Budget-Friendly Home Improvement Hacks, Courtesy of Reddit

Interior design can be an expensive business. From complementary furniture sets to lighting solutions and durable flooring, the costs of creating your dream home can really stack up. Thankfully, online communities across the globe are helping homeowners design and decorate their property on a shoestring by getting creative and cutting corners – all without compromising on quality.

Resourceful as ever, Reddit has a bundle of budget-friendly home improvement ideas – covering everything from walls and floors to upcycled furniture and economical paint jobs. We’re sharing some of our favourite tips today, to save you time and money.

LIGHTING

dwalk51:

“It pays to invest in a variety of lighting arrangements for different moods. Lots of full light for when you really want to be productive, dim, soft lighting for a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, ultra-dim for watching movies at night without going pitch black. To save money on buying separate solutions for each of these jobs, adjustable lamps are the way forward and go a long way toward achieving these different setups.

“Another tip I would definitely recommend is using Christmas lights. These can hang across walls as a practical and decorative piece, or you can bundle them up in a ball or drape them around something (for example, a couple of wine bottles for decorative purposes – this looks awesome). When they’re bunched up, Christmas lights serve as a beautiful, soft single light source. Light it up!”

PAINT

worzrgk:

“Spray paint is the ideal solution when it comes to frugal decor. You can gather a bunch of decorative items from thrift shops for pennies and spray paint them to add some quirky style to any room. Try to see past the kitschy colors to the form of the objects.”

GloomShade:

“Repainting and repurposing existing items, even things you already own, is an effective and affordable way of sprucing up an area.”

Bubonis:

“If you’re not that picky when it comes to colour, shops will often have a shelf of tinted paints that customers may have changed their mind about and these are always dirt cheap.”

OneHotProcessor:

“You may be tempted to paint your walls, but what about keeping them white and using your own artwork or photos for decoration? Or painting only one of your walls to create a feature wall in an accent colour?”

FURNITURE

RunsLikeAGirl:

“Find quality used furniture and reinvent it. If you don’t like the finish, try painting it white. Flea markets, auctions and thrift shops are your friend.”

OneHotProcessor:

“Keep an eye out for town collection days. You may well find an old chair or other piece of used furniture that, when repainted with some design inspiration from Pinterest, could make a beautiful addition to the room.”

Jessicacher:

“Upcycle things you buy at a thrift shop, for example, painting a table or chair, or reupholstering a seat pad with leftover fabric. Create a set of cushion covers using an old curtain. Frame free wallpaper swatches to coordinate with your other decor, or make a basic frame and stretch an interesting swatch of fabric or colourful t-shirt over it.”

FLOORING

HarlowMonroe:

“The entirety of my downstairs (including the bathroom) uses wood effect tiles. I bought these purposefully, as I have dogs and was afraid that their nails would scratch real wood in the long term. It looks fantastic and is durable as can be. I’ve moved furniture, dropped stuff, and my two dogs constantly run around. No scratches in sight! I would highly recommend this approach.”

• Find out more about wood effect tiles

what_a_cat_astrophe:

“I’ve used large floor tiles throughout my flat (except for the carpeted bedrooms). These are incredibly easy to clean and, when you have to move furniture or accidentally scoot your chair, they don’t scrape at all. Will prove economical in the long run due to their durability.”

• Find out more about floor tiles

ACCESSORIES

worzrgk:

“I’d suggest keeping an eye out for bleached or weathered found objects, e.g. shells, driftwood etc. Sea glass colors are great for accessories and maybe furniture paint too, if you’ve got white walls.”

elsynkala:

“Save money on fixtures by checking out IKEA’s ‘rail solutions’ if you’ve got a small property and little storage space. In my last two flats, there was limited space and I hung these up. They’ve got a variety of different rail types, hooks and holders – all of which look pretty sleek if done right.”

RunsLikeAGirl:

“To work around a small space, use lots of white accessories with a few random splashes of colour. White sheets, towels, furniture and even bowls filled with fruit or flowers will help the colour stand out even if you’ve used it sparingly. White creates the illusion of space (and white linens can be bleached without worrying about the colour fading). Use colour very selectively, by introducing a few bright pillows, throw blankets or maybe some vibrant wall art.

“Decorate with pieces of nature. As I say, bowls filled with fresh fruit or flowers look great and they won’t clutter your property since they’re not actually permanent fixtures in the home (and if you get bored, you could always change these based on your mood and the season). You could also fill a small glass bowl with seashells for some dainty decoration.

“Kitchenware can be minimalist. Mason jars can be used as drinking glasses (and double up as containers for dry food or toiletry items, or vases. Love them!). Buy simple plates in uncomplicated designs, or completely clear glass. Get just enough for you and maybe a couple of guests, if you don’t entertain very often. When you do, there’s always the option of borrowing plates and silverware from generous friends!”

WALL ART

worzrgk:

“With wall art, you can buy frames with mats and glass from thrift shops for pennies. These are usually filled with cheap art, but you can easily replace whatever’s in their with your own painting, poster or photograph – and frames and mats can be spray painted without any hassle. Convenient sources for art include posters that you can cut down to fit a frame and, when it comes to smaller frames, printing out photos or graphics you’ve found online.”

Miles_allan:

“Frame your favourite posters and, rather than spacing them equal distances apart at eye level around a room, group them together in sets of 3-5 in the corners of your rooms. Put up large mirrors in the centre of your walls to make the room look infinitely more spacious.”

Prospectre:

“Good-looking furniture is all fine and well, but that stuff is all practical. Get yourself some shelves and use these to display your favourite things. Books, knickknacks, postcards – whatever it is you love. The same works for posters. One of the best compliments I’ve ever been given about my tiny home is that it ‘looks like you’.”

INSPIRATION

MamitaA:

“The best tip that I can give you is to sign up for Pinterest immediately. Start pinning interior looks that you love, and this should help you to determine which styles and colours you’re really drawn to. I used to think my tastes were pretty much all over the shop but, after a month of using Pinterest, I started to see that I have a fairly cohesive taste in design.”

Have you got any ingenious home design hacks that don’t cost a fortune? Whether it’s a space-saving storage solution or a nifty accessories idea, we want to hear it. Leave a comment to share your wisdom!