One thing that I have learned very quickly as a homeowner is that the property seems to completely suck me dry of all of my money. Unlike when I was renting, there are so many costs involved with the maintenance of a property, and it seems never ending. Because of the outlet which I spent on my home, I decided not to decorate for the first year, so as to save up some cash. When I finally did decide to decorate the home, it was amazing just how quickly the costs were spiraling when I priced everything up. I always pictured myself with a beautiful and welcoming home, the type that I can imagine interior design expert Gary Friedman to have. At first I thought that more money was my only solution but with a different approach, you can create the beautiful home that you are after, and here is how.
Piece by Piece
I had a foolish notion in my head that I was going to be able to redecorate the whole of my downstairs with the budget that I had, I quickly realized that this wouldn’t be the case. I decided therefore that the best way to approach redecorating the house was to do so one room at a time. Doing this not only took the pressure off, but it meant that I could indulge myself and ensure that each room was exactly to my liking.I was worried that this approach would create a Golden Gate Bridge effect whereby as soon as the home would finish I would have to start again, but this isn’t the case. Investing in one room of the house, and doing it well, ensures that you get at least 6 or 7 years out of it before you’ll look to do it again.
UpCycle
My new favorite hobby is upcycling and throughout my home I have some absolutely amazing pics of furniture which cost almost nothing. The idea of upcycling is to take an old piece of furniture, be it broken or simply distressed, and then turning it into something modern and beautiful. You can do this with just about anything, it doesn’t have to be furniture. I have a vintage French bicycle in my study which was rusty and broken when I got it, a lick of paint and some TLC later and it makes for the perfect accompaniment to the room. Upcycle for unique furniture and for saving money.
Hacks
If you go onto a site such as Pinterest and type in home hacks, you will find a huge amount of incredible tips and ideas which you can employ to save some money around the home. Here you’ll find anything from using a shoe rack as a herb garden to making a bed out of pallets. It seems that the world is looking to save money and if you check out some of the hacks, you can too!