Raise your hand if you’re interested in money saving design ideas? ??
If you own a home then you know that the work around making your home perfect is never done. You will always find some project around your home, right? I know that it’s not just me!
From experience I can tell you that this is an expensive pastime. Over the years, I’ve discovered a few money saving design ideas because I had to make my money go further with all the design projects and ideas that were buzzing around in my head. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, right?
I continue to use these ideas not only on my own personal design projects but also use these tried and true money saving design tips to help Daakor clients get the most bang for their buck.
1. Create a budget
If you don’t have a budget, then you will definitely be overspending. It’s the same as that old adage – if you fail to plan, then plan to fail. Setting a budget really helps you understand where to splurge and where to save. You’ll know what you need to buy and what to re-use or repurpose. It will also be an indication for where you can shop. You’ll know what you can afford and what you can’t.
You can’t save money when you don’t know how much money you can afford to spend. When you don’t have a budget in mind, you’ll end up buying things you really like without paying attention to the price. That is definitely a strategy for overspending. Or worse, you’ll hold off on buying things because you don’t know what you can afford. Then you’ll end up becoming frustrated with how your home looks.
If you’re reading this post, then you don’t have an unlimited budget. You need to set a budget. On occasion, we get a client that is reluctant to set a budget. So I throw a number out there to see how they react. Sometimes it’s $50,000 or $20,000. Every time I do this, I see an immediate reaction to the number from the client. It’s much easier to set a budget from there.
There’s a good reason for why this is our number one money saving design idea. We provided a step-by-step approach to setting a budget for home decorating here.
2. Prioritize rooms that matter
If you try to furnish and decorate every room in your home at the same time, that’s not only overwhelming but also an easy way to feel stressed over your finances. We often tell our clients to phase out the furnishing and decorating of rooms in their homes. This will allow you to create a home that you love over time.
How do you choose which room to do first? Well, that depends on you. We have clients who prioritize their kids’ bedrooms or their own bedrooms first before they do the other areas of their home.
Then there are other clients who love to entertain, so they prioritize the foyer, living room and the dining room. There’s no one way to prioritize. Just choose the room(s) that are the most important for you first.
You might also want to consider prioritizing where you might splurge and where you want to save. For example, you might want to splurge on a piece of art for your living room. And you may opt to create your own art for the bedrooms. You may also choose to splurge on your foyer because it makes the first impression. On the other hand, you might save on the decor in your laundry room.
3. Re-use what you have
When you’re redecorating, you don’t have to buy everything new! You may think that your furniture looks dated but a fresh coat of paint and re-upholstering can make almost anything look more up to date. Mix and match old with some new pieces and you’ll have a space that is one of a kind and reflects your personal story.
If you’re not crazy about the idea of reusing, maybe you don’t want to deal with the hassle of refinishing and reupholstering things, then think about selling the items you have. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace are fantastic ways to sell items that others might value and make some money that you can use towards redecorating your home.
4. Change your accessories
One of the easiest ways to give you home a facelift is to change out the accessories.
Let’s take your living room as an example. Just changing your throw pillows and the rug to a different colour palette can dramatically change the look of your room. Another cost effective face lift for your home is to paint the walls or apply wallpaper to create a feature wall.
In your bedroom, you can get new bedding to create a new look. It might be changing wall decor like adding a new bookcase, a gallery wall or a piece of art that can breathe new life into a space.
Sometimes just changing your home accessories can give you the feel of a newly redecorated space. This is one of our favorite money saving design tips.
5. Splurge on one item per room
If you really love your home then you want your home to feel special. You may not have the budget to splurge on everything you need for your home. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make your home feel special. That’s why you need to explore this money saving design idea.
When you create your budget for your room, include one item in the room you can splurge on. For example, in a family room, it might be a sectional that’s really comfy for those Netflix marathons. In a living room, it might be a feature wall that’s jaw droppingly beautiful that you guests can’t help but fawn over. There are no rules on what this needs to be. It can be anything you want it to be.
You’ll end up creating a home that truly feels special without breaking the budget.
Looking for more money saving design ideas? Consider hiring an interior decorator who can save you time and money. For example, when you hire Daakor to design a space for you, we create a room that works within your style, space and your budget.
The shopping list we give you is customized to you and helps you create the design we worked on with you. No second guessing on how things work with each other or whether it will fit in your space.
You’ll have a plan that you can execute over time if you don’t have the money to buy everything at once. It will ensure that in the end, you’ll end up with a space that’s beautifully put together and functions the way you want it to as well.
