How to Update Your Apartment on a Budget

Since it’s too cold and wet to play in the garden nowadays (for Southern California), I’m going to bring this week’s post indoors. My husband and are in the process of updating our apartment and I want to share how we’ve done so up to this point. Today, I want to talk to you about how to update your apartment on a budget.

We were planning on moving to a new place this year, but those plans fell through. We are both ready for a change, so we decided to change some things around at the apartment we live in to make it feel new.

Table of Contents

Spring Cleaning

There are many ways to make an apartment feel new without spending too much money. One way to update an apartment is to give it a spring cleaning.

If you already have a collection of cleaning supplies, this won’t cost a thing. If cleaning feels overwhelming, just focus on one room or area at a time. We live in a studio/junior apartment, so I just focus on one area when its time to clean, such as the kitchen or bathroom.

Repaint Furniture

The second way to update on a budget is to paint over furniture. My husband wants to repaint some new shelves we recently bought, as well as a table, cabinets, and entertainment center. Choose a color and reasonably priced paint, so that your “new” furniture will last a long time.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a goldmine for used furniture and home decor. One person’s junk may be your next favorite piece, if you’re willing to look long enough for it.

My husband has found some great lightly used furniture for a steal on Craiglist. So far, we have a new shelf, mirror with hooks, and a pair of table lamps and bedside tables, all only costing $5 – $10 each.

Houseplants

Houseplants are a great way to add color and life to your apartment. Plants can get pricey, but if you start with a small plant, you won’t be spending much more than a few dollars. A few of my favorite indoor plants are kalanchoes and orchids, but there are many other houseplants to choose from.

Dollar Store

I have found some really cute holiday decor items at the local Dollar Store. The Dollar Store doesn’t always have great stuff to buy, but when it does, I take advantage of what I can find there. If it’s cute and only costs a dollar, then why not get it?

Recycle Decor

Recycling decor is another great way to update an apartment without spending much money. You may not spend anything at all this way either. The mirror with hooks that my husband found on Craigslist for only five bucks has four places to put pictures around the mirror.

Four prints of flowers in vases were in these spots. I thought these prints were cute enough to keep, but to place elsewhere. I found four plain black frames for just under a dollar at Walmart and placed each print in the frame. My husband hung these four prints next to our vanity.

Now I have four new framed prints to play around with. If I want to move them elsewhere, I can, at no price! I also have a collection of cards that I want to get frames for to decorate other parts of our apartment with.

You never know what you can use until you do some research and look for what you already have lying around your apartment!

Rearrange Furniture

Rearranging furniture you already have to a new spot in your place can also give your apartment an updated look. My sister let me have her old bedside table. We now have matching tables that are on each side of the bed.

I didn’t want to get rid of my old bedside table, since its still in good condition, and I love the blue and white mosaics on the table top. We placed this table next to our living room couch.

Even though this is an old piece of furniture, it looks “new” in its new place right next to our couch!

Sell Old Furniture

Old furniture that is no longer being used can add clutter to your apartment. You can sell this furniture on sites, such as Craiglist and other public sites where used furniture is sold. We have done this with some success in the past.