Sometimes the living room is just the only room in the apartment that functions as all the others. So, like no other, she deserves a beautiful and cozy interior – even made by herself. Is it possible to refresh the living room design and still not go broke? Certainly! After all, updating the interior has little to do with repairs – it is much more essential to place bright accents. Not only that, you probably already have many of the things you need for this.
We offer 15 ideas that are easy to repeat – and without damaging the wallet.
1. Hang your illustrations in frames
To turn a room into an art gallery, you don’t need to understand art, just like spending money on paintings and posters. After all, an image placed in a suitable frame turns into an art object. Children’s drawings, greeting and souvenir cards, pages from books, and illustrations from long-read magazines will come in handy. Use frames of the same color and size to create a symmetrical composition or boldly combine models of various colors. To visually unite them, paint them in one color.
Tip:
If you have already found beautiful frames but are still choosing illustrations, remember that structures are pretty capable of decorating the interior independently.
2. Add some mirrors
Hang them on the same wall as a group – mirrors can easily replace any other wall decorate and serve as an original alternative to paintings, posters, and photographs. In addition, they will add light to the interior, which is especially useful in small rooms.
An exciting selection can be made from existing mirrors at home (bring them into one room and hang them nearby). Or consciously look for inexpensive old ones at a flea market.
Note:
You can also group the other items on the same wall in the same way. For example, plates and saucers leftover from various sets, ceramic tiles, straw hats, and much more.
3. Repaint your furniture
Freshen up old furniture by painting it a new color. One or two small items will be enough. It can be a coffee table, a stool, a bookshelf… You will only have to spend money on a can of paint. Black objects will add depth and graphics to the familiar interior in neutral tones, and neon-bright colors will add irony.
Tip:
A table, chest of drawers, and other paintable furniture can be purchased at some home improvement hypermarkets. Untreated pine furniture is an order of magnitude cheaper than its finished counterparts.
4. Take the jewelry out of the box
Look into your treasury: elegant brooches and beads will decorate not only you but also your interior. After all, you can choose jewelry both for a dress and a blouse and for the color of the curtains and upholstery of the sofa. A small brooch will refresh the look of a table lamp (it is enough to pin it on a textile lampshade) or a decorative pillow, and a few will decorate the tiebacks of the curtains or the quilted back of the sofa.
An unusual way to decorate is to turn brooches into hooks on which paintings and photographs hang. Or decorate the handles of drawers or chests of drawers and cabinets with them. Feel free to hang beads on the necks of vases – you will kill two birds with one stone. And the vases will look more interesting, and the jewelry will be at hand.
5. Turn your shelves into a showcase
Sometimes the best way to update an interior is to… clean it up. This is especially true for bookcases and shelving. It is pretty enough to rearrange the books and change the display of knick-knacks to make the room look completely different. Unexpectedly organize your home library: arrange books, according to the rainbow spectrum or dress up volumes with homemade covers. They can be the same color (for example, white to reduce visual noise) or vary depending on the subject matter of the content.
Tip:
Do not put all the figurines and figurines on the shelves at once: change the exposure according to the season. Get flowers in the spring and Christmas trees for the New Year. You will have at least four reasons to update the contents of the shelves, and there will be more free space on them.
6. Decorate jars and boxes
Even the most valuable shelves and racks can be turned into a decorative element. Do ordinary jars with little things stored in them look boring? Add fun details. Paint the lids and stack them on top of animal figurines (normal children’s toys will do), beautiful stones, or shells (those that you brought from a seaside vacation will come in handy). You can also paint or paste over with colored tape the edges of vases or bowls.
Everything you do not want to leave in plain sight puts it in boxes and on the shelves. It’s good if they are the same initially – this will unite the composition and eliminate the effect of visual noise. If the boxes are of different suits, combining them into a set is as easy as shelling pears: the same paints, wrapping paper, or even an ordinary newspaper will come to the rescue.
