Whilst I must admit, I do on the occasion splurge antique furniture or interior ( when they are on sale). In general I prefer keeping my decor items on a budget. I’d rather spend more on a proper shelving system than an on trend print to hang on the wall. With a combination of thrifting, sale hunting and DIYing I’ve always managed to make the house look cute without my wallet going dry. Today I wanted to introduce 3 of my tips that will make your house look expensive without hurting your pockets!
1. Use Postcards & Posters as Art print

Left: What I kept of my childhood postcard collections Right: A old children’s board game I bought at an old toy shop for about 5$
Funny story, whilst my peers collected stamps or diddle papers, I actually had a passion for collecting postcards since I was a toddler. People would send me some from other countries and whenever we’d vacation I’d get some new postcards. Some were even taken from free postcard counters in supermarkets! Although now I am less of a collector, I still turn to postcards and posters when it comes to adding some cheap artworks in the house. When I started living on my own I realized how expensive art pieces/ or even prints were and postcards and posters were a lot more affordable. It look very expensive when famed, it’s definitely one of the cheapest and easiest ways to add art into your room and it can also be a way for you to display some of your fondest memories from travels and trips.
2.Fake Plants Over Real Ones

Fake plants from FrancFranc, Nitori & Kitchen Kitchen all under 10$
It may come as a surprise but sometimes fake plants are cheaper than the real ones and a lot of them now a days look just as real! As a young girl who went out a lot and wasn’t the most responsible, I definitely have killed a fair share of my plant babies and I soon turned to mixing in some fakes into my collection. If your not confident about taking care of your plants or just simply don’t have as much time, it’s definitely the route to go as well as you really don’t need to care for it at all.
3. Expensive looking Dollar Store frames

Left: Dollar store frames Right: After a coat of paint
Wrapped in cheap plastic packaging and lit with fluorescent light Dollar store frames wouldn’t be my first choice! But, there are lot’s of advantages to these cheap frames and just a simple coat of paint turns them into designer looking frames. Dollar store frames are often one of the lightest frames you’ll find and it’s perfect for decorating rental homes where you want to avoid making holes as they hang easily on small command hooks. My tip when transforming these frames? Avoid mixing and matching too much and instead opt for a more minimal or monochrome look. What do I mean? If you mix different types of frame designs together then paint them all in the same color, and If you want to keep the original wood or plastic design then try and buy the same / similar designs to keep that cohesive looks. Remember: less is more in this case, too much of everything can end up looking extremely cheap especially when making a gallery wall.
And there you have it, my 3 tips on making your decor look expensive on a budget! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and I hope it inspired you all to go decorate your homes.
Leave a Reply