Stylish Updates for Less: How to Refresh Your Room on a Tight Budget
Want to give your living space a fresh new look without spending a fortune? Check out simple tips on how to refresh a room on a budget.
Welcome! Are you feeling a bit bored with your current living space? Are you tired of the same old decor and looking for a change but have a very limited budget? I’m excited to share helpful tips and tricks for finding inspiration and changing your decorating style on the cheap with a room refresh.
How to Refresh Your Home on a Shoestring Budget
Refreshing a room is a great way to breathe new life into your home and is the best solution when you don’t have the budget for a complete room makeover.
My family and I recently got stationed in beautiful Okinawa, Japan in a rental home off base near the ocean six months ago. Someone pinch me! We’ve been through the process of unpacking our limited belongings and I’ve been experimenting with the best furniture layouts and interior styling with the rental restrictions.
Here is how we had our small open layout set up before the refresh.
Yes, I even have my piano here. 🙂 This layout and decor were a great start for making this rental our home and perfect for Spring. Just like my hair, I never stay with one style for long!
Finding Inspiration for Your Room Refresh
You may have already saved pictures or know what kind of feeling you want your refreshed space to have. It’s always great to have visual inspiration and a simple pattern on a throw pillow or an interior picture of a specific decorating style is a great place to start!
Since we moved here, all I’ve been thinking about and seeing is the ocean colors right outside of our house, and love the Mediterranean decor and design I see in local restaurants and shops so I knew I wanted that same feeling in my refresh.
Besides adding deep and light blue, I also wanted the living area to feel more casual. A few simple changes were made to achieve the look I was going for. Best of all, I spent $40 for this makeover. Here are the inspirational photos I took of our local beach.
Prepare Your Room for Refresh
Starting with a clean and clutter-free room will make a refresh much more enjoyable and simple.
- Is everything where it belongs?
- Do you need a better organization to keep the room less cluttered? If so, find a new home for the item(S) or corral/store it in a decorative basket or bin on a shelf, under a piece of furniture, or in the corner of the room.
- A quick dust and vacuum will go a long way.
Tips for Rearranging Furniture
Changing the room layout in your space can also make a big impact in creating a new style and its free! Sometimes this is enough to create a brand-new feeling in a room.
- Pull furniture away from the wall to create more intimate seating arrangements.
- Try small accent chairs and tables in new places or create a different feature/focal point by moving the tv and/or sofa! You want an open feeling when you walk into a room so keep heavy pieces on a back wall or as a divider in an open layout.
- Do something small like placing a matching pair of chairs together or try them one on each side of the sofa. An ottoman in front of the fireplace.
- Leave all windows unblocked if possible to let in the most natural light.
Since we have been only here for a few months, I’m totally happy with our furniture arrangement but I did move the TV. Before, everything was symmetrical lending to a more formal feeling. Offsetting our tv to the left on the beautiful walnut media stand created a more casual atmosphere and provided a larger area on the right side for me to style decor.
How to Add “New” Decor on a Budget for a Refresh
Three basic rules for decorating with what you have.
- Shop your house first. Collect items that fit into your new color scheme or inspiration photo taking note of lines and textures as well.
- Repurpose items to get the most out of your current decor. For instance, using a tablecloth as a lightweight throw blanket.
- DIY new decor if you have the materials to save money!
Use your limited budget for what you don’t have and consider looking at second-hand goods.
The biggest impact for me was changing the textiles. What a difference, different curtains, rugs, pillows, and throw blankets can make! Try one or all of these!
I had snagged a few yards of Mediterranean shibori blue fabric at a local shop for about $15 when we first arrived. Using a simple envelope pillow cover pattern, I transformed 6 pillows with it. (Two are in our master bedroom.)
You can find an easy tutorial for pillow covers here. I also bought two new pillow covers for $20 at Nitori, a chain store in Japan similar to IKEA.
“Shopping the house” for items that fit in my new color scheme saved me a lot of money (and time!). I repurposed a tablecloth as a throw on one of our club chairs.
On my piano is an Obi, the sash that goes around a Kimono. A really neat find in Okinawa and used in a nontraditional way.
Another $5 was put into the room to give my palm a proper planter. 🙂 It needed it!
Coral, rocks, and shells from our beach made a great pot filler.
The gold bowl and other accessories on the coffee table needed to be toned down a bit. I reused faux succulents from my St Patty’s door hanging and made arrangements in two blue Japanese tea cups.
Little bits of Mediterranean blue also made its way into the kitchen (and other rooms). The open-concept bottom floor has a nice, cohesive feel now.
The last styling I changed is our side table. It has a sculptural look with candle pillar holders which makes a lovely focal point when you first walk into the room.
Our living room has an entire wall of sliding doors. It’s really fantastic. Our pup, Misha, loves it too.
There you have it! Once you have a new style inspiration in mind, “shop the house” for items with colors and textures that can work in the space. Add new or repurposed textiles. Change the furniture layout and create new tabletop styling to achieve your desired look.
Check out this helpful article on decorating with what you have and tips for saving money when decorating your house.
Q&A for How to Refresh Your Home
Q: How can I refresh my room without spending too much money?
A: There are many ways to refresh your room without breaking the bank. Some ideas include rearranging your furniture, adding a new coat of paint, swapping throw pillows, blankets, and curtains from other rooms, and adding some inexpensive decor items like plants, trays, and thrifted art.
Q: How do I know what colors to choose for my room?
A: When choosing colors for your room, it’s important to consider the mood you want to create. Cool colors like blues and greens can create a calming atmosphere, while warm colors like yellows and oranges can create a cozy and inviting feel. Consider the existing colors in your room and choose colors that complement or contrast with them.
Q: How can I make my small room feel larger?
A: There are a few tricks you can use to make a small room feel larger. Use light-colored paint or wallpaper, add mirrors to reflect light, and use furniture that serves multiple purposes, like a storage ottoman or a dresser as a sofa table. You can also create the illusion of height by using vertical stripes or hanging curtains high above your window.
Q: Can I refresh my room without buying anything new?
A: Absolutely! Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity to refresh your room without spending any money. Try rearranging your furniture, switching out your artwork, or creating a new focal point with a gallery wall. You can also repurpose items you already have, like using a decorative scarf as a table runner or a vintage ladder as a blanket holder. Give a piece of furniture or decorating accessory new life with spray paint.
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Your house is looking amazing!! and omg I am absolutely in love with that white end table!
– Laura /
Thanks so much Laura. That end table came from overstock was originally mahogany. I just had to paint it white! 🙂
The plants are so cool – did you cut within the leaf yourself or you bought them like that?
Thanks! It was a mixed breed of monstera. I’ve heard it called the swiss cheese or hurricane plant.
I really like your blue glasses with the stems. Where did you find those? Great color. Your kitchen towels are beautiful too. The obi is a wonderful idea for a table runner. So beautiful.
Thank you Melinda!! The blue glasses came from a Japanese store called Nitori.
Where did your tv stand come from?
We bought it used at a recycle store!! I wish I knew more about it. It’s popular. 😉