How can I decorate and furnish my apartment cheaply?

1. 83

   followthestrayposted 12 years ago

   How can I decorate and furnish my apartment cheaply?
   
   My family and I will be moving by the end of February.  Our budget is super tight, but I really want to dress up our new apartment and make it feel like home.  I'm new to decorating and furnishing so the thought really just overwhelms me.  We have a toddler son and are expecting another boy in April so I would like to create a nice boys room.  I also want to dress up our brown microfiber couches (maybe with slipcovers or throws?) and just need lots of ideas for the kitchen.  Any ideas on making it more homey would be lovely too.  Though I'd like cheap ideas, I don't want it to look that way.

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2. 64

   Breatheeasy3posted 12 years ago

   BigLots: lol! I laughed at that last statement, because I think many people probably feel the same way. Anyway, depending on where you live, I'd say that one of the best and inexpensive places may be Biglots. I shop there myself because they have a wide variety of things, including those mentioned in your question. Good quality stuff, really nice decorative things and decent prices to hook up a room or something in a snap.
   
   Freds: This place is limited it seems, to mainly the southern regions of the country, but if you have a Freds nearby, then you can't go wrong. They have many things that come from higher end department stores that are no longer marketable for whatever reason. This means that the prices are slashed tremendously. I will say this though, stay away from the apparel. I find that their clothes are rather cheap and flimsy looking, while not being much different in price than any other store.
   
   Dollar stores: These are really good places too, but every dollar store isn't the same, especially the ones that sell things way over "a dollar" lol. Out of the many that are out there, I'd have to say that FamilyDollar is at the top of my list. They have a good variety of stuff and their food items are particularly cheap yet of good quality brands. Dollar mart, if you have one, is also a great place. You'll have to visit them frequently to catch that deal, but when you catch it...it's one heck of a deal. I've seen Huggies pampers in there (32 count) for only $5, and brand new clothing for the little ones as cheap as 50 cents.
   
   Hope these help. Didn't mean to turn this answer into an article in itself by the way...lol

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3. 61

   windygreenposted 12 years ago

   Goodwill and other thrift stores are great  -  With a can of paint and a little imagination you can remodel a whole house for under 100 bux. 
   Also ... again .... look on Craigslist .. there is a FREE section with tons of stuff - furniture , curtains , paint , etc.... 
   
   Good Luck!

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   1. 83

      followthestrayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh really?  I had no idea craigslist had a free section.  That's awesome!  I could probably score some awesome paint and supplies for projects that way.  Thanks a lot!

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4. 73

   jennaivyposted 12 years ago

   Thrift stores, or if you wait around for a while I notice that people tend to abandon a lot of random pieces of furniture when they move out like couches, chairs, and nightstands.  For the kitchen it's pretty easy to get a stencil and paint a design onto the cabinets if your apartment lets you do that.  Fruit bowls always look nice because they add color to the room.

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