6 tried-and-true tips for affordable home styling

Whether you’re working with a tight budget or trying to find out what your personal style is, decorating a room in a way that’s just right with a little budget can be just plain difficult. So, we turned to a few of our favorite home décor bloggers for advice and affordable styling tricks they have up their sleeves. And you know what? We think you might have a hard time deciding which one to try out first!
 
Create your own artwork on the cheap with just wood and fabric
“I recently had to fill a large wall in my living room using a not-so-large budget! So, I built two big frames, using discarded pallet wood, and attached beautiful burlap fabric to them, almost like you’d stretch fabric over a canvas. The fabric has a Moroccan-style, silver design all over it that matches a mirror that is hung in between the two new ‘works of art.’” — Krystal Butherus of Krystal’s Kitsch
 
Choose a neutral color palette for easy updates, like pillows and art
“Keep your colors neutral so that changing out throw pillows, wall art and so forth is something you can do when you get the itch to give a room a makeover — and it doesn’t break the bank.” — Kelly Rowe of Live Laugh Rowe
 
 
 
Frame big family photos (without a big price tag)
“I’m in love with using engineer prints (which are awesome, giant, black-and-white photos) to obtain oversized art on the cheap. It’s easy to mount and frame your engineer prints, and I think everyone should give them a try!” — Beth Hunter of Home Stories A to Z
 
Want to learn more about creating your own engineer prints? Check out her tutorial … we bet you’ll love them!
 
Don’t recycle … make vases out of jars or even baskets!
“Almost anything can be used as a vase! Look at the shapes of your empty food jars. Remove the labels and they are unique vases for holding fresh flowers. And if you find something that you think would look gorgeous but isn’t water tight, simply place a water-filled jar inside to put the flowers in!” — Sharon Garofalow of Cupcakes & Cutlery 
 
Time to go all natural with green plants, all year ‘round
“Plants! Just in the last couple of years, I realized how much I love having green plants. I never quite learned how to style a shelf or a mantel — now I just think, I'll put a plant there! They're homey and add 'life' to a space. Pathos plants are the best because they are crazy easy to maintain and they also filter the air.” — Stephanie Gerber of Hello Natural
 
Turn everyday items, like hats and jewelry, into décor
“Since we have no shortage of wall space, I love putting my hats (and other accessories) on display. It’s great décor and doubles as storage.” — Megan Zeitz of The Frugalista Diaries
 
If these tips somehow aren’t enough to get you started on an affordable style, check out our Put Together Lookbook for tons of fabulous makeovers. You can also take our What’s Your Furniture Style quiz to give you some direction.
 
Top image from Live Laugh Rowe, whose neutral foundation allowed her to bring in pops of color with the vintage shutter and gorgeous pillow.