In this article14 sections · Jump to an idea
4 min read
Most budget decorating advice is a list of thrifted objects. But an apartment doesn’t look better because of more objects — it looks better because of light, textiles and a few structural fixes.
Here’s the list in order of impact per pound spent.
1. Change every bulb — the cheapest transformation
2700K warm white, everywhere.
Rental apartments come with cool white bulbs because they’re cheap in bulk. They’re also what makes a flat feel institutional. Swapping them costs very little and changes every room instantly.
If you do one thing on this list, do this one.
2. Add lamps and stop using the overhead
The second-biggest change, and it follows from the first.
Two or three lamps at different heights in a room — a table lamp, a floor lamp, something on a shelf — makes a rental feel like a home. The single ceiling light makes it feel like a rental.
Thrift the lamp bases, buy new shades. A cheap base with a good linen shade looks far better than the reverse.
3. Rehang the curtains
Free, and most people have never done it.
Rod near the ceiling, not at the window frame. Extending 6–10 inches past each side. Floor-length, just touching.
This makes windows look bigger and ceilings higher. It costs nothing if you already own curtains and a rod.
If you’re buying: plain linen-look panels in cream or a warm neutral. Long ones. Length matters more than fabric quality.
4. Get a big enough rug
The most common budget mistake is buying a rug that’s too small, which makes a room look smaller and cheaper.
Living room: at minimum, the front legs of all seating should sit on it. Usually 5 x 8 feet or larger.
Bedroom: extending 18 inches beyond the sides and foot of the bed.
A large cheap rug looks better than a small expensive one. Prioritise size over material.
5. Textiles do the decorating
- A throw over the sofa arm
- Cushion covers — buy covers, not cushions, and keep the inserts
- A duvet cover with texture rather than pattern
- A bath mat and towels in a real colour
Textiles are cheap, they’re what you touch, and they move with you to the next flat.
6. One large piece of art per room
Six small frames cost more than one large print and look busier. A single large piece makes a room feel bigger and more considered.
Cheap sources: print-on-demand sites, museum shop downloads printed locally, a large fabric or tapestry, or your own photographs printed big.
Hang it at 57 inches to centre. Too high is the most common error.
7. Plants
The cheapest thing that makes a room feel alive.
Cheap and hard to kill: pothos, snake plant, ZZ plant, spider plant.
Free: pothos and spider plants propagate from cuttings in water. One plant becomes five in a couple of months.
Put them in charity shop ceramic pots or baskets, not the plastic nursery pot.
8. Fix the hardware
Small changes that make builder-grade fittings look intentional:
- Cabinet knobs and handles
- A new shower head
- A toilet seat
- Light switch plates
- A better doorstop
Keep the originals in a box for move-out.
9. Peel-and-stick, selectively
- Floor tiles in a small bathroom or laundry
- A splashback behind a kitchen sink
- Wallpaper on one wall
Test on a hidden patch first. In a badly painted rental, adhesive can pull paint off. And check your lease.
10. Hide what you can’t change
- A rug over bad flooring
- A large plant in front of an awkward corner
- A slipcover on a dated sofa
- Window film over ugly glass
- Baskets over open shelving
Where to spend rather than save
Some things are worth real money because you use them daily and they last through several flats:
- A good mattress — nothing else affects your life this much
- A desk chair, if you work from home
- Towels and bedding — you touch them every day
- A large rug — size costs money and it’s the one place to pay
- One good lamp
Where to save
- Side tables, shelving, storage — thrift or flat-pack
- Cushion covers
- Art — prints, not originals
- Plant pots
- Decorative objects
- Anything trend-driven
Free changes worth doing first
Before spending anything:
- Rehang the curtains high and wide
- Rearrange the furniture — pull it off the walls, create a sightline
- Remove a third of the objects on display
- Group what’s left on trays
- Clean the windows
Those five take an afternoon, cost nothing, and often make more difference than the next £200 you spend.
The order I’d do it in
| Priority | Change | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm bulbs everywhere | Very low |
| 2 | Two lamps per room | Low |
| 3 | Rehang curtains | Free |
| 4 | Large rug | Medium |
| 5 | Throw and cushion covers | Low |
| 6 | One large art piece per room | Low–medium |
| 7 | Three plants | Low |
| 8 | Hardware swaps | Low |
The pattern behind all of it: light, soft things, and fewer objects arranged better. Almost nothing on this list is a decoration, and that’s the point.
Save it
Pin this for your board
Tap the image to save it to Pinterest and come back to it when you are ready to start.
