Budget Decorating: 7 Ways to Update What You Already Have
Embrace your inner minimalist, turn a special card into art or display a collection in an unexpected way
While we’d all love to have the time and cash to make our remodeling dreams come true, sometimes it’s just not the season for a total overhaul. If that describes your situation, that’s all right — you can make plenty of small changes to update a room without a major remodel. Here are seven of my personal favorites. All involve using or repurposing items you already have at home.
2. Change your scenery. Recontextualize a piece by bringing it into a new space in your house. This midcentury walnut dresser works perfectly as a sideboard in a dining room. Best of all, its owner scored the lovely piece for just $25 while thrifting. Besides introducing something a bit unexpected visually, the dresser is quite functional, with plenty of drawers for table linens and the like.
Dresser: Henredon, thrifted; vase: Hella Jongerius for Ikea
Dresser: Henredon, thrifted; vase: Hella Jongerius for Ikea
3. Push the envelope. Greeting cards can lend so much charm to a room. They are typically beautifully printed and tend to be standard sizes, so you can use less expensive off-the-shelf frames.
Buy a card that strikes your fancy — or use one you’ve saved — and elevate its status by displaying it. If it contains a sentiment you’d like to be able to read when the mood strikes, you could display the card on a clipboard instead of inside a frame.
Buy a card that strikes your fancy — or use one you’ve saved — and elevate its status by displaying it. If it contains a sentiment you’d like to be able to read when the mood strikes, you could display the card on a clipboard instead of inside a frame.
4. Display a collection, treasure-hunt style. Displaying a collection is a great way to personalize a space, and one way to do so is to group your items together so that you and your guests can take in the whole collection at once.
But another way to display your favorite collection is to scatter it throughout the house. This is what we’ve done with my husband’s collection of vintage cameras. I imagine it feels a bit like an Easter egg hunt to our visitors, who never know where they might find one next.
Collective Wisdom: Display Ideas for Collections of All Kinds
But another way to display your favorite collection is to scatter it throughout the house. This is what we’ve done with my husband’s collection of vintage cameras. I imagine it feels a bit like an Easter egg hunt to our visitors, who never know where they might find one next.
Collective Wisdom: Display Ideas for Collections of All Kinds
5. Hang a textile. Woven or knit materials can serve as striking art pieces when hung on the wall. Think about cloth items you may have picked up in your travels, or perhaps a family quilt you could bring down from the attic. You might even consider framing an antique kimono or special baby clothes you’ve stashed away.
Since custom framing can be quite costly, take a look at thrift stores, garage sales or flea markets for quality frames that you can repurpose. Don’t worry about what’s inside the frame; the frame surrounding a poster or piece of art that doesn’t fit your taste could work just fine for your textile. If you like a shape but not the finish, you can spray-paint your thrifted frame to get the look you want.
Put Clothes and Textiles in a New Frame of Mind
Put Clothes and Textiles in a New Frame of Mind
6. Replace your lampshades. A new lampshade can change the look of a lamp as well as the look of a room. Shades are relatively affordable to purchase new, and you can often find lovely ones for a steal at thrift stores. Choosing a bright color (dare I say shade?) like this vivid orange can make a big impact.
Amp Up Your Room With Colorful Lampshades
Amp Up Your Room With Colorful Lampshades
Another way to refresh your room with lampshades is to choose the same shade, or very similar shades, for multiple lamps with different bases. That was done in this room, and although the lamp bases are quite different, their similar shades make them look intentionally paired.
7. DIY reupholstery. Reupholstering a chair or sofa can completely transform it. The key with this refresh is to not tackle more than you can handle — I recommend starting with a simple frame and a minimal amount of upholstery, as with the chair pictured here.
Reupholster a Chair Seat
Reupholster a Chair Seat
If you have the budget for it, having a chair or sofa professionally reupholstered can dramatically change both the piece and the space it occupies. If you’re considering this option, do prepare yourself to spend as much on your old item as you would if purchasing a comparable new piece. And make sure the bones of the original piece warrant the investment.
I once bought a Victorian chaise lounge at a garage sale for a song. It was covered in drab floral fabric, but I saw its potential. I had it recovered in a chartreuse velvet, which turned it into a knockout piece. The reupholstery job cost several hundred dollars — far more than I’d spent on the chaise — but the cost was worth it to me.
More
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Old Furniture: Clean, Reupholster or Replace It?
I once bought a Victorian chaise lounge at a garage sale for a song. It was covered in drab floral fabric, but I saw its potential. I had it recovered in a chartreuse velvet, which turned it into a knockout piece. The reupholstery job cost several hundred dollars — far more than I’d spent on the chaise — but the cost was worth it to me.
More
Redecorating Lite: 6 Quick Updates to Liven Up Your Living Spaces
How to Refresh Your Kitchen on Any Budget
Old Furniture: Clean, Reupholster or Replace It?
For example, I tend to hang onto things for sentimental reasons. For years, I kept a carved figure of a deer that my dad gave me when he was living in Mexico. I never really liked the carving, but I loved that my dad gave it to me. Recently, I realized that I could photograph the little object and then give it to my friend who collects Mexican art. Taking a photo means I’ll be able to look at that carved figure and think of my dad whenever I want.
What could you get rid of in your home? Look around with fresh eyes and you may find that an item isn’t as necessary as you thought.