I’ve always loved home decorating. Even when I was a small child, one of my favorite activities was to decorate my room. I would put my toys into “scenes” and make sure all my pillows and decorations were just right. Today, although I certainly have a larger decorating budget than I did when I was a child, I still prefer to decorate with low-cost items. And yes, you can even improve the appearance of a room and decorate without spending a dime!
6 Ways to Improve a Room without Spending a Dime
ELIMINATE CLUTTER
No matter how cute a room is, if it is cluttered, it is not going to look pretty. Do what you can to eliminate clutter. Hide cords behind furniture, store toys in closed boxes, have a dedicated storage area for shoes and clothes, and do whatever you can to eliminate clutter.
MOVE THE FURNITURE
Furniture is often placed out of convenience rather than from a design standpoint. It may even have been left where the movers last placed it! You can make quite a bit of difference in a room simply by moving the furniture to a new location.
You may even need to consider if you simply have too much furniture in a room. If every wall is covered in furniture it can make a room look overly cluttered and dirty even when it is clean. Start by putting the essential pieces in the room, then, if the room seems too bare, add in the other pieces one at a time until it feels the way you want.
COLOR COORDINATE
Let’s just agree right now that furniture can be pricey and because of that, many of us look for amazing furniture finds from flea markets and garage sales. Unfortunately, your great buy may create a mix of furniture that doesn’t quite go together. An easy fix to this is placing pieces that are of similar color or tone into the same room. For example, if you have both light and dark wood, put all of the dark wood in one room, and the lighter wood in another room.
ADD TEXTURE
It’s the unexpected textures that can make a huge difference in a room. Think the textures found on plants, a globe, vases, clocks, books, plates, fake antlers, and even guitars. You can put almost anything on the wall with the right fastener.
You can also add texture to a room by adding pillows to chairs, filling a vase with beans or rocks, or draping a trunk with a fluffy blanket.
CREATE DECORATIVE GROUPINGS
In general, groupings of objects look better than things spread out randomly across a room. For example, if you have a collection of ceramic pigs, placing the pigs in a small grouping will usually look better than placing a pig on every surface. On our bookshelf, I have three green vases of varying shades and colors together as a grouping.
STICK TO FEWER COLORS
The more colors in a room, the more confusing it can get. Aside from the base neutral colors (like white, black, brown, and grey), it is usually best to stick to 2-3 complimenting colors in a room. Fewer colors will provide a more professional and richer, more well-designed look.
Then, carefully pick a complimenting color pop to work into your color scheme. So, let’s say you have a room filled with mostly grey or navy blue, use accents of gold, burgundy or orange to give it the room a little burst of color without being overwhelming.
These tips will help make any room look better in just a few minutes! You may be surprised how much you can do with what you already own.
Brenda is a writer, budget decorating fanatic, and homeschooling mom to two girls. She blogs about homeschooling, crafts, decorating, and more at Steamsational, STEAM Activities for Kids.
I have to admit that I’m a sucker for all things that talk about decorating and minimalist living! Thanks, Brenda, for the great reminders on how simple tweaks can make a huge difference in your home.
