Finding the beauty in budget friendly decor.
Budget friendly decor. It’s a lot easier to come by than you might think. I often get comments and questions about where I find my decor and how I can afford my decor. I would say about 70% of the items I buy are from Home Goods, Marshalls, or TJ Maxx. A huge reason I get a lot of stuff from there is because of the price of their items, and because all three stores are five minutes from my house. Sometimes convenience can pay in itself, but I also have other stores very close to me that I don’t go to. Why? They are just unreasonably priced for the budgets I have. I still definitely shop at other stores like Target, Kirkland’s, and At Home from time to time because I have found good deals at those stores as well.
Now don’t get me wrong, you can find expensive decor at the Home Goods chains too, but I typically don’t need a $299 life-sized pony (not kidding) for my house. You have to be smart with decor purchases in order to stay on a good budget. But what’s considered a smart decor buy? Well, let’s take some of my previous decor posts and other rooms in our home for example:
Let’s first consider my most recent table scape post. These black lanterns run for about $20 from the Hearth and Hand collection found at Target. These are a smart buy because I can constantly use them year round. They do not always have to be on my table, but I can move them to our living room, bedrooms, or even add on top of the shelves in our bathroom. They are small enough to fit in a variety of areas in our home, and they are color neutral. Black tends to go with everything, but if you aren’t a black decor person, you can also get these in the galvanized style here.
Color neutral items are easy to find and always a good buy. Now if in 20 years we go to a new style where yellow bathrooms are in style again, we can reconsider our choices. For today, I highly recommend sticking to the neutrals. You will be able to save some money by being able to move the pieces around the house yet still creating variety in your decor. A huge reason why I’m very fond of lanterns, glass jars, and baskets is because you can change what’s inside. If you like filling your lanterns like I do, you will find this option very suitable for you. Here I have pictured my winter decor option, but maybe for summer I would put sunflowers in the lanterns to give the room a bright feel. The options are endless! And for the filler options: You can find clearance items at Hobby Lobby, items in Target’s dollar section, or even just stuff you already have around the house. I had all of these candles and pinecones, then just went and bought some “Christmas” snow that was on clearance. Super cheap!
Here are some great lantern options that I’m in love with right now & are budget friendly!
Galvanized Metal Glass Lantern from Kirkland’s
Don’t forget to download the Kirkland’s app for additional savings!
Maggie Antiqued White Scroll Lantern from Kirkland’s
Antiqued Cream Lantern from Kirkland’s
Black Metal Punch Top Lantern from Hobby Lobby
Wait for 50% off sales from Hobby Lobby & make sure to download their app!
Bronze Metal Lantern from Hobby Lobby
But Kristen, you say to stay color neutral yet you had red Christmas decor! Yes I love my Christmas red but what you might not have paid close attention to in my Christmas post, was the white and red plaid table runner. It had minimal color in it and I could use it in the spring, summer, or even Fall if I wanted to. I could dress it up with my wicker chargers and these napkin rings with some white plates! Simple and usable throughout the year.
Table runners are a fun way to dress up a table and I’m obsessed with them! Oh, and they are budget friendly! I seriously love them, and I think I will always use a table runner. It gives the table a little bit of flair without covering the entire table. I think all my decor lovers out there can agree, the only pain point with table runners is steaming out the wrinkles! I wouldn’t recommend drying table runners either. I made that mistake awhile back with some place mats I had, and I don’t use them anymore haha. If you don’t have a hand held steamer or a full stand steamer, I would recommend getting one. They are great for your clothes, table runners and curtains! Here are some reasonably priced steamers on Groupon as reference (these deals come and go, so just search steamer):
Performance Garment Steamer from Groupon
Sunbeam Handheld Garment Travel Steamer from Groupon
The last few table runners I have found have been from Home Goods and Kirkland’s. They were all between $10-$20, and could sometimes be cheaper if there are clearance items or if you have coupons. Our first Christmas in our home together, I actually just used a burlap role as my table runner. Talk about cheap! It was maybe $5.00 for a 12″ roll at the time and was a great option. More of a one time use option though.
Should table runners be neutral? Not always. You can get some options between the two, but remember your other larger items (lanterns/big decor items/bowls/etc) can be more neutral. So have fun with your table runner! Get festive or stay neutral. You can’t really go wrong here with how cheap this option can be.
Lastly, if you follow me on my Instagram Page you, you might notice some traveling blankets. Blankets can be slightly expensive depending on which brand you buy or the store you buy them from, so I try to limit myself until I absolutely need a new blanket. I just simply move them around for photos depending on what I want to do. Currently it feels like 20 below zero here, so we have three blankets in our living room. Two are blue and one is red. The red no longer get’s pictured though because it doesn’t fit my theme. And this here is the point I’d like to prove: Your decor does not need to look on point 24/7. I put away certain items in my living room when I take photos and my red blanket (and several others) are ones you won’t see very closely if at all.
I’ll get into the living rooms details another day, but you can see the majority of my decor is bright and neutral colors. I love blue and already had these two blankets, so it was an easy decision to go with blue as an accent color. You can see the tiny pop of red in the corner, that’s my blanket that gets put away during photos. I recommend always having a basket, box, or a tin to keep blankets it too. It’s cute for decor reasons and somewhere to put your blankets! I found a Canada Dry antique box at a local show called Junkstock here in Omaha and I love it! It was something unique that not everyone would have, and I love myself a good Ginger Ale. I have also found some amazing baskets and tins at the Home Goods I frequently visit too. Those are usually about $30 and under depending on the size and style you choose. I recommend buying these options in person so you can get a visual of the size you are buying, but I’ve listed some options below as well.
TAYLOR MADISON Large Metal Weave Storage Basket from TJ Maxx
Wicker Large Round Basket Dark Brown – Threshold™ from Target
Round Woven Basket – Black – Threshold™ from Target
Three items that you can use all throughout your house or year round: lanterns, table runners, and baskets. The items I’ve linked are all options I would add to our home. They are versatile and beautiful! I recommend trying to find items that flow with the theme in your home to help maintain the budget. If you want to make a change (like gold to silver), make the change sooner rather than later. You do not need to be matchy matchy by any means, but it’s nice to have some synchronization throughout your home.
I hope you all have enjoyed today’s post! I really want to try to bring more budget friendly options for you and help you design your home within reason. If you want to see certain rooms of mine or have questions about the decor I’ve bought, please let me know! I’ll be showcasing more decor options throughout our home through the coming weeks. So feel free to subscribe to my blog and get notified of these decor’ing habits I have! Thank you for reading my friends!
With Love,
Kristen