The Best Thing I Did in Our Home (that is budget friendly)

All the decorating progress in our current home in St Petersburg has been accomplished on a budget thanks to the many un-fun costs we’ve been blessed with over the last year. (Think hot water heater, insulation, ductwork, new pipes… you know, all the dreamy, creative things we all love spending our money on.)

Luckily, I have been able to make a low cost, high impact changes by doing one simple thing:

I fully embraced the feature wall.

I used simple elements like paint, wallpaper, and artwork to make big changes to our rooms and slowly this problematic house is feeling more and more like home. From gallery walls to murals to faux hand painted wallpaper, our home is filled with bold moments that feel like us and bring life to our spaces. All while keeping costs low.

Paint is always a great budget friendly way to update your home and I’ve even kept wallpaper costs to a minimum by creating two large bands of wallpaper separated by a large painted stripe rather than wallpapering the entire wall. Our extra large gallery wall in the living room was created using only items we already had at home, but if you’re lacking in the art department, you could easily find affordable options on Facebook Marketplace, at your local thrift stores, or at discount shops like Home Goods.

My advice? When in doubt, go bold.

All my favorite moments in this house are the bold, slightly over the top design elements. I’m still obsessed with the mural I created in our bedroom. I mean look at this before and after comparison. (And trust me the before was far less impressive in person than in online photos.) All it took to create a total transformation was a couple cans of paint and some patience. (And quite a few episodes of Bridgerton.)

Adding color, pattern, and filling walls with items that make me smile has done more for my home than any high cost purchase. By no means is my home perfect nor is it where I want it to be. However, it is welcoming, filled with love, and makes me smile.

I don’t know about you, but that feels like a win.