Collaborative post
Renovating your interiors can cost a fortune. Getting the design you want is often considerably more costly than you expect. You often burn through your entire budget in a matter of weeks and wind up having to dip into savings to finance your projects.
But it turns out that there is a range of strategies you can use to cut costs and still get the aesthetics you want. In fact, that’s precisely what the pros do. They don’t choose the most expensive options just because they can. Instead, they continuously look for cheaper options that give them the style they want at an affordable price.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can slash your interior décor costs like a professional. Here are some things you can try:
Use Potted Plants
Plant pots are becoming increasingly popular among people looking for inexpensive ways to brighten their rooms. A little greenery adds some much-needed brightness to your spaces and helps them feel more warm and welcoming. What’s more, it doesn’t cost much. Adding a few plant pots here and there will only set you back a few dollars so you can concentrate your budget on the rest of the room.
Use Cost-Effective Lighting
While you can buy crystal chandeliers, you can make your rooms look stunning with conventional cost-effective LED lighting, too. LED lights can be incredibly bright and they save you money compared to regular bulbs on your energy bills.
What’s cool about LED lights, though, is that they can change colour. There are already products on the market that help you create a unique atmosphere in your home. If you want a purple or green hue in your bedroom, you can have it.
Add A Console Desk
For many of us, working from home has meant that we need to create new working spaces for ourselves. But, unfortunately, that can get expensive.
That’s where console desks come in handy. Because they’re narrow, you can place them anywhere. And they tend to be cheap, too, if you buy them used.
Place console desks up against windows and in bedrooms. You can also put them behind sofas or even in your hallway (though you might not want to use that as a space to work).
Use Canvas Instead Of Regular Artwork
Adorning your home with regular artwork is great, but it tends to be expensive. If you want something original, it often costs hundreds of pounds.
But with canvas prints, you can save a lot of money. These use far cheaper materials. And because they’re printed, not painted, you’re only paying for the ink, not the artists’ time.
The cool thing about canvas prints is that you often have the budget to put them in all your rooms. That’s great news for anyone looking to renovate the entire house.
A Sofa Bed
Sofa beds are a great option for anyone looking to create a multipurpose room. During the day, the room could be for lounging, while at night, it’s for sleeping.
Combining two in one lets you create a more flexible home. You have somewhere for guests to sleep when they start over. But you also have a place to chat with friends or relax.
Interestingly, sofa beds are incredibly affordable, too. Many are often cheaper than beds, and they don’t have any moving parts.
Wallpaper, Not Paint
Regular white paint is cheap. But textured paints are much more expensive. It could cost you a fortune to coat your walls.
That’s why a lot of savvy pros turn to wallpaper instead. It offers the same style as textured paint, but at a significantly lower cost.
Light blue, pink, green, and neutral tones are all available. Wallpaper is suitable for kids’ bedrooms, family rooms, and even bathrooms if you get the aesthetic right.
Restore Old Furniture
Furniture is one of the most expensive items when renovating. It can cost a small fortune to add a three-piece suite to your living room or a new dining table.
The pros, though, get around this by upcycling old furniture. As long as it is intact structurally, they can use it.
Think about how much money you could save by doing DIY repairs on furniture, or getting an expert to sort it out for you. The figure could run into thousands of pounds easily.
You can restore even the most damaged household furniture. Simply strip it back, repair the issue, add some new material, and then set it in place.
For instance, suppose that your couch’s frame is broken. No problem: just remove the broken beam and replace it with a new one. The same goes for foam. If it feels worn out, just replace it with new material that is less fatigued.
Make Your Own Decoration
Going to the store and buying decorations can be expensive. That’s why the pros often make their own. This way, they can create something unique and at a much lower cost.
Do The Demo Yourself
Fitting a new bathroom yourself might be beyond your skill level. But ripping an old one out probably isn’t. And that can save you a lot of time and money.
Contractors charge high fees for their time. So if you ask them to do everything for you, including the demolition, it’ll increase your budget substantially. Plus, you’ll have to pay for extras, like skip hire. It’s not cheap.
Doing it yourself, though, and taking things bit by bit to the dump is much less expensive. Ripping out a bathroom takes about a day. And once it’s done, you’re ready to hire whoever you need.
Reuse Old Materials
When ripping out a room, though, be careful not to damage anything you can potentially reuse. Think creatively about whether you could repurpose items for something new.
For instance, if you’re getting rid of cabinets because they are damaged, keep all the screws, bolts, and other fittings. You may be able to use them at a later date. Hold onto all the hinges.
Likewise, if you are taking out tiles, try to keep them intact. You might be able to use them somewhere else in your home, like the cellar.
Paint Yourself
While you can hire a painter and decorator to work for you, you’re much better off financially if you paint yourself. Labourers tend to charge the going rate, which can be as much as £15 to £25 per hour, depending on your location. That means that you could be spending up to £200 just to get someone else to do what you could do.
Don’t fall into this trap. Instead, learn to paint yourself and save a fortune. If you’re stuck, watch some YouTube videos on how to paint properly before you get started.
The great thing about painting yourself is that you only have to pay for the paint. And, usually, it’s pretty cheap, especially if you buy it in bulk.
Refinish Your Floors Instead Of Replacing Them
Ripping up old floors and starting again can be exceptionally expensive. But it’s also unnecessary. Most of the time, you can simply refinish your floors to make them look as good as new. What’s more, this is something that you can do yourself. Just buy a liquid etcher, scrub your floors, and then apply the finish. You could be done in a day or less.
Find Value Items
Lastly, search for knock-off or value items that perform the same function as conventional materials. For instance, you might put up tile panels in the bathroom instead of fitting individual tiles.