How to Decorate Living Room Walls on Budget

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Decorating your walls can be an exciting opportunity to express yourself--until you run into your budget. However, there are still ways to find amazing pieces and decor that show off your taste without breaking the bank. Once you’ve considered the kind of theme and style you want to see on your walls, you can figure out what the best way is for sourcing the items you need. Think about the kinds of art you like and what kind of meaning favourite pieces hold for you. Check out the tips below for some money-saving ideas for fantastic decorating.

1. Heirlooms

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Generally, if someone is giving you an heirloom, it’s free. It’s a way to keep important things in the family and often has incredible meaning attached to it. As long as the heirloom items aren’t too delicate and are able to be displayed, it could be a great way to add dimension and sentiment to your walls. It doesn’t need to be a flat piece like a framed artwork. You can get a shadow box and place the item inside, maybe along with other pieces if they’re small or pictures of the relatives who owned the item previously. The shadow box can then be hung on the wall or placed on a shelf in order to be displayed proudly.

Need help with how what heirlooms to invest in? Read more about family heirloom ideas.

2. Vintage Finds

Searching your antique market or thrift shops can score you some great one-of-a-kind pieces for your walls at cheap prices. You may need to put some love into restoring a piece to be showroom ready, but the trade off is the amount of money that you’ll save in the end. If you keep an eye out for older paintings and check it thoroughly when you get home, you may be lucky enough to find a lost treasure worth quite a bit. 

Also, if you have the time and inclination you may be able to add to a work of art to truly make it your own. Consider collaging a few pieces that you like to make one eclectic composite. Or, like black out poetry, paint an image with black paint or marker to remove key elements to make something entirely different. 

3. DIY Art

There are endless options for creating your own artwork, no matter what your skill level. For beginners and those who claim that they’re “not good at art,” there are craft kits that provide the materials and guide you through the process of making your own wall-display. Consider what kind of time you want to invest into the project. There are simple ideas like a paint-pour canvas or melted drip crayon. If you’re looking to sink some time into a piece, consider a cross stitch project or a macrame wall hanging for those comfy, cosy vibes. Sometimes a great piece is waiting in your home, something sentimental that you’ve never been sure of how to display--now might be a great time to frame it and hang it up.

4. Picture Gallery

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With digital cameras and phones, it’s easy to amass a collection of photographs but how often do we go back through those photos to look at them? Maybe now is a perfect time to select a few favourites, have them printed out and create a picture gallery of your special memories and people. You can try differently-sized frames to create an interesting spatial gallery or go with the same-sized frame network to display your pictures neatly.

You can also go out and take new pictures that inspire you to create something full of your favourite things. Still life pictures or specific colour themes are wonderful options for providing visual engagement and are made even better when you’re behind the lens shooting the pictures that resonate with you.

5. Clocks

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Using a timepiece as decor is a classic idea that you can try out. You can use a current clock that you own, or shop around for a new one to fit your space. Take a look at Bramwell Brown’s for a Weather forecasting clock. They are functional as well, so you’re not just getting a piece of decor for your wall. 

There are a few things to keep in mind when decorating with a clock. You’ll want to still have it accessible if you need to change the time or put in fresh batteries. Depending on the size of the clock, you may want to have it as the sole item on the wall so as not to steal attention from other pieces, or you may just want to feature it along other similar artwork.

Recommended Reading: How to Choose a Wall Clock for Your Home

6. Plants and Greenery

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If you’ve got a green thumb, it’s worth thinking of adding some leafy plants to a wall. You can find pots that are meant to be mounted to a wall, or you can use some shallow shelving to hold various plants. Depending on your taste, you may want to opt for small flowers or a creeping vine that can crawl along where you allow it.

If plants don’t tend to thrive with you and they end up wilted and dying, consider faux plants that you might be able to use. There are a lot of realistic-looking facsimiles now that aren’t just silk replicas. The bonus of these is that you’ll never forget to water them, and they need zero maintenance.

7. Functional Wall Space

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For those who like to stay organised or enjoy a large canvas to be creative on, consider a wall made of chalkboard or corkboard. With the chalkboard, you can write down a schedule, keep track of important dates or ideas or simply use it as a creative outlet where you can draw and express yourself. A corkboard may also be a good idea if you find you’re running out of desk space and need important documents at hand. It can be an efficient way of having a “to do” list and an “accomplished list,” to boost morale as you set your sights on those achievements. 

A fantastic addition to any room: take a look at our Weather Clocks