Furnishing a living room on a tight budget doesn’t have to be an impossible task. It will require a little creativity and elbow grease on your part, but with the right planning and determination, you can have a beautiful living room that looks like a million bucks.
Plan Before You Buy
A commitment to planning is the number one tool you should have in your decorating arsenal. Before you buy anything plan out how you want your room to look, what furniture you want, where you’re going to put everything, and the sizes you’ll need.
Impulse buying is a common decorating mistake people make and the wrong one can throw your entire room out of whack and potentially blow your budget. Knowing exactly what you need will when you’re out shopping will make it a lot easier to resist the temptation of the impulse-buy and stay within your budget.
Comparison Shop
It can be tempting to pull out your credit card when you see the perfect item, but this can be a big mistake if you haven’t done any comparison shopping. Before you head out to shop for furniture do some online research and figure out what kinds of prices stores are charging for the items you’re interested in. That way when you see something you want you’ll know if the price is fair.
Shop at Thrift Stores
Gone are the days when people looked down on thrift store furniture. Thrift stores and other types of second-hand stores are wonderful places to find unique or interesting items for your home – and a great find is something worth bragging about! Often it takes persistence as thrift stores can be very hit and miss, and second-hand items often take some upcycling (a fresh coat of paint, new upholstery, a little sanding, and staining, etc.), but great thrift store finds can save you money and give your home character.
Visit an Auction House
People often mistakenly think that auction houses are only for the rich, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Great deals on furniture and housewares a be found at auctions! But if you’re going to try to purchase something at an auction it’s very important not to let emotions get the best of you.
Decide what you want to spend before the auction starts and do not under any circumstances go over it. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of an auction and you could very quickly go over budget if you’re not careful.
Buy Floor Samples
Floor samples are still a great way to save on furniture. When stores have items out on display they often get tiny scratches or dings on them. Once they no longer need to be on the showroom floor the stores often offer them for sale at a discounted rate. If you see an item on display on a store that you want to purchase ask if they’ll sell you the floor model for a discounted price. Just be sure to have a look to confirm that any damage is minimal and that you can either fix it or live with it.
Repurpose What You Already Own
There’s no better way to save money than not buying at all. Before you go out to buy furniture take a good look at what you already have and see if there’s any way it can be reused or repurposed. Sometimes giving something a fresh coat of paint, a slipcover, or some other update can be just what you need to give your room a new look.
