DESIGNING ON A BUDGET 101: LIVING ROOM

When Darian and I first toured our condo, the room that sold me on it was the living room. It’s not huge or grand, but I instantly fell in love when I saw the wood-burning fireplace with a beautiful white mantle. As someone who spends more hours on Pinterest and watching HGTV than I’d care to admit, I’d been dying for a mantle to decorate – and as soon as I saw it, I could already picture it draped in garland at Christmastime!

So as soon as we moved in, decorating the living room was priority number one. Naturally, I thought it would be a great starting point for my Designing on a Budget 101 series. I follow a lot of home decor blogs, and I always feel frustrated when I read a post with “budget options” and it includes things like $60 pillows and $500 coffee tables. They’re great for people who can afford them, and I know that everyone has a different budget, but mine is a BUDGET. So, I wanted to provide you all with some tips on designing on a TRUE budget (a-sometimes-eating-Ramen-so-you-can-afford-new-pillows kind of budget). Read on to learn how I was able to decorate our living room on the cheap without sacrificing taste or quality!

1. If you’re going to splurge on any one item in your house, it should be your living room couch.

Hear me out: I’m all about living on a budget, but this is one area where it’s okay to spend! Your living room couch is where you probably spend most of your time when you’re home, and it’s absolutely the most important part of any living room. When Darian and I first moved in together, we sat on tailgating chairs for about a week before settling on a $300 couch. After all, we were on a budget, and it seemed like it would do the job just fine. About a month in, we instantly regretted the decision. The couch we bought was just too tiny for two grown adults and two dogs. We were trying to build up savings, so we lived frugally and saved our money so we could get a really nice couch that would last for years to come. A year later, we splurged on a variation of this amazing couch at Marlo Furniture, and it was the best decorating decision we ever made. As young professionals still paying off student loans and living in one of the most expensive parts of the country, it was hard to swallow the expense. However, almost two years after the purchase, Darian and I still comment AT LEAST once a week on how it was the best purchase we ever made. It’s durable, pretty, and comfortably seats us, our guests, and our dogs.

2. Coziness is key.

As I mentioned before, you will probably spend a decent chunk of your time at home in the living room – so you’ll want to make it as cozy as possible! The easiest way to do this is with textiles. Pillows, blankets, and rugs, provide an easy and inexpensive way to create a space that is both aesthetically appealing and cozy.

Pillows – My number one rule with pillows – never use the ones that come with the couch! They’re usually not cute, and they limit you in your options for decor. That being said – I always recommend checking to see if the pillows that came with the couch have covers. Our couch came with four nice down pillows with removable covers, so I simply removed the covers and bought four new covers. I highly recommend using pillow covers (especially if you constantly get the urge to change your decor) because they’re easy to change out, less expensive, and easier to care for (just throw them in the washing machine). I’ve found that four pillows is typically the perfect amount. I personally like to have one solid pillow and one printed pillow on each arm of the couch for balance. My favorite places to buy throw pillows are Target, World Market, and Homegoods!
Blankets – If there’s one thing that Darian and I are always in agreement on in terms of decorating, it’s that we want ALL. THE. BLANKETS. A functional but cute way to store said blankets is using a basket or crate of some sort. This is especially great for when you have guests over because nobody has to fight over blankets and they can easily grab one if they want to cozy up in front of the TV. My favorite places to buy blankets are Homegoods, Target, and TJMaxx/Marshalls!
Rugs – It’s amazing how adding a rug to a space can instantly up the cozy factor. There are also tons of places with gorgeous and affordable rugs that can really make a room pop. NOTE: If you are a pet owner, make sure that you put a rug pad under your rug! It’ll keep any messes from seeping through to the floor. Personally, I don’t always use a rug pad, but for areas like the living room you’ll definitely want one if you have pets. My favorite places to buy rugs are Wayfair and Target!

3. Get creative with art.

Finding affordable art can be really hard when you’re on a budget. However, there are several different ways that you can make your budget work for you. Just please, I beg you, don’t just hang a poster on the wall because you think you can’t afford any other wall art. It’s easier than you think! Art is one thing that, at this stage of life, I have a hard time dropping a ton of money on. My solution is to do a combination of bargain hunting for pieces, printing art from websites such as Etsy, and making my own art. While buying a framed piece of art can often cost $100+, by purchasing a $5 print from Etsy and framing it with a $10 Michaels frame, you can easily save $85! I’ve also used Canva on several occasions to create my own art – Darian and I are both diehard Penn State fans, so we have the lyrics to the Alma Mater hanging above our TV in the living room. To make this, I simply used canva to type out the words, chose a pretty font, printed the art, and traced over it with a gold leaf pen for some extra oomph. The entire project cost me about $50, including 3 large frames! My favorite places to buy picture frames are Michaels and IKEA!

4. When you’re on a budget, greenery is your best friend.

Adding greenery is hands down the easiest way to add a splash of color and an element of interest to a room without spending a fortune. If you’re like me and you have a black thumb, don’t worry – artificial plants and greenery work just as well! My rule of thumb is that every room in my house needs at least 2 pieces of greenery. In the living room, it comes in the form of a snake plant on the bookshelf (listen up, guys – if you’re a plant killer like me, you NEED a snake plant! They’re basically impossible to kill and they’re the only plants I’ve ever been able to keep alive for more than 6 months) and some artificial eucalyptus stems on the mantle. I highly encourage adding greenery to your living room – it’s such a small thing that makes a huge impact! For more info on how to shop for artificial greenery, check out this post. My favorite places to shop for real plants are Home Depot and IKEA, and my favorite places to shop for artificial plants are Homegoods, IKEA, and Target!

5. Don’t forget about functionality.

You could create the most beautiful living room the world has ever seen, but if it’s not functional you’re going to hate your life. When you’re designing your living room, take some time to think about what’s important to you. For example, for me it was books and magazines! At our old apartment, I had a random tiny shelf in our bedroom that I tried to squeeze all my books onto, and it really threw off the layout of the room. So I knew that when we moved, I needed to find a space where I could store my books and magazines in the living room. I didn’t want a traditional bookshelf, so I ended up settling on this bookshelf from Target, and I have all my books stacked neatly in four piles on the bottom shelf. I also bought (and added some DIY magic to) a large coffee table with a lower shelf to store my magazines. So, TLDR; make sure you think about what’s important to you functionality wise and factor that into your design choices!

6. Lighting, Lighting, Lighting.

Good lighting can make a HUGE difference in any space, but especially a living room! One of the most helpful things I ever learned about lighting came from one of my favorite design blogs, Chris Loves Julia. They taught me not to go by watts when buying light bulbs – instead, go by lumens. Lumens determine bright a light is (kind of how you used to view watts)! I like for my living room to be bright, but it’s a personal preference. I highly recommend checking out their blog post about lighting HERE for more insight on how to choose light bulbs. In addition to light bulbs, having many different light sources in a room is key. Overhead lighting can be harsh, and pretty lamps can add a nice decor element in addition to creating better lighting.

Designing a living room on a budget can seem like a daunting task, but it can definitely be done! You don’t need lots of money to have good taste – you just need to think creatively and be willing to think outside the box. I hope these tips can help you get started!