Everyone wants to live in a lovely home. FACT. But the upkeep of a place you're living in, be it rented or in a private ownership, can be a little costly. You're already paying your rent, your water, electricity, gas, council tax... there's not that much money that you're actually left with at the end of the month. Living IS expensive so when you decide that you want to paint your bedroom, get new curtains or just a new rug to liven up the space you really have to think carefully about how, where and what you're spending your money on.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON REDECORATING
🏡 DIY vs getting a professional helpThe first thought we usually have when someone says 'redecorating on budget' is popping into Wilkos for a pot of paint and a 99p set of brushes and doing the job on the weekend. Painting and the odd job here and there is one thing but trust me there are jobs that you don't want to be doing by yourself. Even seemingly simple tasks such as drilling (into super hard walls) can be super costly (and can result in a disaster) when you're doing it yourself. Been there, done that. Because I'm an 'independent girl' (I don't need no man to do the manly tasks for me, tut tut!) I thought I'd just get a drill and drill the holes for my shelf brackets myself. Turns out drills aren't that cheap and once I got drilling I realised I needed special drill bits for that particular wall and even after getting those special masonry drill bits I still had to get a bloke to help me because apparently drills don't just do the job, you have to use quite a lot of strength to drill into certain materials (the kind of strength that an avo toast doesn't give you). And even then half of the wall fell off and half of it didn't even budge. What I'm trying to say is that sometimes it's cheaper to hire a tradesman than to buy a whole set of tools which you'll never use again anyways.
🏡 Mix & match home decor
When it comes to adding those final touches you don't always have to go full on IKEA. Don't get me wrong there are some beautiful pieces in IKEA and we have a ton of IKEA furniture at home - but that doesn't mean that your whole home needs to be an IKEA catalogue. Mix and match new bits with old bits with some SUPER old bits and perhaps even with some DIY bits. Go to a car boot sale for some nice plant pots, visit your local curio shop for a new vintage night stand. Get an old school violin off eBay and hang it on the wall. Grab a little £1.50 plant from Wilkos and make your own DIY cactus terrarium. Always remember that not everything in your house needs to be brand new - sometimes those second hand things will create more magic than the ones that just came off the assembly line.
🏡 The waiting game
When redecorating you usually want things to be done right here and right now. The urge is stronger than your common sense, I've been there. And sometimes it's perfectly fine and you can go and get a pot of paint and it won't make much difference whether you've gotten that pot for £5 or £6. There will be a huge difference though if you get that new bathtub for £900 - the same bathtub you could have gotten for £500 if you only waited 2 more weeks for seasonal sale. The larger the item the more you're usually able to save so don't be afraid to ask at your local homeware shop when their next sale is coming or whether their online prices differ at all (sometimes you can get pretty decent online discounts!). Do your research & wait it out - it'll be worth it!
🏡 Project Garden
There are plenty of companies which offer garden services - garden architecture, sculpting, fence painting, shed redecorating and all that jazz. Don't get me wrong - these companies are usually top notch and super creative, and let's be honest - they've seen their fair share of gardens! When you're on a budget you might not want to be spending thousands on a whole garden revamp. When starting your Project Garden you gotta do a lot of planning. Plan your time, gather your inspiration, buy your tools (again - these can be second hand too!). I always think that garden can completely change the look of a home, especially if you can walk into your garden straight from your living room or your kitchen. My favourite source of garden inspiration is most definitely Pinterest - browse all the stunning garden snaps here.
Hope you've found these helpful!
What are your favourite ways to save money when redecorating?
PS:
This is a little sneaky peek into my parents’ home – how amazing is their home décor!
Follow