7. Make the interior personal
Let your room be decorated with the best and happiest moments of your life, photos of friends and relatives. At the same time, there will finally be a reason to print the best photographs and not be content with just albums on the computer.
If you already have photo frames, great. No, it’s not a problem either. A simple rope and a dozen clothespins will successfully replace them. Cute clothespins can be found in stationary and craft stores. Or you can decorate those that are: repaint them in other colors, glue buttons, or another decor.
Tip:
Use ordinary glass jars as photo frames. Just crop the photo to the jar’s height, place it inside upside down and turn the jar upside down.
8. Hang a frame on a shelving unit
A bright accent and an out-of-the-ordinary solution for spaces where every square centimeter counts – the frame is right on top of the ends of the shelves. Why not? You will save space on the room walls and the shelves themselves. If the frame is small, it will not block access to books and trinkets stored on the rack. And its content, whether it’s a photo or a favorite poster, will be in the foreground.
9. Don’t be afraid to misbehave
After all, this is your interior! So you can express yourself here in any way. For example, to nail everything that lies badly on the walls. Wooden figurines, scattered letters, rag dolls… Desperate experimenters make compositions, even from a dozen Barbie dolls. A wall selection can show guests your life philosophy or just hobbies for today. Plus, it’s an inexpensive way to showcase your collection of just about anything.
10. Arrange greenery
Living plants will add life to your interior. In addition, they are pleasing to the eye and purify the air and create a healthier microclimate. If you are afraid to ruin your green plantings, pay attention to natural specimens that are not even afraid of life in the office, where they are remembered once every two weeks. And it doesn’t matter if the air is too dry or you missed a couple of waterings. These are, for example, Sansevieria (aka “mother-in-law’s tongue,” “pike tail”), geranium, the fat woman (“money tree”), and many others. Well, do not forget about cacti and other small indoor succulents – you can make excellent compositions from them.
Advice:
If the traditional “flower in a pot” option doesn’t inspire you, place your green pets under glass jars, in old birdcages, or in unique small greenhouses (you can find them in stores).
11. “Change” the walls
Changing the wallpaper or painting the walls does not fit into the budget? Use school music sheets or books that you were going to get rid of. The result looks a little irreverent, but spectacular and comfortable.
You can experiment with colors and with the method of sticking. For example, place the edge of the page to edge, overlap, or leave the corners unglued so that they sway slightly from drafts. In this way, you can mask the traces of children’s art and the cat’s claws.
12. Use finds from the street
Old boxes and pallets from vegetables and fruits are an inexhaustible source of creativity and… Home furniture. It is enough to put a few pallets, one on top of the other – and the bookcase is ready. For a more industrial look, leave the structure unfinished. But you can also paint it: in one color or several different ones, entirely or only from the inside. One such box, placed on its side on the table, will serve as a stand or a limiter for books, as well as a showcase for all sorts of little things.
13. Use a tray, not for food
A beautiful idea from interior gloss is a decorative tray with various little things. Put a small vase of flowers a figurine from a trip, put a couple of your favorite books in a pile, add sea pebbles or scented candles. The method is suitable because such exposure can be changed as often as possible. It is easy to rearrange it to a new place or even remove it. And if the tray is roomy enough, then you can leave space for a couple of cups of coffee on it – and any pouf will turn into a stylish designer table.
14. Decorate with textiles
A new textile design can dramatically change the look of a room. But if the change of curtains, carpet, and bedspreads is not yet included in the plans, you can get by with small forces. Use your favorite blanket: it is not necessary to completely cover the seat and back of upholstered furniture with it. Try to fold it evenly and lay it in a path, passing it under decorative pillows (example in the photo) or throw it on deliberately casually. Instead of plaid, you can even use a tippet or a wide scarf – the choice is yours!
15. Group by color
Do you collect white milk jugs? Do not place them all over the sideboard; it is better to gather everything together and put it in a spectacular group. The same goes for any other items of the same color. If individually, that the structures are pretty capable of they can be visually lost or too colorful, then collected in a solid color spot, draw attention to the composition as a whole and each component separately.
