Curating your home on a budget

When we purchased our first house, it took everything inside of me to not go out and buy a bunch of furniture and decor to furnish our home. But that was not realistic for us, nor is it for most other people. But budget aside, I find the hunt for treasures to be thrilling and it would take some of the fun out of decorating a house if I were to buy everything at once.

It took me several years to even figure out what my style was and which pieces I liked, which got me so discouraged as I thought our home would never reflect the picture I had in my head. These combined factors caused me to look at decorating a house in a compeltely different light, approaching it as a carefully curated project instead of a quick cookie-cutter furnishing. Even if decorating comes easy to you, it can be difficult to capture your dreams in your house. Throughout my decorating journey, I have learned a couple of lessons which I will share below.

Be patient

This for me was the hardest lesson to learn. Not only do you need to be patient to work with your budget, but when you are bringing a specific style element into your home, it can take a lot of time to find the pieces that work well in your space. For example, if you are looking for painted artwork to make a gallery wall, it may take a while to find the art you like in the correct size and at the right price. This patience means looking at Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist every so often to see if there is an antique wingback chair that is in good condition with no funky smell, and even after those qualifications are met, it has to be within reasonable driving distance on a day that you have access to a larger hauling vehicle to bring it safely home. It takes time to find things that you love, and that is what makes them so special.

Have fun researching

Not only does it take time to find items you like, it can also take time for you to find your style. I feel like I am still figuring out what exactly my style is; I have some colonial, victorian, and 1900's farmhouse decor sprinkled throughout my home currently, and it can be difficult to pinpoint one specific style to roll with. When I go thrift or antique shopping, then, I sometimes have a hard time knowing if an item will work in our house. Something you can do that I have found helpful is to look online at Zillow and Pinterest to see different house styles and note the features you appreciate in them. Do you like the beadboard? The framed artwork? The light fixture? Even if you do not necessarily like everything in the room iteslf, take time to look at the details and pick out elements you would like to incorporate into your own home. Keep a journal or Pinterest board to collect ideas and things to look out for when shopping.

Don't forget the little things

When decorating our houses, usually the things we think of are artwork, rugs, cabinets, new paint, furniture, and the like. But something I have really come to value are the small changes that make your home more cohesive. For example, I had some large coffee mugs I had gotten from Marshalls when we were first married, and to be honest I only drank half of what was in that cup each day. They were really cute but didn't match our white dining set, so I tucked them away in a box and found some secondhand Pfaltzgraff mugs. Some are plain white with a filigree design and others are white with a delicate rose painted on the sides, and I spent less than $40 on this switch. That small change has brought me so much joy in the mornings and gives me a sense of cohesiveness in our kitchen.

Another thing you can think about swapping out are cleaning supplies. Yes, they are super ordinary items, but even they can be incorporated into your decor. Put your cleaning rags in a cute basket so your decor overflows into your storage closest. Do you live in a farmhouse or cottage style home? Buy a corn broom to sweep with rather than a plastic one. Do you have light switches? Probably! You can look on Etsy and even Amazon to find some cute light switch cover designs that quickly add character to your home without having to drop hundreds of dollars on a remodel. To make this even more budget-friendly, you can paint your existing light switch covers to match your home's style. These changes, though they seem small, are the little details that will make your home come together.

Have an open mind

When it comes to finding pieces for your home, you may have a specific area in mind when you purchase something only to find out that it doesn't quite look right once you put it there. Being a homemaker can be like putting together a puzzle: it may take a while to find where the piece goes, but once it clicks in, it makes everything around it more beautiful and coherent. Play around with your space and the items you already have, you may find that you had some art for that corner all along, it was just hiding somewhere it wasn't getting appreciated. Decorating can take a lot of figiting with items, and you may live with a certain setup for a month or so before realizing that it just isn't quite right, and that's OK. You don't need to get it perfect the first time.

It is so easy to see what is posted on social media and in magazines as the "norm," to think that if you just buy those specific pieces, your house will look just like theirs. But homemaking is a slow, beautiful process. It is a lifetime of finding things you love to bring into your home to enjoy and share with your family and friends. You may be born with a knack of finding pieces that are perfect for your home, or you may be like me and take a while to even figure out what your style is. But with a little patience and attention to detail, you can create a home that reflects your interests and taste.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into how I curate my home on a budget, and be sure to keep an eye out for new posts on home decorating, cooking, and other homemaking joys!