Décor Ideas On A Budget
You’ve finally got your own apartment and no longer living at home or with friends and housemates, which means that you finally able to put your own décor ideas to the test. The only limitation is your budget…
But luckily there are many ways to decorate and furnish the interior of your apartment that needn’t break the bank. A popular trend at the moment is using recycled wooden pallets for almost anything. Stack a couple of pallets together, cover them with foam and upholstery fabric and you’ll have a unique, inexpensive lounge suite. Or stack them, give them a lick of paint, and you have a useful coffee table.
We’ve compiled some cost-effective ways to decorate your first home:
Dream Bed:
Not many people take their old bed to their first new apartment. Buying a new mattress and base set can be quite expensive.
Our solution: buy a second-hand wooden base in a style that suits you and give it a fresh coat of paint or varnish. That way you’ll have more money to spend on a quality mattress. If you buy a base already covered with fabric, investing in a base cover is a simple, budget-friendly way of matching it to your colour scheme.
Another popular option is to go green and use reclaimed wood to build your own base. Once again, used wooden pallets have become very popular for that purpose. Recycled and reclaimed wood will be easy on your pocket. If you can’t find any reclaimed wood to use, building your own base from PAR pine is also a good choice for DIY fans.
Here’s a tutorial on how to make a bed base from wooden pallets:
Lounging Around:
If you’re not crazy about the wooden pallet look but still want o make your own lounge suite, you’d be surprised that it’s not as difficult as one would think for the DIY enthusiast.
Create your own plywood frame and top it off with high density foam cut to fit. Then you just need to make a slipcover to match your décor that you can remove and wash anytime it starts looking a bit dirty.
Dining In:
It’s likely that your first apartment won’t have a proper dining area, but if you do have the space for it, you could always make your own dining table. Create something rustic from reclaimed materials or glance through home design magazines for ideas for more modern tables.
You could also go bargain hunting for second-hand suites. You will find plenty of tutorials on how to restore hand-me-down furniture online.
Small apartments usually have a built-in breakfast nook though, so all you would need is to create a cosy seating area around this.
Other Essentials:
When it comes to cutlery and crockery, you should be able to find an affordable selection at most home décor stores. Go for the basics in plain colours, like white, that can be dressed up for guests. If you’ve inherited some things from your parents or grandparents too, they can be mixed in to create an eclectic or bohemian look (quite a popular décor theme at the moment).
Tools:
If you’ve been making most of your own furniture, you will already have collected some basic power tools, or maybe even borrowed. Keep looking out for seasonal specials to add to your collection so that you can soon build the TV stand you will need for your flat screen TV.