Decorating on a Budget

Since writing this post I have had a lot of new experiences in decorating and a lot more advice. In addition to this post I would encourage you to read other posts such as Making a House a Home for additional information on decorating on a budget.

When you first move out on your own, you often have only what you used to decorate your dorm or prefurnished apartment in college, sometimes you childhood furniture. But this is usually not enough to decorate an entire apartment. On top of having no decorations, you generally have no money. This blog will help you in your quest to create a comfortable place to live that you love showing off to your friends!

• Roommate: If you have a roommate, you have an additional income, but also additional taste, that hopefully matches. But it would not be wise to purchase a major item to decorate the common areas of the apartment without consulting your roommate, or without a returnable receipt. Also, make sure all the items you purchase you really do like, and don't just go with this decorating theme, because once you two separate, which will happen one day, you have to decorate your next apartment or house with these items.
• Paint: Few things will make your apartment more unique and comfortable than painting it. If you can, getting a professional painter will be best, but make sure the carpets are covered if you do it yourself. Also, check to make sure the apartment allows this. At mine, if it's a dark color I have to put a layer of primer before I move out, but many complexes repaint the walls anyway before the next tenant.
• Stores: There are a lot of stores out there that sell a lot of decorating items geared towards people our age that are less expensive (and often less quality). Target is one. Target is constantly changing what's on their sales floor. But they have everything you may need. Some more are Bed Bath and Beyond, and Linens N Things (if one is still open around you, they are going out of business). What would not be suggested is to order furniture online. The S&H would probably be $100 plus, and you could go to a nice store and buy really good furniture for the price of this S&H. I would suggest going to the stores and picking it up yourself, maybe even renting a UHaul for a few hours and driving it yourself if you or a friend don't own a big SUV or truck. Great furniture stores would be IKEA, Ashley furniture, and Rooms to go. Especially right now, many places have low or no interest for a long time.
• Second-hand: Much second-hand furniture is second hand for a reason, because it is no longer stylish, but there are things to be done about this. Goodwill and other stores have furniture for very low prices. Also try yard sales and flea markets. Sometimes you can find antiques that look great. And you can often haggle with these guys. To spruce up wood, try painting it, especially white. If it has doors that are missing glass, or the glass doesn't look good, take the glass out and put lace in instead. As for couch's and chairs, buy slip covers. If you are not a smoker, smell it very closely, because a smoker may have owned it previously and it's nearly impossible to get that smell out.
• Creativity: Getting creative is the best way for you to decorate on a budget.
• Hang your necklaces on the wall. It's easy storage, and it decorates your bedroom. Add a mirror and write on it using dry erase markers.
  
• Buy some fabric you like and hang it as curtains. Hang panels of it! Borrow a sewing machine from a friend and simply fold over the edges to keep them from fraying. Then take scraps about two inches wide and about six inches long, fold the edges, and then fold them in half and sew them along the top to actually hang with.
• Buy posters, and then buy really inexpensive poster frames and hang these. From a distance they look really good.
• Keep it simple, but use color. Having things everywhere looks tacky. Putting a picture frame or two on a side table, a candle set on your coffee table, just a few things makes it look put together. But decide on a theme, and try to stick to this theme.
• Look up apartment websites such as Rental Decorating Digest and Apartment Living for more ideas. These ideas will cater to apartment living, with non permanent decorating ideas.

I hope this helps in your quest making your apartment your own. It is very important to feel at home once you get home. It helps you unwind from work or shopping. Do everything you can to decorate your apartment the way you want to, but don't go out a max out your credit card. You may have a relaxing place to live, but that will change once your bill comes!