Home Décor:
What to Do When Your Walls Are as Empty as Your Wallet
You have just moved out of your parents’ house and have absolutely no wall décor for your first place; or maybe you just don’t have the spare cash to put expensive art on your walls. Don’t fret, I’m here to help! You can start with the obvious: framed family photos that many people scatter around their home; however, I have a few other ideas to help you make the walls of your home look absolutely fabulous while staying on budget. Keep in mind, everyone has unique tastes when it comes to home décor. Some people enjoy elegance and fruit bowls; others like cats, cats, and more cats! Admittedly, my home décor may not be to everyone’s liking; however, the means of how I obtained my wall hangings may be of interest to you.
Donations
When I first moved out of my parents’ house everyone I knew asked me if I needed anything for my new home. It may be easier to say, “No, I’m okay, thanks!”, but I highly recommend you don’t. I put together a list of things I was looking for: pots, pans, towels, and pictures with frames to decorate my new home. Sure enough, I had accumulated a nice haul of things including some decent looking décor for my walls. Okay, so the cheesy pictures of the flowers and birds are not my favourite pieces but they look great on the walls in my bathrooms (sorry Aunt Jackie)! The precious little cat pictures were definitely the best addition to my new home. Hey, I warned you my décor is a little different.
Thrift Store Finds
You will not believe the amount of wall hangings that can be found at thrift stores. I’m lucky that I have a Value Village, Salvation Army, and Bibles for Missions all relatively close to where I live. I love dropping in to see what treasures I can find. Check out my huge, adorable tiger cub picture (complete with a nice frame). Only $5 at Bibles for Missions, what a steal! I was also lucky to have found Elvis ($2) and the unicorn picture ($1.50) which I’ll admit are a tad unorthodox but great contributions to my unique décor. Don’t worry, if you’re looking for pictures that better suit your style there is still plenty to look at if you visit thrift stores. While I don’t own any wall décor from garage sales thus far, I’ve heard they are also excellent places to look for paintings and/or frames for your home!
Buy Some Cheap Posters
Your mind probably just flashed to fast cars, bikini models, and rock band posters tacked up in a teenage boys room. Luckily, Walmart sells posters ($7- $12) of pretty much anything and some of them are actually fairly nice; for example, maps of the world, animal portraits, beautiful landscapes, etc. Potentially paired with a cheap plastic poster frame (or perhaps you’ve found a low-cost frame at a thrift store!), these posters can really add that homey feeling to those empty walls. Now I’m not saying this is for everyone; however, I love showing my interests on the walls of my house. Amongst my Elvis picture and the multitude of animal-related décor, my boyfriend and I have a few movie and sports posters up in the main living quarters of our home. It really adds some character to our home without looking cluttered or trashy. When people come to visit, great conversation always arises out of our Jurassic Park poster.
DIY
You don’t have to be a talented artist to decorate the walls in your home but it would definitely help. Now I admit I’m no Picasso; however, I do like to dabble in painting. I usually get my paint and some small canvases from the dollar store. I do own one huge yet-to-be-painted canvas that I bought at a Michael’s Arts and Craft Store sale but I haven’t been brave enough to do anything with it thus far. I usually browse on Pinterest looking for easy ideas on what to paint. Depending on the season, you may consider painting some seasonal décor. Check out my stained glass-looking Christmas picture. I painted this picture, using a glue and paint mixture, on a dollar store frame. If you don’t consider yourself a great painter of pictures you could always resort to a paint-by-number or try painting some inspirational words with a fancy background!
Another idea, for those of you who don’t believe you can paint a nice picture, is to try attending a Paint Nite event. If you can get your hands on a Groupon or discount code you’ll have a great night out with friends, and a masterpiece for your house, for only about $25. Seriously, you don’t have to be an artist to attend Paint Nite, somehow everyone’s paintings turn out no matter your skill level. Friends and family will be super impressed when they come over and see your Paint Nite picture.
If art is really not your thing, ask someone you know to paint you a picture on a canvas. Maybe you have a friend or family member that is an excellent artist and now you’ve just given them a fantastic birthday gift idea! You could even ask a nephew, niece, or just a kid in the neighbourhood that you know. Kids love having their artwork admired and displayed. I have this cool dragon painting right by front door that my youngest cousin made for me a few years back, I love it! Mind you, I recommend you ask a child over the age of six or you may end up with some very abstract artwork in your home.
Finally, if the above wall décor ideas don’t work for you or you’re looking for more, there’s some pretty fancy DIY décor ideas you can find on Pinterest. For example, check out the awesome photo and light display my friend put together. It only costs $0.12 to print 4×6 photos at Walmart plus you can find clothes pins and string lights just about anywhere (I have some that I ordered off of amazon.ca). It’s important to choose your décor based on the look you want your home have. You want to go home to a place that feels cozy and aesthetically pleasing to you. After a long day at work, I go to my house and I feel as though I’m at home. The best part about it all is that I didn’t blow my bank account while I filled the walls in my house. Remember, cheap doesn’t always have to look tacky!