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Decorating your home like an interior designer does not need to be expensive! Making use of hand-me-downs, garage sale goods, simple DIY furniture pieces and by purchasing designer look items from discount stores  will help you.

Most of the furniture pieces in my house are hand-me-downs, some I'll admit are beautiful antiques, others are pieces handcrafted by crafty relatives and others are 90's flashbacks. I hadn't ever planned on keeping hand-me-downs so long, but you know how it goes--you're creating a new home after you get married and have no money. Numerous relatives offer up old mismatched pieces they not longer need and of course you graciously accept. It's better to not match than to sit on the floor, am I right? 😉 Fast forward  to too many years later and I'm still making do with those old pieces! Most wood furniture can just be repainted or re-stained, an old chair can easily get covered by a cozy faux fur blanket and antique treasures you can mix-and-match with most design styles.

So whether you have a similar situation as mine, just love a good bargain, or are wanting to tackle some simple DIY furniture pieces for the first time, I have tons of great ideas for you!

The photos in this post are featured in my post "Scandinavian Modern Home," a home decorated by an interior designer that includes many high style ideas for super cheap.  Check out that post to see the rest of this BEAUTIFUL and crafty home!

 

DIY FURNITURE

Dining Room Table

I'm so in love with this dining room set-up!

Make your own dining room table with a flat panel door from Lowe's or Home Depot. Simply attach two hardware store sawhorses to create the base.

Click here for a how-to tutorial I found by Home Depot.

 

DIY dining room benches

Click here for a similar plywood L-shaped couch tutorial by Remodelaholic.  Her blog is a great resource if you are a DIY-er!

Coffee Table

Make a simple pallet coffee table for almost free! Many businesses will just give you a pallet they're planning to discard if you ask kindly. This one has a piece of plywood cut to size and attached to the top. Lowes will cut lumber to size for you if you ask! And of course you can paint your table any color your little heart desires, leave it natural or stain it.

Click here for DIY pallet coffee table ideas and tutorials found by Homedit.  I love the pallet table with the glass top and castor wheels. There's also an amazing double pallet table on wheels to create a perfect shelf for coffee table books.

 

Fireplace Mantle

Make your own easy mantle crafted from one long board you buy from a store like Lowe's.  Again, they'll cut your board to size for no charge, you just need to attach with heavy-duty brackets and paint.

 

Magazine or Book Rack

Another easy pallet craft! Just attach to the wall as is, the robe hooks are a nice addition for a bathroom!

Bed Frame

The example is of a small child's bed, you of course can make one larger for an adult size bed.

Here's a tutorial link for a DIY queen size bed frame by The Merrythought anyone can do! Again, write down the measurements you need and  just get your local home improvement store to cut the boards for you!

2ND HAND AND GARAGE SALE GOODS

Couch

Slip cover those old couches or cover up with large, pretty throw blankets. You'd never know the couch under the white covers is actually orange!

I've never tried to make my own slip covers, but two of my friends have and both said it isn't as complicated as it seems! My go-to-method at this time is to simply throw an over-sized blanket over an entire chair.  For those of you wanting to tackle your own sleep couch slip cover, here's a tutorial I found by Honeybear Lane.

Fixing up hand-me-down or used furniture

Do you have any old stained furniture from a relative or pieces that are just outdated? Did you know by using gel stain you can literally just stain OVER the old stain without removing??

Here's a tutorial on how to work with gel stain by The DIY Network.

Re-purposing used finds

How cute is this vintage cart? Reusing antiques or taking old pieces and distressing them yourself is a great way to add character and a pop of fun in unexpected places.

Here's an antique side table with a brand new white board top! A piece of glass or a cute tray would also make a great table topper.

VINTAGE TREASURES

Decorating with family keepsakes

Does anyone else have boxes of family keepsakes in the garage like I do?? Actually pull some of these vintage gems out and sparingly display to add a whimsical touch.

Find a new use for old containers

This antique pottery crock is perfect next to the front door to hold long odd and ends like yoga mats, umbrellas or frequently used sports equipment.

Top a vintage lamp with a new, funky shade

HIGH STYLE, LOW COST PURCHASES

Budget Bedding Basics & Decor

There's ALOT of cheap decor on the market these days, but you now what? ALOT of it looks cheap too.  I'm always on the hunt for inexpensive accents that "look" high quality but don't cost it! Some of my favorites are Home Goods, Ikea, Marshall's, Hobby Lobby, Target, TJ Maxx and Amazon.

Plants and Poufs

A similar style Chindi pouf is available currently at World Market. 

Gallery wall frames and wall cubes

 

You can find these simple and inexpensive wall cubes at Ikea (and I'm sure elsewhere online.) Add a set anywhere you have a bare spot.

Inexpensive FUN signs 

DIY CRAFTS

Wall hangings

There's a big resurgence of macrame crafts this year, I love this idea for an easy wall hanging using driftwood wrapped with yarn loops.

Frame children's artwork

I LOVE framing kids artwork! I still have some of my favorites on display that are over 10 years old.  A perfect way to add color and meaning to your walls.

 

Family photo gallery

A perfect way to add to your walls and also preserve your favorite family memories

Baskets

They're cheap, work well to organize just about EVERYTHING, plus bring a natural element indoors.

Paper decorations

Hand-cut birds, flowers, leaves, words--the sky's the limit! Basically a free project and a good one for older kids to help with!

Nature crafts & accents

How awesome and simple is this "flower arrangement?"  You just need a clear vase, sand (or glass pebbles), branches from your yard or the craft store and then glue on flowers or leaves. Easy peasy!

Decorate with free nature accents or treasures collected from a family outing

Pillow covers with craft store accents

Make seasonal pillow slip covers and add fun accents like craft store pom poms, beads, etc.

Chalkboard wall

I hope you enjoyed the many ways to add low-cost furniture and accents to your home! Let me know below which ideas you end up trying 🙂

Be sure to check out the rest of this gorgeous home in my post about Scandinavian design decorating.

<3 Jen