Affordable Home Decor Ideas

Last updated September 7, 2023
With a little creativity, decorating your home can be both easy and budget-friendly. Create your own affordable home decor with paint, wallpaper, repurposed furniture and other common household items. Use the inspiration in this guide for decorating on a budget, whether you need to update an entire room or just want a few ideas for new accent pieces.
Table of Contents
Add Drama
Paint Furniture
Wallpaper Ideas
Wall Decor Ideas
Reflect Style
Try DIY Decor
Add Drama

A small amount of paint can go a long way in transforming a room. One gallon of interior paint can cover up to 400-square feet, enough for a striking accent wall for a dramatic new look. With just two or three gallons, refresh an entire room with a new coat of paint. Get creative with these affordable home decorating ideas:
- Create stripes. Use painter’s tape to section off vertical or horizontal stripes on your chosen wall. Paint between the lines of tape with an accent color. Once the paint has dried, you can peel away the tape to reveal bold, clean accent stripes.
- Try a stencil. Make your own stencil by tracing the pattern or shape you want onto cardboard, then cut along the traced lines. Paint around the edges of the cut-out with the accent color and fill in the rest of the wall. Or paint the accent color within the space the cut-out left behind in the cardboard. Use the stencil as often as desired to create a unique wall pattern.
- Paint an ombre using three hues of the same color, ranging from light to dark. Apply the lightest color of paint to the entirety of the wall. Once dry, paint a darker shade on the bottom two-thirds of the wall. Finally, after the second shade has dried, paint the darkest shade on the bottom third of the wall.
- Add texture. Try combing, sponging, rag-rolling or several other wall texture techniques to add depth and distinction to your walls.
Paint Furniture

Instantly modernize old wooden dressers, coffee tables, end tables, dining chairs. Painted furniture in a bold, an eye-catching color will give your room a boost.
- Try painting just the legs of a sofa or living room chair to add a subtle pop of color to your room.
- Paint kitchen appliances such as stand mixers, toasters and even refrigerators with inexpensive appliance paint. If your appliance is scratched or an outdated color, repaint it rather than replace it.
Wallpaper Ideas

When decorating on a budget, wallpaper should be your first go-to. Wallpaper is often more expensive than paint, but when used in small quantities, you can create inexpensive home decor theme.
- Use wallpaper to decorate any small space of wall—such as behind built-in shelves or as a backsplash below kitchen cabinets.
- Cover the surface of an end table with wallpaper or apply wallpaper to the panels and drawers of a wardrobe.
- Mimic the look of an expensive headboard by creating a square of patterned wallpaper behind your bed.
Wall Decor Ideas

Shadow boxes and floating shelves are some of the simplest home decor ideas on a budget. Try sprucing up your walls with these affordable home decor ideas:
- Display collections or sentimental items in shadow boxes. You can buy shadow boxes or make one with a picture frame and balsa wood. Get creative by adding reclaimed wood, crates or glass.
- Think of floating shelves as an art installation rather than just as storage space. Try installing them on the wall in unique arrangements so they look beautiful even when empty.
- Whether ceramic, porcelain or fine china, mount and display unused decorative plates just like photographs. All you need are picture hooks and plate hangers.
Reflect Style

Mirrors instantly add visual interest and are usually an affordable home decor idea. Plus, a large mirror on the wall will make a small room seem more spacious.
- Try arranging an assortment of small mirrors on the wall in place of photos.
- Use paint pens to write your favorite saying or quote on a mirror’s surface.
- Paint the frames of old mirrors to easily restyle them to fit any room.
Try DIY Decor

Many common items in your home can be easily repurposed into stylish home decor.
- Partially fill a mason jar with sand or decorative stones and add a tea candle to use it as a candle holder.
- Make a rustic-inspired vase by wrapping sisal rope around the lower half of mason jar and glue the rope down with a glue gun.
- Turn a cabinet door into a serving tray or transform a dining chair into a bedside table.
- Mount dresser drawers on the wall as bookshelves.
- Paint door or cabinet knobs and use them for colorful jewelry hangers.
Think Details

Consider affordable home decor ideas that use little details to make a big impact. Small changes can instantly change the look and feel of a room.
- Add greenery by displaying various-sized terrariums filled with succulents and other easy-care plants.
- Switch out current lamp shades. Replace with shades in an accent color or ones that are a different shape.
- Organize personal collections by theme, color or size to create an intentional, eye-pleasing display.
- Change out your cabinet hardware. Even a simple change like this can improve the look of your home.
Toss In Pillows

Pillows make great accents to contrast or complement other colors in the room. Designers advise using them in odd batches of 3 or 5 to give balance.
- Use oversized pillows to give your room a luxe feel.
- Always have a few throw pillows on hand for each season. Swap them out periodically to make seasonal and holiday decorating a breeze.
Frame Art

Wall decor can be as minimalist or as eclectic as you prefer, making it a great place to start when adding personality to your home. Try sprucing up your walls with these affordable home decor ideas:
- Display all of your favorite photos in one place by framing and hanging them in a cluster. Print photos of all different sizes and orientations.
- Frame photos in matching or coordinating frames. Hang them in a free-form arrangement all over a wall of your choice.
- Experiment with frame colors, shapes and materials.
- For some of the unique home decor ideas on a budget, try framing swatches of colorful or graphic fabric pieces. You can also repurpose worn-out clothing items this way, such as graphic T-shirts that no longer fit or mittens that have lost their mates.
Tip: Before hanging your frames, cut scrap paper to the size of your framed photos and tape the paper to figure out the best layout.
Rethink Hardware

- Cabinet hardware is a small detail that makes a big impact. Swap yours out for a fresh set or just reinvent them with paint.
- For a colorful refresh, remove cabinet hardware and place it on a piece of cardboard outside or in a well-ventilated area. For wood hardware, sand every surface with sandpaper first. With any type of material, apply a coat of spray primer and let it dry. Then, finish it off with one or two coats of spray paint in your desired hue.
Give these affordable home decor ideas a chance the next time you’re want to go big on style but light on your budget.
Whether you use paint or create your own candle holders, The Home Depot delivers online orders
when and where you need them.