Gorgeous Insta interiors have you drooling, but can’t justify spending up to style your home? Luckily, money and style don’t go hand and hand, and you can still create a beautiful and inviting space without having to sell a vital organ! Here are some tips on how to turn your home from dull to designer, even with tightened purse strings…

BACK TO BASICS
With your limited styling budget, choose to spend a little more on the essential basics that you’re likely to see and use often, such as your coffee table and bedsides. Invest in quality pieces that are timeless in style and classic in design – think of them as your home’s little black dress, something that can be dressed up or down, and that goes with everything! The below Jakob Bedside is simple enough that it can be styled to suit a Nordic, contemporary, boho, coastal or rustic home, and also stylish enough that it’s beautiful even when left bare.

The same goes for homewares – pay a little bit extra for a few timeless pieces that you’ll always love, such as the stunning pieces by brands like Zakkia and Menu. Their designs are not fad-driven or designed around fleeting trends, so make a great styling base for nearly all homes and tastes.

Once you’ve taken care of your classic basics, you can feel free to bargain shop to your heart’s content on trend items. There are so many places to get dirt-cheap homewares from these days, including discount department stores (Kmart, Target, Big W), $2 stores, op shops and even supermarkets.

DARE TO DIY
Don’t worry, DIY doesn’t necessarily mean complicated craft projects that will take up your weekends and leave your fingers riddled with splinters. There are many quick and easy ways you can give plain or dated items a refresh, such as with a slick of paint, or by changing the knobs or handles.

I have an obsession with matte black, and for years, tried to find a stylish looking black paper towel holder to complement our black kitchen sink. Failing to find what I was after, I purchased a cheap silver one instead and simply spray painted it in matte black. Lisa of @gatheringwalls does a superb job of transforming cheap barstools into the elegant and luxe stools below, by getting someone to 2 pac the tops and then spray painting the legs in gold.

Not only does a bit of DIY give your items a new look, but you’ll also have one-of-a-kind pieces, and of course, bragging rights when visitors come over!

FAB FOLIAGE
Having plants and flowers in every room is a wonderful way to breathe life, warmth and colour into your home, but buying fresh flowers can be costly, and caring for plants time consuming. For a cheaper and more low maintenance option, go with faux (they’ve come a long way and are very realistic looking these days) or dried blooms – either way, they look amazing and last a lifetime!

Tara of coco.camellia_ has me falling in love with dried flowers lately, and uses these stunning bouquets beautifully to style her home.

VIGNETTES + SHELFIES
If you’re a styling newb, it might all seem too overwhelming - but rather than worrying about styling an entire home, focus on creating a vignette in each room. Think of each vignette as a little ‘scene’ that you create eg. a reading nook in your corner of your bedroom, the sideboard and mirror in your entryway, the display shelf in your living room etc… It’s much cheaper to focus on curating these little spaces, than taking on a complete style revamp or renovation, but it can still really transform a home. It also means that re-styling in the future is easier as your seasons or tastes change.

There are no rules per se when creating vignettes, but they are typically centred around pieces such as coffee tables, shelving, consoles, and sideboards. They generally include homewares and accents in odd numbers (3 or 5 usually look best) and incorporate objects of varying heights for visual interest.