Decorate your home for free! Who doesn’t want to decorate their new home for free? It seems like the best of all worlds, doesn’t it? To start with a clean beautiful slate, to feel the rush of inspiration, to style up well-intended decor, and finally to sit back and relax in your new beautifully decorated space, all for free. Sigh….
Decorating a new home usually takes money – especially if you’re revisioning your aesthetic. However, I have spent years redecorating my spaces using what I have on hand. Most of the time it only takes a little inspiration and a vision to see what you have in a new light. For example, a very long time ago when Tuscan decor was all the rage, I purchased seeded silk curtains and pillow covers in a beautiful burnt orange. Our home had an old world vibe going on – and I was so proud of it. Then, the trends changed and our home started to feel dated and stale.
We had two small children and smaller budget. I couldn’t afford a shopping spree. As I started weeding out the items that had a Tuscan feel, I held onto those curtains and pillow covers. I laundered them and folded them neatly, storing them in the linen closet for another time. As our home shifted from a traditional to a more modern aesthetic, I saw an inspiration photo on Pinterest and remembered those curtains. Suddenly, bringing them back into our home, but paring them with different colors and textures in a different room setting was EVERYTHING. I achieved a fresh look and feel simply by repurposing what I had and seeing it with new inspiration.
Decorate your home for free by viewing pieces individually
When decorating your new space, home or apartment, it is important to start with what you have. So often we want to rush out and buy everything new. Most of the time, taking a moment to really see your items in a vacuum, is enough to spark inspiration.
As we move from place to place, I have found that looking at a space as a whole isn’t always inspirational. I get bored with the same decor, the same aesthetic, the same vibe – and a room generally sets that tone. But when I look at a single table, a single lamp, a single piece of art, I truly see things in a new light. I can imagine new ideas for that piece and start to develop a new design mood.
Design an aesthetic by grouping like items together.
This one is HUGE. Often, we have pieces and parts that we know we love, but we never realize or recognize that these items are part of a larger aesthetic. For instance, while packing up our house to move I found I had three mat black vases. I had four smoked glass candle holders, and I had multiple wooded trays. I had purchased these items individually for specific purposes. When packing up though, I started to see what my tastes truly were, and how these items together formed a cohesive look and feel.
When designing an aesthetic for you home, looking at individual pieces lets you see each item in it’s own right. Grouping like items together lets you see themes and color palettes you may have never noticed before.
Reimagine your space by thinking outside the box
The rooms of our homes are often square or rectangular in shape – very boxlike. It is always a good idea to think outside those boxes when reimagining your spaces. For instance, think about the individuals pieces in a wider scope. Would the artwork in your bedroom be better suited for the living room? Would that grouping of vases look good on a mantel or shelf instead of spread throughout the home? How would the area rug in the dining room fit in the bedroom – and would that set of throw pillows go with the it?
Reimagining your space can be as simple as noticing color palettes used in multiple areas of the home, and redistributing them to recreate a new look and feel.
Decorate your home for free by shopping your home first
Wow! This one was an ah-ha moment for me. I’ve heard for years to shop your own home first. I understood that phrase to mean shop my rooms and see what I could rearrange or move to other locations. Just like I’ve already mentioned to you.
My new understanding on this is inspirational to say the least. Because we are serial movers and I rethink, reimagine, and redecorate our spaces all the time, this one has been game-changing. When shopping my home, I literally walk through my rooms as if I were in a home parade or boutique shop.
If I wouldn’t pick up the item to purchase it from the ’boutique,’ do I really want to spend my energy packing and moving that item to a new home? This simple process has helped eliminate clutter from so many areas of our spaces. What I am left with are pieces I truly love, an aesthetic I am inspired by, and fresh decor style that didn’t cost a penny.
Start with a basic plan
When you begin to decorate your home for free, here is a good basic plan to follow:
- First, look at each piece individually. Decide if you want to like it, love it, or are ready to pass it on.
- Second, group like items together. This can be by color-scheme, type, or style.
- Third, shop your home. Shop your home as if you had never seen these items before. This will help eliminate the extras you may no longer want.
- Finally, start playing with new ideas and allow yourself to feel fresh inspiration – all without spending a dime.
