After you quickly and easily 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 to fill up the other rooms? You may be thinking you are at a loss at what to do first. But, you have just bought a house and need to get the finances in order first, right? You don't have to wait too long, though. Here are some affordable decorating tips to make your house a home.
Tips To Make Your House A Home
Look for Used pieces that fit your style:
Visit consignment shops, flea markets, antique dealers, and discount stores for pieces of furniture you can upcycle. Make a list of items you are looking for and carry it around with you. This will keep you focused on what to buy in the array of many older items. Keep in mind that you can also find tools and other items at these places as well.
Use your creativity and make something.
We all have a little creativity in us so why not utilize it. Here is a list of suggestions on what you can do to improve your home with a little creativity.
- Make your own artwork with canvas purchased from the nearby craft store. Frame your kids' artwork for their rooms. Cluster the artwork together on one wall in each room to showcase the pieces.
- Make your own headboard with wood board purchased from a home improvement store and your favorite fabric.
- Design a bench or coffee table that represents where you came from. Use Mod Podge
and add pieces of paper items that represent areas you visited.
- Ask family members for pieces of furniture you can upcycle. Turn two old chairs into a bench. Use chalk paints to update a bedroom set. Be sure to ask them if it is OK to do this to their old furniture. Usually, parents don't mind, but you better ask anyway.
Learn to paint walls.
Painting is an easy and affordable way to spruce up a room. Changing the color of the walls or even the floor will freshen up the shape and make it warmer and inviting. Sticking with neutral colors can be calming. But, try making the wall behind your entertainment center as the focal point of the room and add a little color that complements the neutrals. We had a nice salmon color behind our entertainment center for years when we moved into our home. We then painted the wall an eggplant purple. It was so pretty we actually refreshed the wall with the same purple some years later.
Enjoy the rooms empty for a while.
Large furniture pieces can fill up the rooms very quickly. So, buy when you find something you absolutely love, not just because you think you need it right now. Make it a rule to only bring items into your home that are things you love. This will significantly reduce the amount of stuff filling up the room.
I hope this gives you inspiration to take time with your home and really decide what you want to bring into the new space. What are your favorite affordable home purchases? Do you have a favorite store to shop for afforable items? Please leave a comment below.
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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!
I like your idea about the bench. I've been intrigued by Mod Podge for a while now. Is it easy to use?
Your DIY tips are usually beyond me, but I think even I could do most of these! 🙂
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!
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.
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