5 Easy Ideas to DECORATE Your Space ON A BUDGET
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This year I decided to officially move back into my parents house for the entire year of 2021. So yes, I am a 29 year old who is living at home with her parents all in the name of being close to family and saving money to become more quickly financially independent.
It was actually in 2020 that I first moved in and it was a perfect year to do so with the pandemic and everything going on. I'm so glad I was able to be close to my family and I wanted to extend that into 2021 until we know for sure where things are going to be. I also want to get a clear picture of what I want to do next with my life, whether it's investing in real estate or moving who knows where—the world is my oyster.
Today I’m here to give you a behind the scenes look of where I sleep, work, play, and take you on a tour of my room. I've finally furnished it and settled in. It only took 9 months. I'm finally ready to show you what it looks and give you 5 decorating tips for how to furnish your room on a budget to get your room feeling really cozy and personal and not break the bank. So let's take a look around...
Welcome to my room! As you can see, it's very much a work in progress. The window treatment is still cheap paper blinds that we have taped up with blue tape. I know minimalism is super almost trendy right now. I wouldn't necessarily identify myself as a minimalist. The minimalist aesthetic is so sterile and impersonal to me and and when you walk into this room, I want you to feel warm and welcome and cozy, like you're living in a home. For me bare floors and walls is not my vibe. I'm a lot more like, “Come into my space let's all hang out and flop on the bed.”
My room I would say is more...what would you call this? I don't know. Everything in here is stuff that I really love and I enjoy looking at everyday. As you can tell my colors are very warm and welcoming and soft and feminine. I would say I'm a very feminine decorator, as is my brand and everything.
1. DIY a GIANT Canvas
The first thing I wanted to talk about that gives your room major vibes on a budget is this piece of art. I have a giant periodic table on a huge canvas and this is something that I made myself. I went to Michael's which is a craft store that always has coupons and their canvases are always on sale. This was the cheapest, most giant canvas. I believe it was something like $15, maybe $20 now, because I painted this years ago.
My favorite DIY Youtuber is Kiva Brent and she does an amazing job of showing you how to do a simple DIY canvas with abstract shapes for super cheap and looks artful and tasteful. She's so talented and you can create art yourself that makes a huge statement.
Having a giant canvas is a truly statement piece that sets the vibe and tone for your room. My periodic table was going for a chic nerd vibe haha. But you don't need to create as intricate an artwork as the periodic table of elements. That's a lot I wouldn't even do it again. It was so hard to do, but I'm very proud of how it turned out.
You can do simple abstract shapes and this artwork can be super unique and personal to your space and also doesn't have to cost that much. It's really no more than $30 dollars but makes a huge difference in this space. It totally sets the vibe.
2. Decorate from nature for FREE
Something that brings nature and warmth and more organic-ness to a space is plants. I do not have a green thumb. I can't keep things alive, so what I really love is dried out pieces of grass or leaves and branches. Pampas grass is trendy right now. It's also an invasive species, so I wouldn't go planting them. But if you do happen to find some already planted, I found these on the ground and picked them up. I sprayed them with hairspray so they wouldn’t shed everywhere and plopped it in a vase that I already had.
Finding decoration doesn't have to be expensive. It can be free branches that you pick up off the ground. It can be a pinecones you put in a bowl that you forage. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, but bringing the outside in gives this organic nature. That's what I really love bringing into a space—an element of outdoors in.
3. Swap your handles for an easy, elegant upgrade
A super easy upgrade is swapping out handles on cabinets and furniture. These are affordable brass ones from Amazon but they make the cabinets and drawers so much more chic. These are the exact ones that I have. I got 5 pulls for $18 and a 10-pack of single knobs for $23—basically $40.
The brass ties into the gold elements I have in my room. My mom originally wanted silver handles, but since these are very cheap and affordable, she can easily swap them out whenever I move out of this room. I'm not staying in here forever, y'all! Swapping out your handles for something from Amazon that's very affordable really makes an elegant statement to your space.
4. Shop for big furniture on Facebook Marketplace and at thrift shops
One of my favorite places to shop is Facebook Marketplace. The thing that I love about Facebook Marketplace is your ability to input search terms and have notifications pop up when you have a new listing that meets your criteria. For example, I am looking for two night stands. I don't have night stands right now that match and I would love to get a set of nightstands. However, I am only willing to drive and pick up in a 40 mile radius for under $200. I'll get notifications for a pair of nightstands whenever a new listing pops up that matches that radius and price range. Then I will take a look at it and decide if I want it. None of them have worked out, but I'm not married to a certain style. I'm open to seeing whatever the universe sends me.
I will eventually find a pair of nightstands. The thing about decorating a room and trying to find everything on a budget is that you have to be a little bit flexible. The time and the price and the style you can't be married to.
Another thing that is really great to find on Facebook Marketplace and through other second-hand apps like Offer Up or Nextdoor is IKEA furniture. Everybody buys IKEA furniture! I would almost never ever buy IKEA furniture from IKEA unless I were really in a pinch because the thing is you and everybody else have all shopped at IKEA. I'm sure 90% of people who are watching this video have shopped at IKEA, which also means at the end of the day you've probably gotten rid of some IKEA furniture.
If someone is moving cross-country, it's not worth taking it and they try to get rid of it for cheap. So you always can find IKEA furniture on the market. If you do want a specific IKEA style, you could probably put the name of that in and have it populate and you would probably get what you wanted. Facebook Marketplace is the bomb.com.
This headboard is actually from Facebook Marketplace. I got it for $80. What I love about this headboard is that it also provides more storage for all my little knick knacks. A lot of these little knick knacks are inherited from my parents or grandma or great aunt and uncles. I really don't go seeking out tchotchkes they find me. They're all very sentimental for one reason or another. This headboard has very mid-century modern vibes but also is very functional.
Another great place to get super great quality furniture, is to shop at your local thrift shop. I always try and go into those places without a specific thing in mind. You'll end up finding randomly really great stuff. This rug I got from Jewish Thrift Council. I went in on a whim after I got a haircut one day and I saw this rug and it was price marked for $200. If you try to find kilim rugs like this, they easily go for $900+. It's handmade and I loved the colors. It was so perfect, so warm. It definitely gave me southwest vibes. I wasn't looking for this rug but this rug definitely found me. A rug truly transforms the space—a giant canvas and rugs.
5. Discover affordable art on Etsy
Another way to get super affordable art for your room is through Etsy. This “Unsubscribe” print is actually a digital piece from my own Etsy shop and you can download it and print as many as you want. What I do is get a frame from a place like Goodwill or The Dollar Store or Target and fill it with artwork that keeps me motivated on my FIRE journey.
Yes, I'm plugging my own two pieces of artwork, which I obviously really love and I find super inspiring on my journey to financial independence. They remind me to “Stay Radical” because it's absolutely radical to be retiring at 35 and to “Unsubscribe” from not only marketing emails, but also from ideas and people who bring you down.
I obviously love my own artwork and you can check me out at Millennial Money Honey Etsy shop. if you're watching this I have a discount code for “MMH20” to get 20% off everything, but there are so many other talented artists out there on Etsy selling their prints at a very affordable price.
So those are the 5 easy swaps I did to make my room feel my own. They are super frugal and you can easily use these tips to furnish your own space. That is how I designed my bedroom. Thanks for coming to my room and I will talk to you guys soon!
If you liked what you saw and you were inspired to decorate your own space, please smash the like button, subscribe to my channel or to the podcast, and we'll talk more money, honey!
Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)
