It is truly a travesty when your taste outweighs the money in your pocket. Having to walk away from something you love because of your budget can be painful, but when there’s a will, there’s a way! We find it’s always beneficial to source the services of a professional architect for a NJ home renovation. An architect can design your house renovation to meet your overall budget and advise on appropriate materials and finishes.
If you want to upgrade your New Jersey home but don’t have the funds, our team compiled a list of alternative ideas as well. In this article, we explore how you can elevate your home on a budget by decluttering, utilizing budget-friendly accessories, and repurposing old furniture. Let’s take a closer look:
Declutter and Organize Your Home
Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant, suggested that homeowners focus on organizing by category rather than location and choosing what to keep rather than discard. The Spruce, a well-known home improvement website, advises as follows when you want to declutter and organize your home:
- Five-second rule: Give yourself five seconds to remember when last you used the item you are holding. If you cannot remember, discard it.
- People use 20 percent of their belongings 80 percent of the time. Store or get rid of items you don’t use regularly.
Cost-Effective Ways to Accessorize Your Home
Accessorizing a home adds personality and brings comfort. You would be amazed at how new dishware or throw pillows can change the whole personality of a room! Some more inexpensive home decorating ideas include changing throw blankets, thrifting prints and putting them in new frames for art on your wall, and layering an inexpensive vintage-style rug over a neutral carpet. Update living room lamps by replacing the bulbs with warm LED bulbs or adding live potted plants for a more cozy feel.
Repurpose and Renew Old Furniture
One of the best budget-friendly home decorating ideas is to repurpose and renew old furniture. An architect for home additions will always select materials that are appropriate to the architecture of a house. The U.S. has several well-known furniture designers, and if you are fortunate enough to own one of their pieces, they are definitely worth keeping. Who are these designers and what are they known for?
- Frank Lloyd Wright: High-back chairs.
- Gustav Stickley: Mission-style furniture.
- Adrian Pearsall: Glass-top tables with walnut wood bases.
- Lawrence Peabody: Lawrence Peabody mid-century modern armchair.
- Charles and Ray Eames: Eames chair.
Budget-Friendly Furniture: What Pieces to Splurge On and What to Leave Behind
A quality sofa and other upholstered pieces such as dining chairs and armchairs are worth splurging on if you choose classic silhouettes and fabric patterns. Don’t base your decisions on trends as they are quickly replaced by the next ‘must-have’ item. Every home should have a quality bed, and it’s worth spending the time and funds to create your own bedframe. What can you leave behind? Children’s furniture designed for specific age groups and items with visible hardware such as plastic caps, swivel mounts, and exposed screws, as they cheapen any room design.
Don’t want to elevate your home on a budget and need the input of a home remodeling architect in New Jersey? Contact Seth A. Leeb, Architect, to discuss your project. You can also visit our website for more information on our services and inspirational projects: https://leeb-architecture.com/