How to Decorate Your room on a Budget

Decorating your home is not as complicated as you would think and you do not need to hire a professional in order to get it done. It's easy enough for you to do it yourself and all you need is a little imagination!

Money does not go along way and decorating can get expensive if you get people to come in and do it for you.

Why not do it yourself and create a space that you will absolutely love.....and the best part of it all is that you did it yourself.

Planning is important because if you do not have an idea of what you want or what you like than it could end up costing you an unsatisfying fortune!

Take a good look at the room that you would like to change and see what you want to keep and get rid of what you do not like or what doesn't suit your taste.

Remember that you could change something old into something new by painting it or breaking it down and remodelling it. So think about it nicely before you throw it away.

Decide what you like, what fits your personality; colours, style or theme.

Once you have decided on a theme or style that you like than you move on to the next step.

You have an idea of what you want but now you need to go and take a look around. A good idea is to page through magazines or search online to give you some imagination.

Set yourself a budget and then work around that to stop you from overdoing it.

There are so many great items you can find if you take your time to look for them. Don't buy compulsively because you will end up getting things that you don't really like.

Take your time to plan and to look around for the best deals first. Don't be in a hurry to complete the project as it will end up as another cluttered and expensive mess.

There are many stores to look through, online catalogues to surf over and you might even find some of the things that you need in your local grocery store at half the price of a designer shop.

Colour can make or break your mood so choose wisely. White is high maintenance but when mixed with turquoise or any colour it looks amazing!

You can choose any colour that you like providing you break it up with something else. So when selecting purple ensure that you break it up with another colour that blends in; yellow is not one of those colours!

I love the ocean and anything to do with the seaside so I chose white as my basic colour and blended it with turquoise.

I had brown shutter doors in the kitchen which I painted white and that made a huge difference already!

The walls were painted white but I got a paint that could easily be wiped clean because white gets dirty very quickly.

My furniture is very old and does not match at all, unfortunately I could not afford to change that but I did manage to find bright blue and white striped cushions to break the ugly green old furniture and turquoise throws to cover.

Now I have turquoise throws hanging over the couch, scatter cushions in blue and white and white walls.

I had beige coffee tables that I painted white and a woodern lantern that I changed from rusty brown to white.

Do you get how east it is to turn a room around?

Simple ideas that could liven your room and look as if it's had a complete make-over without spending a fortune!

Less is more and the fewer ornaments you have, the easier it is to clean!

Try to keep it simple and when buying ornaments keep to your theme and colour blends so that you do not end up having a room that's cluttered and resembles an antique store.

A good idea is to take your favourite photo's and have them enlarged and put onto canvas. If you are doing seaside décor, get a picture of your beach experience placed onto a canvas for you to hang up. It doesn't cost as much as buying pictures and they are more personal.

Lamps are nice to have because lighting is not something that we can change in a hurry without expense. If you are doing a seaside theme, choose straw lamps or candle lanterns. If your walls are white and the blending colour is blue than get a blue lamp. If your walls are brown break it up with a beige lamp, black with white, yellw with pastel green or white and pink with burgundy.

Seaside curtaining is easy! Get rid of your old lace or thick and dark curtains and replace them with bamboo blinds.

If you have an old lamp that you don't like, just paint it or buy a cheap and simple one from your home stores.

When you have limited space than it is really uncomfortable having too many things displayed.

Firstly, have a bright colour as your base.

Get rid of anything that you do not use (if you haven't used it in a year than you do not need it!)

Invest in a large mirror and place it in the centre of the room. This will create the illusion of space and will automatically make the room look bigger.

Take down those bulky curtains and replace them with blinds or shutters.

Replace boxes and side cupboards with storage units. If you have space under your bed than invest in the storage drawers. They can store duvets and towels and nobody will be able to see it and it will give you some space!

Take out your bulky office chair and replace it with a small space - saver. It will be sad to lose that chair but you will get used to it.

Remove any big rugs or mats that you have on the floor because this also makes your space appear smaller. If you have a big plant pot than replace it with a smaller one.

You can also get paintings that have a seaview on it or pictures of the city to create the illusion of space.

Themes are the best way to go for a children's room. Get rid of anything that is broken and cannot be fixed. This means that you will have to go through each toy!

Curtains that are easy to clean are advised and try to get the length that doesn't touch the floor. Instead of a lace get a dark blind to put behind the curtain.

I chose "Hello Kitty" because that theme can last a girl for a few years before she thinks it's uncool.

The walls were white and I got a curtain and duvet set in the pink "Hello Kitty."

I got clear storage bins for the toys (so that you have no surprises when cleaning it!) with a pink lid. White study table, pink picture frame, pink lamp, pink vase with white and pink flowers in it, hello kitty mat and one scatter cushion.

For the kid's rooms less is more because it's hard to keep it clean. I got a pink picture of a dog in the centre of the room and the walls are left clear for the kids to hang their own pictures on.

A good idea to avoid black walls is to have a board hanging so that any pictures that they draw can be put onto the board instead of the walls!

This one is difficult because they are too cool for cartoon characters and you don't want to make it dark! I came up with the nautical theme but instead of making it look like my lounge I added navy blues, red, turquoise and white.

A very small room has limited space and I just moved the bed around, got rid of the big cushions that were on the bed and replaced the study lounger with a small and comfortable chair. All the little things were bought in red or turquoise and I got a vertical mat in Navy and white to give the illusion of space.

I made everything fit in and found that by moving things around and experimenting, I finally found a way to make the room look bigger so that if they do have friends over there is space for a sleeper couch.

Kitchen upgrades can be so expensive but you can alter a room with just a small splash of colour or a dash of imagination.

If you have old tattered burglar bars then sand them down and cover them with a bright café curtain. You can make them yourself if you can bargain with the material stores.

Making the curtains are easy and fun to do but you do need some patience as you have to take your time to ensure that all the stitching looks professional. Have a theme in mind before you try to salvage your kitchen area or you might find yourself adding things that simply become a bizarre.

If you have old tiles that have seen the day and you don't have much money then a great idea to spruce up the walls and make it look as though you have expensive tiling, you could buy vinyl floor tiles that are easy to stick and they will warm up your kitchen. There are a number of patterns to choose from and this will look incredible in an area that needs a little facelift.

It takes time and patience to decorate because you have to move things around a few times to get exactly what you are looking for but the end results are gratifying so don't give up!

Try new styles and get rid of old clutter, go from dark to light and keep it simple. Don't forget to shop around for ideas first and then plan what you want to do before you do it.

Have fun and enjoy turning your old and dull room into a fresh, new look!