My frugal interior design tips will help you decorate for less – a key step isn’t sexy but prevents pricey disasters
DESIGNING a room on a budget is possible if you follow a few frugal tricks.
One interior design pro can help you cut costs while making your space extra expensive looking.
BRINGING SEXY BACK
When transforming a room, not everything you do has to seem trendy.
“Get a tape measure,” said one Reddit user.
“It’s not sexy, but you need to know dimensions of your room, distance to the door, width of halls, etc., because you don’t want to buy a cool couch and then discover it won’t fit in your doorway,” she said.
“Sometimes in the past I’ve bought art or a mirror and discovered it was too small or too large for the place I wanted to hang it,” she added.
To make sure you don’t make the same mistake, you can purchase a Stanley Fatmax tape measure at Amazon for $19.99.
This retractable 25-foot tape measure allows for easier measurements when working alone.
The buy also had plenty of positive reviews.
“This tape measure is high quality and is very easy to work with,” wrote on customer.
“I’ve been a contractor since 2008 – I think this is the best tape measure you can buy,” said another shopper.
PLACEMENT MAKES PERFECT
Another pro tip she has is to “start with purpose of place.”
This involves thinking about places and purposes rather than rooms.
“For example, I need a place to occasionally work from home. I like to work from a laptop and I don’t actually like windows, I find them distracting. I do need storage, though,” she said.
“Knowing this, I might not need to stake out a whole room for my home office,” she added.
“I might be just as happy with a nook near the bookshelves in my living room where I can work at a desk or on the couch.
“This can free up a whole room for some other purpose that needs space and windows.”
IN THE MOOD
When it comes to decorating your room, she would rather you “slow your roll and plan” than rush things.
This step is crucial whether you are doing a major renovation or simply investing in new accessories.
She explained how starting with a mood board can “capture the vibe” you are looking for.
That can mean sophisticated or quirky.
After all, it’s your space so decorate it your way.
By “consulting” with those who also make use of the space, you will be sure to keep the area unified.
“A “design board” then translates your vibe into things you can actually put in the room,” she said.
“You can make a digital board by copying images from online but extra bonus points for actually getting samples of the materials because you can’t get a true sense of texture or even color from a digital picture,” she added.
This step will save you both time and money.
SAVING ON YOUR STYLE
If the decorative item of your dreams isn’t available, don’t fret.
Instead, she advises “comparing around.”
You can do this by bringing pictures from your board with you to thrift stores or other secondhand shops.
You can also put your skills to the test by going in the DIY direction.
There are, however, some big ticket items she thinks are worth the splurge.
This includes energy efficient appliances, or “heavy-use” pieces such as a quality couch or dining table.
And she still had one more trick up her money-saving sleeve.
“If you have a really classic couch, you can update it with relatively cheap pillows and blankets,” she said.
“Yes, you can always sell a trendy couch and buy a new trendy one, but there will be transition costs because if it’s out of style for you, it is probably out of style for other people too,” she added.
MORE TASTEFUL TIPS
Other users also weighed in with some helpful and affordable tips.
“Maybe default to a neutral color for walls, rugs and major furniture -then add colors with your accessories,” said one user.
“If you decide to change colors, swapping out accessories is a lot less expensive than changing your sofa and easier than repainting the room,” she added.
“This! Texture also goes a long way to change the vibe of a space and that’s really easy to do with accessories,” she replied.
Budget interior design tips
Interior designer Judy Hoang shared her furniture tips with The U.S. Sun.
- Thrift furniture and paint it to match your decor.
- Test if an item is fit for its purpose before thrifting.
- Shop at Target or HomeGoods for rugs, lamps, desks, and pillows.
- Invest in classic timeless pieces.
- Set up smart home lighting to save money.
“I used to work for a high end interior designer. We used a ton of blue painter’s tape to essentially map out the room,” said another reader.
“Once you have the dimensions of the pieces you’re considering you draw their outlines on the floor/wall with the tape,” she added.
“It does a great job of helping bridge the gap between a photo and reality in terms of how the room layout will feel.
“You can map out entire empty rooms, or just the one or two missing pieces in an already occupied space.”
“Love this! I’d add that it helps to buy the smaller, more decorative items last,” yet another Reddit user chimed in.
“There will be a ton of options you like for those items and you should purchase based on how it works with the rest of your larger items,” she added.