6 Ways to Decorate Your Living Room on a Budget
In 2019, a staggering 90% of homeowners in the US said that they plan to carry out a home remodeling project. One in three of these homeowners also revealed that they would start their project in the next two years.
As for home renovations completed in 2018, the typical homeowner spent $15,000.
$15,000 is a lot of money that not everyone has quick access to. Even if you did, you don’t have to set that kind of budget to decorate your living room. There are plenty of ways to improve your family room (or any other room) without spending so much money.
Ready to learn the best tricks to design or redecorate your home’s living area on a budget? Then let’s dive right into it!
1. Bring the Outdoors Inside
The majority of people in the US spend as much as 90% of their day indoors. Unfortunately, many homes have two to five times more pollutants than outside air.
The outdoors, after all, boasts of pollutant-absorbing flora, whereas most buildings don’t. So, why not bring some of these green greatness when decorating your living room?
Start with bamboo plants, which can absorb 40% more carbon dioxide than many other trees. It also produces 35% more oxygen, making it one of the top earth-friendly materials out there. Best of all, these two characteristics can help to boost your home’s indoor air quality.
2. Get Some Edible and Aromatic Plants
The more of the outdoors you can bring inside, the fresher and prettier your living room can look. True, there’s no hard science yet that proves the air-purifying effect of houseplants. However, researchers say that interacting with them may have physiological and psychological benefits.
Some of these benefits include promoting comfortable, soothing emotions. Scientists also noted that interaction with these plants reduced blood pressure! That should be enough reason to include them in your plan of redecorating the living room.
To make the most out of your plants, though, go for those that you can use for cooking. These include aromatic herbs like lavender, rosemary, and thyme. Best of all, they aren’t only edible but they also have relaxing and soothing effects on inflamed skin!
3. Soften Things up With Sustainable Fabrics
Aside from bamboo, hemp textile is also an amazing and sustainable material. It’s breathable, can wick moisture, and best of all, it possesses anti-bacterial properties! Plus, it seems to have a built-in SPF function, which helps it block ultraviolet light.
All that makes hemp textile a healthier, more sustainable fabric material. Best of all, you’ll find this textile in upholstery, carpets, rugs, and other fabric covers. It also has the advantage of being more affordable than say, pure silk, as it can cost $10 less (per yard) than the latter.
Do note that such sustainable materials need more careful maintenance. Fortunately, you can use things like fresh snow to take the dirt out of them! You can find out more here to learn about such cleaning methods.
What’s important is to look after your fabrics as letting them dirty up can be worse for your indoor air.
4. Treat Your Windows Well
By that, we don’t only mean cleaning them, but also treating them with curtains or blinds. If you have large picture windows, you can set them up with easy-to-draw curtains. This way, you can open both anytime you want to let some natural light in.
If you can find them, go for window treatments that use natural, sustainable materials. Aside from bamboo and hemp, linen, organic cotton, and canvas are your other choices. If you want shades on your windows, go for those that make use of bamboo woven wood.
5. Make the Switch to LED Lighting
When decorating a family room (or any other room), don’t forget artificial lighting. Your windows may permit natural light in the day, but once the sun goes down, you’ll have to rely on your lightbulbs.
So, if you haven’t made the switch to LED lighting yet, now’s the best time to do it. LED lights have an average rated lifespan of between 25,000 to 50,000 hours. Yes, they do cost more than other types of lighting products, but that lifespan more than makes up for it.
Plus, LED lights are adjustable not only in terms of brightness but also in colors! During the day, you can have them emit cool light, then at night, dim them down to produce warm light.
6. Repurpose Materials to Make “New” Furniture
To repurpose something is to change its original function and give it a new purpose. Repurposing is different from recycling in that the former doesn’t require chemical changes. Recycling involves melting raw materials to turn them into new products.
That said, you can repurpose almost anything that you don’t use anymore to give it a “new life.” For instance, you can transform an old sewing machine table into an actual coffee table. You can also repurpose a dated dresser into a TV tray table.
The important thing is to repurpose so that you can reduce your demand for raw materials. Since you’re going to use something that already exists, you also get to save money. At the same time, it allows you to utilize your creativity to come up with brilliant decorating ideas.
Decorate Your Living Room Now for Less
There you have it, the top tricks on how to decorate your living room without the need for thousands of dollars. These ideas will not only help you make your home prettier but they can also help make your home healthier. Plus, if you go with repurposing, you’ll be a step closer to making your home greener.
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