5 ways to update and brighten your space on a budget

July 26, 2017

Feature blog by Nicole Poelzer, Interior Designer at Revision Renovations

One of the most common questions I get as a designer is how can you brighten and update your home without breaking the bank. Whether you are renting and don’t want to invest in a home you don’t own or you recently bought your place and don’t have the extra cash to renovate yet, this tips will help you out!

1) Roll on some new paint

It is amazing what a new paint job can do for your space. I recommended using a neutral paint colour so your home is bright and won’t date. If your home isn’t getting much natural light then a white or off white will make it feel bright and less gloomy. A neutral colour will also let you bring in colour with less permanent things like your accessories or a statement piece of furniture. If you need a splash on the wall than I suggest picking a wall and doing a feature wall colour. Below are my favourite neutral paint colours from Benjamin Moore:

Paint-colour-Stonington-Grey-on-a-budget

2) Add life in your space with some plants and fresh cut flowers

During the spring and summer months I love to grab some flowers from a local florist and put them in a vase for my dining room table or kitchen island. It adds colour and brings life into the space, and they smell good too! Flowers in season are generally cheap to pick up.

If you want something a little more permanent you can get some cheap pots (IKEA has some great options!) and some plants to pot. Spider plants are great, they are easy to keep up and are hard to kill for all those brown-thumbs out there. I have some at home and we have some in our office.

3) Have less clutter

Organize!

Clutter in your space will make it feel small and busy. Throw out, donate or sell anything you haven’t used in the past year. If you haven’t used it in a year then you are probably not going to use it again. Once you’ve done that you can organize your things (You’ll probably have a lot of “stuff” after you’ve purged through your things) into bins and baskets. Bins and baskets will make you things neat and tidy in a decorative way with different colour or patterns.

4) Update and add more lighting fixtures

Lighting is an important part of your home, you can find a really unique fixture that can also be an art piece and give you more light!. Fixtures can range from cheap to expensive. It also can help update your home if you have older out of style fixtures.

If you don’t own the home you’re living in you can still update the fixtures. For example you dislike the dining room light in the condo you are renting, you can replace it and keep the old fixture that was there before. When you move out you can take your light out and replace it with the original. If your apartment is lacking light even with fixtures add some floor and side table lights to brighten up the space. Below are some options of budget friendly fixtures!

5) A gallery wall

Lets be honest, art is expensive! Instead of leaving your wall blank, you can create your own personalized gallery wall.

There are a few ways you can create your wall, you can use personal photos, I like getting black and white photos printed and put in black or white frames. Another option is to get prints, Indigo has some good options and so does Desenio. Desenio prints are even made for IKEA frame sizes, making it even easier. If you are feeling artistic you can even create your own designs or drawings and frame them, Or mix the 3 of these ideas!

For picture frames I would go to IKEA, they have a great selection of standard sized frames in black and white. Here are some examples below: