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After you unpacked your house, you are probably looking around and thinking, "What should I do next?". Should I improve the living room? Dining room? Kitchen? Should I buy furniture (Affiliate Link) to fill up the other rooms? You may think you are at a loss for what to do first. But you have just bought a house and must get the finances in order first. You don't have to wait too long, though. This post shares new homebuyer decorating tips to make your house a home without using your credit card.
Jump to:
- Ask yourself these questions to decide what you will do first in your new house.
- Look for Used Pieces that fit your Style:
- Use your creativity and make something new.
- Learn to paint.
- Repurpose items from other areas to organize things.
- Use remnant wallpaper.
- Organize Your Closets with Wire Shelving.
- Cover up ugly things.
- In Closing
Ask yourself these questions to decide what you will do first in your new house.
Is the color scheme too hard to live with?
Are there items in the home that are not mine?
What room is a priority to me? Bedroom, living room, kitchen?
What room or area will make me feel relaxed when I update it?
After answering these questions, it will guide you on what you need to prioritize over the other things. Below are new homebuying decorating tips.
Look for Used Pieces that fit your Style:
Repurposing and buying second-hand have never been more popular than now. Visit consignment shops, flea markets, antique dealers, and discount stores for pieces of furniture (Affiliate Link) you can upcycle.
To make your time more productive, create a list of items you are looking for and carry it around. Divide the list by rooms to make it easier to remember where you want the gorgeous find to go. This will keep you focused on what to buy. Keep in mind that you can also find tools (Affiliate Link) and other items at these places as well.
Use your creativity and make something new.
We all have a little creativity, so why not utilize it? Here is a list of new homebuyer decorating tips and suggestions for improving your home with creativity.
Make your artwork with canvas purchased from the nearby craft store. Frame your kids' artwork. Cluster the artwork on one wall in each room to showcase the pieces.
Check new arrival rugs at Boutique Rugs
Make your headboard (Affiliate Link) with a wood board purchased from a home improvement store and your favorite fabric.
Design a bench or coffee table (Affiliate Link) that represents where you came from. Use Mod Podge and add pieces of paper items representing areas you visited.
Ask family members for pieces of furniture (Affiliate Link) you can upcycle. Turn two old chairs into a bench. Use chalk paints to update a bedroom set. Be sure to ask them if doing this to their old furniture (Affiliate Link) is OK. Usually, parents don't mind, but you better ask anyway.
Turn your favorite memorabilia into wall art. Check out our post about repurposing keepsakes. Here is a photo of what we did with our wedding invitation and cards. I also added my mother's veil from her wedding as decoration. We got it professionally framed, and it still hangs in our home.
Visit some of our many DIY repurpose upcycling projects below. We share step-by-step instructions to make them for your home.
Learn to paint.
Painting is an easy and affordable way to spruce up a room. Changing the color of the walls or floor will freshen up the shape and make it warmer and more inviting. Sticking with neutral colors can be calming. But try making the wall behind your entertainment center the room's focal point and add a little color that complements the neutrals. When we moved into our home, we had a lovely salmon color behind our entertainment center for years. We then painted the wall an eggplant purple. It was so pretty that we refreshed the wall with the same purple some years later.
Look around to get affordable, partially used paint. Visit places like Habitat for Humanity Restore that may have some excellent colored leftover paint you could use for your home. Check out Lowe's discount/return paint section to see if there are paints people returned. They will resell the paint at a discount, saving you lots of money.
Repainting furniture (Affiliate Link) is great if the cabinets are just a little shabby. Check out my painting projects below for more ideas.
***AD*** from Released Repurpose Reorganize: My List Simplified journal is a wonderful organizing tool for planning a move or a renovation. Use it to corral all the to-dos. 
Repurpose items from other areas to organize things.
Whether it is a trash can (Affiliate Link) to organize things in the garage (Affiliate Link) or mason jars (Affiliate Link) to help you keep your pencils in order, you can easily use things you already have to decorate and reorganize your home. Check out our post about 10 AFFORDABLE ORGANIZING PRODUCTS TO FINISH YOUR NEXT ORGANIZING PROJECT for more ideas!
Use remnant wallpaper.
Another option is to buy a few rolls of pattern wallpaper and hang it up as a focal point on your wall. This could be behind your bed or your television.
Use peel-and-stick wallpaper (Affiliate Link) to update old furniture (Affiliate Link). I did this for my family member's apartment when she didn't have a lot of money to spend on stuff to decorate her daughter's room.
For more ideas, visit our other post, SUPER EASY WAYS TO USE PEEL AND STICK WALLPAPER!
Organize Your Closets with Wire Shelving.
You may want to organize your closets with a new organizing unit, but you don't have to. Usually, homes have wire shelving (Affiliate Link) or wood shelving (Affiliate Link). Either works until you have the money to buy a new closet organization system. You can easily update and add additional organizers to help organize your things. Below are a few posts I wrote about affordable wire shelving (Affiliate Link) organizers.
Pantry (Affiliate Link): AFFORDABLE PANTRY WIRE SHELVING ACCESSORIES
Clothing: AFFORDABLE WIRE SHELVING ACCESSORIES TO MAXIMIZE CLOTHING STORAGE
Check new arrival rugs at Boutique Rugs
Cover up ugly things.
If you have a tile you do not like, consider buying a rug (Affiliate Link) for the time being until you have the money to spend on replacing it.
Move an ugly but comfortable sofa to another room for use but not seen all the time.
In Closing
Enjoy the rooms that are empty for a while.
Large furniture (Affiliate Link) pieces can fill up rooms quickly. Don't bring anything into your home unless you genuinely love it. Make it a rule only to get items you love into your house; you will never have a cluttered home.
I hope this post inspires you with new homebuyer decorating tips. What are your favorite affordable home purchases? Do you have a favorite store to shop for inexpensive items? Please leave a comment below.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Visit our other Affordable Organizing and Home Decor DIY posts!
Linda Samuels says
I'm always amazed what a difference paint can make. It's nice to know another purple fan. A few years ago we painted one wall of our bedroom a deep purple. I love it!
Sarah Soboleski says
I like your idea about the bench. I've been intrigued by Mod Podge for a while now. Is it easy to use?
Janet Barclay says
Your DIY tips are usually beyond me, but I think even I could do most of these! 🙂
Seana Turner says
Paint is always the most affordable and most impactful change. If you learn to prep the walls, you can change your room your whole life. Many of the best decorating "wows" don't cost a lot of money, just take a willingness to use what you've got and put out what you love!
Hilda Rodgers says
Great tips Sabrina! I like the enjoy it empty for awhile one the most... sometimes you just need to see how you'll use a room to figure out what the best way to decorate or arrange it is.
Ryan Biddulph says
Hi Sabrina,
I like the coffee table idea. Digital nomad here 😉 but when we buy a home - or IF lol - we will go with an authentic coffee table. We had a nice one growing up. Sturdy wood, maybe oak, and mom polished it regularly to make it shine. We had different items on top and about 43,000 Good Housekeeping magazines below. It was the 80's 🙂 But good memories all around with the coffee table reminder.
Thanks for sharing Sabrina 🙂
Ryan