It’s easy to see all of the pinterest-worthy decor when searching for inspiration and instantly be depressed because…your space doesn’t look that way…you don’t have the budget to buy everything you like…you don’t have the time to spend decorating…
Well, I am here to tell you that you can create an Instagrammable space on any budget if you are willing to branch out and truly nail down what you want your home to look like.
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When I was planning the decor for our new apartment, I knew that I wanted a few new pieces to spruce up everything we already had, but I had to be realistic and understand that we don’t have an unlimited budget to work with and that it would probably take time for us to save up for everything that I wanted to add.
To start, my biggest thing I wanted to get was rugs for our bedroom and the living room. We had been without rugs since we were married and it was slowly killing me inside…
I searched and searched for what I thought would work and FINALLY found the perfect rugs for our space. I waited until they went on sale and snagged them right away!
My biggest piece of advice is…
1. Find what you want & wait for it to go on sale!
When trying to choose our rugs, I was always discouraged to see how expensive they can get and I wasn’t willing to spend a ton of money on them.
I also didn’t want to wait years for them to come in, so the first place I looked was amazon.
I was able to find both rugs on major sale and they were just the size we needed (talk about divine intervention)!
Here is the rug for our living room:
and the rug for our bedroom:
I started my decorating backwards by choosing rugs first, but by having these I was able to narrow down what I wanted to get next by seeing what we already had that would work and what we still needed to purchase.
2. See if your family/friends are wanting to get rid of/sell furniture and take it off their hands!
Our first place together was filled with hand-me-down furniture and our apartment still is! As a young married couple, we are thankful to make it through the month without eating ramen so buying expensive furniture is not at the forefront of our minds. We don’t have the budget right now to invest a lot in new furniture, so we are happily using what our family has given us.
As a college student/young adult, it can be the same way! You want to spend your money on other things and furniture can cost a chunk of change that you may not have!
My grandparents were upgrading their chairs and generously gave us their automatic leather recliners and big brown recliner (that seats two and feels like a big hug) and we have used them in both of our homes! In our previous house, my parents generously gave us their old couches but our apartment didn’t have the space to fit them, so they were donated before we moved.
Our goal is to eventually get a couch, but we are happy with the seating we have!
My advice to you is reach out to your people and ask if they are wanting to sell or give any furniture away and see if it will work for your space. It doesn’t have to be your favorite, it is just something to help get you by until you save up to buy your perfect piece.
3. DIY what you can!
I have never had so much pride in anything than when my husband and I work to create something for our home together!
Not only has it saved us so much money, but it has given us sweet memories.
Check out your local Ikea or look online and see if there is something that can work for your space and save you some money!
We really wanted some nightstands, but couldn’t afford to spend a lot, so we went to Ikea and found some we could make our own without breaking the bank…or our hearts, lol.
Check out our DIY nightstand tutorial here!
4. Thrift. Antiquing. Garage Sale.
3 things that are money to the ears…literally.
By shopping for what you need second-hand, you will already get so much of a discount AND you will find so many unique things you didn’t know existed!
When we moved into our first house, we had the coolest dining room area and I was on the hunt for the perfect table to go in there! If you didn’t know, dining room tables are hella expensive so I was determined to find something that didn’t cost our entire pay check.
{ My mom always taught me to bargain shop and my favorite thing since I was little is to go antiquing. (Fun fact: Cor and I went antiquing on our first date). Well, I found myself in a little antique store one afternoon and happened across a table in the corner with no sign, no price, and no damage. I quickly went to the store owner and she told me that she hadn’t priced it yet because she was waiting to hear back from the family, so she didn’t want to sell it just yet. I was bummed, but went back the next day to check-in and sure enough, the family had replied and they wanted to sell it for $300. My jaw HIT. THE. FLOOR.
Here it was…a solid oak, who-knows-how-old, perfect-condition, 6-seat, adjustable and newly recovered, beautiful table and they only wanted $300 for it?!?!? I was blown away and instantly told her I would take it. }
The moral of that story was to tell you to look in every place you can to try and find what you want…you never know what will surprise you, and you never know what money you can save by shopping at small businesses.
5. Only buy what you KNOW you will use!
SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!
This is a new lesson I am learning, and honestly…it makes me feel guilty for all of the money I wasted in the past.
I used to buy things because they were on sale, not because I knew I had a use for them. But now, I am determined to change my old ways! Check out my ultimate guide to packing and moving, I talk all about purging, cleaning, and coming to terms with my shopping addiction (cue tears).
Once you assess what you already have, you can start making a list of things you need and my biggest urge to you is to STICK TO THE LIST! There will be time for frivolous expenses, but when you are trying to stick to a budget, there’s not enough wiggle room to waste it on items you don’t truly have a use for.
By buying what you need, instead of what you want, this will help you save money for those larger expenses and give you some more room to go out and have fun, enjoy new experiences, and treat yo self more often down the line!
As you are preparing your new home, please know that you are not the only one with a budget. You are not the only one with mismatched furniture. You are not the only one having to save up for what you want. It is okay for your space to not be perfect. And it is okay if your style is not the picture-perfect model that we see on social media.
You can make any space a home if you are happy in it. That is what matters.
