Decorating ideas are everywhere but who says you can afford them, right? It’s common to underestimate the bottom line cost of decorating your home. What was anticipated to run a little north of $1000 can run much higher by the time furniture replacements, new fixtures, and accessories are bought. It’s enough to make even the most creative and ambitious homeowners think twice before switching up their home decor, leading to outdated and stale looking rooms over time.

Yet this is ultimately a false dilemma – a fictitious “black and white” scenario. Truth be told, a home decor project doesn’t have to go over budget. In fact, there are a number of ways to end up with leftover allotted funds with these creative decorating ideas:

Decorating Ideas: Creative Ideas for Cheap Home Decor

Save money on painting ideas

Wall color dominates the look of a room. Change the paint and you can completely change the way a room feels when entered and enjoyed. The key, as far as pulling off a successful redecoration with just paint, is to select a color complementary to the existing furniture and accessories pallet. Just about every paint supplier has an online color selection tool; use one to find a shortlist of ideal hues.

Consumer Reports has a great article on how to save money on painting

In addition, consider using painter’s tape to easily achieve impressive paint patterns and shapes to transform the look of a room. Another inventive technique growing in popularity involves different colors for different walls – though this inherently involves buying more cans of paint.

Replacing furniture on a budget

Replacing furniture is perhaps the biggest money eater of most interior redecoration projects. That funky looking lime green chair and those glass end tables just don’t jive with any new design plan. For the sake of future redecoration projects, opt for furniture made to last in more ways than one. Companies such as Boyles furniture supplier pride themselves on durable pieces fitting a variety of decorating styles. It costs more in the short-term, but over time results in money saved as furniture isn’t being replaced every few years.

It may also prove useful to find ways to extend the life of seemingly worn out couches, chairs, and ottomans. Leather can be rejuvenated with oils, while a little sanding and painting can make tables and cabinets look brand new. Tweak these repairs to match the redecoration, or use the furniture to inspire a design.

Lighting ideas can help your interiors

Light is probably the most underrated aspect of interior design. Without light, we’d have a bunch of pitch black rooms and no way to see their design. Change the lighting in a room, and watch its look and feel transform instantaneously.

For instance, low key lighting can accentuate the details of a statue on a table or highlight a painting on the wall. Changes in white to yellow light are also shown to affect mood. Additionally, don’t forget about the greatest (and cheapest) source of light around – the sun. Plan the next home decor project with the path of the sun’s rays through the windows in mind to take advantage of natural lighting to the fullest.

If you’re trying to find out how much your home decorating project will cost, this Houzz article gives estimates.

Change furniture with the seasons

Switching out room decor with the seasons is the best way to avoid the look of a room from ever becoming stale. Taking advantage of timeless furniture selections and aforementioned techniques with paint and lighting can mean a simple swap of rug, curtains, and accessories can change a room almost entirely.

To save money, buy seasonally-inspired rugs, curtains, and accessories out of season. Within a year’s time, every season is covered. Afterward, rooms can be transformed four times a year for several years without any new purchases or changes.

Decorating ideas: considered used furniture too!

The classic way to save money on home decor is to buy used. However, finding the “diamond in the rough” – the used pieces worth buying for their genuine originality and sparkle – is more than a matter of visiting Goodwill when the time comes.

The key to finding gently used gems for a low-cost room redesign is to make a habit out of visiting resale shops regularly. Sure, it’s possible to find a gorgeous piece at a steal in one visit, but they aren’t all too common and when they’re put on the floor they’re gone almost instantly. Give it enough time, and those must-have used pieces of furniture will find you rather than the other way around.

There’s no need to let a room redecoration go over budget. Many paths exist for achieving unique interior design on the relative cheap. Give them a try to cut costs, boost motivation, and get the most out of each dollar spent on home decor.

For more home decorating ideas on Stagetecture, visit our archives.