Blog

Sep 06, 2023

16 Budget

"I chuckle whenever I go to someone's place and they have this, but it looks great, and they do tend to be people that have things together." BuzzFeed Staff —u//morningcupoftea· "The shelves are the

"I chuckle whenever I go to someone's place and they have this, but it looks great, and they do tend to be people that have things together."

BuzzFeed Staff

—u//morningcupoftea·

"The shelves are the Kallax model, the lights are just LED discs from IKEA with adhesive on the back. [In] the middle, I store camping gear and out of season clothes. Finally, under the mattress, I put two pieces of 3/4-inch plywood."

—u/[redacted]

—u/Hirudin

—u/perpetualmotionmachi

"Just a note, I am a student on a tight budget. Trader Joe's has succulents and small plants for $2.99 in the US."

—u/rmsfr

—u/[deleted]

Celebrity Architectural Digest tours are great inspo for this. This is Saturday Night Live comedian Chloe Fineman's take in her New York City rental.

"Yard sales are another way to find things. Go to nicer neighborhoods but not too nice, and things will be cheaper. At least, that's what my years of yard sales has shown me. Plus, it's easier to find matching sets."

—u/grey_rose13

"Now, here is a curtain hack: You don't have to mount the curtains on the exact shape of your window. If you do, you lose a bit of window to the curtains, and you can never get light through that space. If you mount them a bit outside your window, then you can make it look bigger, and you can get more light into the room when the curtains are open."

—u/GardenNostic

—u/GnathusRex

"But bigger wall coverings cost more to buy. So, here's your cheap big wall option: You can put up a fabric hanging on a curtain rod if you buy hooks with clasp hardware. If you have a quilt or blanket that you like, you can use that. The curtain rod is key here. If you put a flag up with tacks, it will look like a dorm room, but if you put it on a hanging rod, it will look actually pretty good."

—u/GardenNostic

—u/Back2Bach

"You can also use the same paint to tie your knick-knacks together. If you have old plates and jars that you don't use, you can paint them the same color and use them as visual filler."

—u/GardenNostic

—u/maggiesguy

Or if you live in NYC, you can go "stooping" for all the free things rich people leave out on their stoops.

—u/[deleted]

—u/not_suze

—u/Evrir

I have these and can attest that they are a great way to showcase my random pieces of art while still bringing cohesion to the space. And they were only $14.99 each on IKEA! The photos above show my initial drawing for the shelves and then the result.

—u/fridovisk

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.