As a student, I know the struggles of wanting to create a Pinterest-worthy space on a student's budget. Through my years of decorating spaces, I've picked up a couple tips to give a space my personal touch without breaking the bank and for this post, I'd like to share these tips with you.
1. Pick A Color Palette
From my early dorm days, I learned that a little color coordination can go a long way. This is something that you frequently see in home decor catalogs because sticking within a color palette gives a room cohesiveness and its pretty simple thing to do. Pick your base color ( I usually like to start with a neutral) and then pick a couple colors to go along with your base color. White is a great base color option for apartment or dorm living as your walls tend to be white and you usually can't paint. I like to bring in my accent colors in my accessories ( i.e. throw pillows, bedding or wall art), but painting your furniture is something that can add a nice pop of color to a room.
2. DIY
One of my favorite things to do while decorating is to try and figure out how I can create room decoration for less. Pinterest has hundred of DIY projects, but most of my projects are just simple solutions. My most recent endeavor has been trying to create the base pieces for a gallery wall.
My base piece was a canvas that I painted one of my favorite quotes on and the rest were some inexpensive frames that I spray painted white. The images inside the frames were free printables that I found on Pinterest, but there are tons of printables that you can find on Etsy for a very low price. For the small gallery wall above, I'd say the most I spent on the entire project was maybe $20. If you're a student, another fun DIY project is a bulletin board. Just cover a cork board with some pretty fabric and ribbon and you're all set!
3. Thrift Away
Almost all of the furniture that I had in my first apartment were pieces that I purchased from a second-hand furniture store and then repainted to fit my color palette. Let me tell you, everyone that walked into my place told me how much they loved how I had decorated. Getting creative with pieces that you can get for pretty cheap ( ex. I got an adorable little kitchen table for $30!) can really help you dress up a room without spending too much. So, until your budget allows you decorate your room like the page of a Pottery Barn Catalog (#goals), revamping resale furniture (or furniture you might already have!) is a good place to start. A fresh coat of paint can do wonders. Referring back to tip one, many of the pieces in my apartment were painted turquoise to bring in more colors from my color palette and also made the room a bit livelier.
4. Decals
Decals are an awesome way to add some pizzazz to boring white walls. Freshman year of college, I decorated the wall above my bed with butterfly decals and it really added some flair to my room. The best part was that they were relatively inexpensive and easy to remove once I moved out at the end of the year. Etsy has a huge assortment of decals listed, but you can also find them at Target or Michael's.
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| I bought these adorable ones from Etsy to go in my last apartment's bathroom. |
5. Check Out Discount Stores
When it came to getting things for my first apartment, Marshall's and Homegoods were the real M.V.P.s. These stores always have tons of home decor items for a really great price. On a recent trip to Homegoods, I came upon a beautiful navy Kate Spade comforter. Sadly, it was a Twin XL and not in my color palette, but it shows that you can find really great stuff. I find that the kitchen section in these stores is typically on point. This is where I got the bulk of my kitchenware and all of it kept well enough that they'll be going with me to my new place.
I'll be keeping these things in mind as I get my new place together. I can't wait to show you guys what I come up with!
I hope you are having a great week! I'll talk to you soon!
~Genesis<3
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