DIY Budget-Friendly Interior Design Tips for the Living Room

The living room happens to be one of the most exciting rooms to redecorate! A space where everything from family gatherings and friendly get-togethers to solo time watching movies happens. Creativity, imagination, and functionality are all very important when it comes to creating an inviting room – a room which you can enjoy together with friends and family and come home and feel comfortable.

Here are a few inexpensive DIY interior design tips for the living room:

1. Update your Window Treatments

Window treatments add both privacy and beauty to a living room. However, most homeowners struggle to settle on window treatments that would suit their living rooms best and usually end up leaving them bare or installing cheap blinds for the sake of privacy. The thing is that windows need to be dressed appropriately and by choosing to leave them bare; you are missing out on a very spectacular layer of interior design. All you need to do is take an accent color from your living room (look towards the color of your accent pillows or picture frames you have in your living room). Use that color to properly accent the feel and décor of the room for a low-budget tweak!

image source: FreshHome

2. Update Your Drawer Pulls and Door Handles 

Another inexpensive interior design idea you can use in your living room is to update the drawer pulls and door handles. Nothing ages a room more than old-fashioned, worn-out, and dirty door knobs/ cabinet hardware (unless of course the rustic look is the core theme of your décor!). Updating door knobs and cabinet hardware happens to be a simple and inexpensive affair so there is absolutely no excuse as to why you should leave your living room looking ancient and unkempt.

There are so many finishes you can choose from like shiny stainless steel, aged copper, brushed nickel or bronze, or a colored plastic to match an accent color in your room. With so many choices on the market, choosing the hardware that suits your living room best can be a bit tricky. However, since there aren’t any steadfast rules when it comes to choosing pulls and knobs, you can play around with some options and designs to find the right one.

3. Modernize Your Flooring

image source: GoHaus

The living room floor is a high traffic area and therefore tends to wear out faster than other areas and rooms in the house. Vinyl planks provide a durable, affordable, and easy way to renovate any flooring including wood, linoleum, concrete, and tile. You can get luxury vinyl plank flooring that resembles a beautifully-done wood floor or tile or whatever flooring you want. Vinyl comes in all types of print and sizes.

Most people think flooring is a massive undertaking, and that all depends on the material you use. That is why vinyl for a small redo like this is the best option. Not only is it the most affordable flooring option, often ¼ of the cost of actual real wood flooring, but most vinyl planks are made in an extremely DIY friendly click and lock construction. This allows you to float the floor over almost any sub floor, no need for a nail gun or big heavy duty tools. You can even look up guides or videos on how to install vinyl plank flooring from most reputable retailers online.

4. Add New Lighting

image source: Homeridae

Proper lighting can instantly bring a lifeless room back to life. A poorly lit living room, no matter how well decorated or designed, tends to appear cheap and crumpled, while a brightly lit one, no matter how small, appears airy and welcoming. There are many inexpensive ways to add new lighting to your living room including adding table lamps or floor lamps. The best thing about adding lamps is you can generally go a little wild on the design and still not throw off the overall theme of your living room check out these ideas from for DIY lamps from Buzzfeed!

In conclusion, interior design doesn’t necessarily have to involve messy or expensive projects. There are so many ways to update your living room without breaking the bank or tearing down your walls!