Most of us wish we could show up Fixer Upper and have Chip and Joanna redo our home without us dropping a dime. Or we just wish we were Chip and Joanna. Either way, you most likely can’t or won’t be able to be them or be on the show. But that doesn’t mean you are doomed to lifeless home décor. Here are several ways you can decorate your home on any budget.

Hang Plates

If you don’t have the means to hang large art pieces, no worries, you can still fill your walls with beautiful statement pieces. Go to a flea market or thrift shop and find unique plates in varying hues and sizes to hang on the wall. Put the most iconic plate nearer the center and then arrange the rest around it. If you’re worried about holes, do the arrangement on the ground before making up your mind, and even then you can use command strips to hang them as they aren’t usually as heavy as a large picture frame. This is also a great way to put a family collection or vintage blue China pieces up without having them take up shelf space.

Build It

Furniture can become extremely expensive. But rather than paying an arm and a leg, you can easily learn how to build pieces yourself. Try building your own desk, bookshelf or even closet doors. There are many great how-to’s to follow and many lumber yards will sell wood for pretty cheap if you buy directly from them. You can even do this for a stunning headboard for your bed. If you plan to cover the headboard in fabric, then you can easily pay for inexpensive hardwood for underneath.

Buy Good, Not Price

Rita Konig, interior designer and European Editor for The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ, says that “it’s easy to buy things for the price, rather than buy good things. But if you guy good things, they will always be with you. If you buy the bad couch, for instance, you will always want to replace it as soon as you can.” It’s kind of like clothing, you can buy a new pair of $12 jeans every six months or spend $40 to $60 and have a pair that last a few years or even longer.

Reupholster

Konig and Emily Henderson, host of Secrets From a Stylist, both suggest that you focus more on the shape of a piece of furniture rather than the fabric as you can buy a cheaper couch and easily reupholster it. By doing this you could end up spending less to buy and reupholster a couch rather than paying for one that is all around perfect.

Re-envision

Jamie Drake of Drake/Anderson says to first start by re-envisioning your place before spending any money. Flip a floor plan, move a piece into a different room, reupholster or spray wood pieces. This can be one of the most inexpensive ways to decorate your home.

Do-it-Yourself

Sew your own quilt or comforter. Make your own throw pillows. Paint your own art. There are so many great projects out there that you can learn to do yourself that you could practically decorate your entire home with the talent of your own hands! Go ahead and look for inexpensive ways you can make things look nicer. For instance I had some blinds that I absolutely hated, so I ordered some static cling window filmthat helped block out the glare from the sun and got rid of all my window blinds. It was inexpensive and looks great.

Repurpose

If you can’t go buy brand new furniture at the moment or don’t want to throw something out, try repurposing a few pieces. You can turn a mismatched or rickety chair into a great bedside table. Or take an old duvet or comforter and repurpose it into a pet’s cozy sleeping spot. Turn an old door into a tabletop, this can look really fancy if you find an old door with nice etched glass, a tire into a garden planter, old curtains into napkins, and so much more. You can even turn no-longer-used sheets into light and airy window treatments. The possibilities are endless!

Things to keep in mind
If you are trying to redecorate your house on a budget you’ll want to keep in mind a few things. The first thing you’ll want to remember is that by changing any major floor plans or adding anything to your house may change your appraisal as well as your home insurance. This is something you’ll want to be careful about as you save money. I once tried to be as frugal as possible adding in a new large deck to my home. Imagine my shock when my house value shot up as well as my taxes! These are the types of things you’ll want to keep in mind as you improve your home, look out for any hidden costs and you should come out on top.