers! Cartwheel is Target's shopping discount app and holy cow, talk about good savings! Kirkland's has an app called "Spin to Win" where you can get a coupon every day! Michael's and Hobby Lobby always have a 40% off coupon on their app also. So before you go shopping- do your homework and find the deals!
OKAY Let's get to it!
1. Color Schemes!! A very successful way to decorate your home like a PRO is to pick a general color scheme AND STICK TO IT! Pinterest (or google) has a million different ideas for color schemes. Usually they will consist of 5 or so colors that will accent each other! When trying to decide a color scheme, keep some things into consideration! Find a color scheme that will incorporate your couch color if you plan on keeping your couch/sofa set.
(For example; my couch happens to be sage green so I had to pick a color scheme that would flow with that green shade. Obviously bright vibrant colors wouldn't work for me! On pinterest I searched "sage green color schemes" and found one that I decided to work with!) That is just a way to start off your quest! :)
2. Style! Once you pick your colors, pick what kind of style you want to decorate your home! There are many different styles and picking a style that you gravitate towards will help you figure out what kind of decor may be fitting in your home! This pic-guide helps give an idea of some styles, this is just one example of what that style may look like- it varies, and these examples are pretty extreme but it helps direct in which way you want to go!
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| (Pic cred-theeberspatchers.blogspot.com) |
2. Style! Once you pick your colors, pick what kind of style you want to decorate your home! There are many different styles and picking a style that you gravitate towards will help you figure out what kind of decor may be fitting in your home! This pic-guide helps give an idea of some styles, this is just one example of what that style may look like- it varies, and these examples are pretty extreme but it helps direct in which way you want to go!
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| (Pic cred-starfurnitureblog.com) |
After picking a color scheme and style, do your research. Figure out what draws you to that type of style. What do you like about it? What about it makes you think of YOUR home?
3. Furniture Layout!I know in some houses it is hard to get all your furniture to fit in multiple different layouts, but make your goal to have an inviting layout. When you walk in the door THAT should be the best view of the room! All your best decor you want to be in that view! Pick a focal point, whether it be the TV or fireplace, and have the seating arranged around that. Just keep in mind you don't want to close off the opening to the room. It won't look so inviting walking into the room to see the back of a couch.
Now if you are like me, just starting out on your own, you are probably going to be renting a house for a few years. Most of the time you can't paint. So you will have to incorporate pops of color from your color scheme around the room.
4. Curtains!! You would NOT believe the difference curtains will make in any given room! Especially when you can not paint the walls! If you have an open floor plan, I'd recommend picking a color for the curtains that is going to flow from your living room into your kitchen/dining area. In my opinion it's better to try and find good quality curtains on sale verses buying cheap curtains at regular price. Getting a thicker upholstery material will cut back cost on your energy bill also! :) I found my curtains at Kirkland's, they are super nice and I scored half off (woop woop!) As far as colors go, my advice is to pick a curtain color in the color scheme that is more adaptable so if you change your decor for the different seasons that you can keep your nice curtains!
Stores where I find some good deals are: Marshalls, Ross, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Wal-mart, and Kirklands
Online discounted stores to try: wayfair.com, overstock.com
3. Furniture Layout!I know in some houses it is hard to get all your furniture to fit in multiple different layouts, but make your goal to have an inviting layout. When you walk in the door THAT should be the best view of the room! All your best decor you want to be in that view! Pick a focal point, whether it be the TV or fireplace, and have the seating arranged around that. Just keep in mind you don't want to close off the opening to the room. It won't look so inviting walking into the room to see the back of a couch.
Now if you are like me, just starting out on your own, you are probably going to be renting a house for a few years. Most of the time you can't paint. So you will have to incorporate pops of color from your color scheme around the room.
4. Curtains!! You would NOT believe the difference curtains will make in any given room! Especially when you can not paint the walls! If you have an open floor plan, I'd recommend picking a color for the curtains that is going to flow from your living room into your kitchen/dining area. In my opinion it's better to try and find good quality curtains on sale verses buying cheap curtains at regular price. Getting a thicker upholstery material will cut back cost on your energy bill also! :) I found my curtains at Kirkland's, they are super nice and I scored half off (woop woop!) As far as colors go, my advice is to pick a curtain color in the color scheme that is more adaptable so if you change your decor for the different seasons that you can keep your nice curtains!
Stores where I find some good deals are: Marshalls, Ross, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Wal-mart, and Kirklands
Online discounted stores to try: wayfair.com, overstock.com
(Pic Cred-houzz.com)
5. Throw pillows/blankets! So with curtains, like I said it's best to get something that will match a large amount of stuff... Throw pillows are fun because they are the exact opposite! You can mix and match colors and designs (try to stick within your color scheme and style) This is where you can add some pops of fun color!
6. Area Rugs! Okay, so these go hand in hand with the throw pillows. In my opinion, I'd say either go more plain with the rug but in one of the colors of the throw pillows, and then have more designs and patterns in the pillows... Or switch it and do a colorful pattern area rug and get throw pillows from the colors pulled out of the rug of a more basic fabric. Area rugs not only make the space look bigger, it also makes them look so "homey" in my opinion! You could get a long skinny rug for the hallway or kitchen that matches to help transition from room to room.
7. Wall Decor! There are many, many ways you could go about decorating the walls.
- When you are renting and you can not paint the walls, one of my favorite cheats is to do the Wall Decals. They are stickers that you peel off and stick on the wall and peel right off without pulling off paint! It looks so nice, like it was painted on and are good to fill empty wall space!
- A really popular way to decorate in living rooms is with photos. I wouldn't go overboard with the pics but a nice collage of frames is super cute and can be personalized so many ways!
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| (thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com) |
- Decorative Clocks! This is an easy way to take up some wall space, and who doesn't love a beautiful clock?? At Hobby Lobby (my personal fave) there are sooo many options for clocks! All kinds of colors, shapes, and styles! Use that 40% off coupon and there ya go! :) Pick a clock in a color of the throw pillows/rug that you want to pull out for a pop of color!
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| (lindevegen.no) |
8. Table Decor! If you have an end table and coffee table, get a few cute little things for them! Table lamps are easy for another excuse for a pop of color on an end stand. On coffee tables I personally like the trays (they come in all types of colors) where you can put your remotes and books on! Candles are an easy space filler also to add color. Also, you'd be surprised how much a plant can freshen up a room! They have the pots at Michaels for less than $3 and every color paint, it's super easy to get a bundle of fake flowers in one of your colors you maybe are having trouble finding anything for.
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| (designindulgence.blogspot.com) |
Hope this helps! I'll hopefully get around to adding other room decorating tips soon!
