Since I spend just about 24/7 in my apartment alone these days, it needs to be a place of inspiration for me. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done with it mainly because almost everything I’ve decorated it with is handmade by me or other Etsy shop owners (something that is very important to me).

I’ve received quite a few compliments on Instagram about my room so I thought it was worth posting a few ideas about how to spruce up a room on a budget. Remember, I’m on an artist’s budget…yikes.

The gallery above is inspiration that I pulled while I was figuring out what to do with my own space. A lot of the spaces I see now are minimalist with all white everything. I appreciate it but that is just not me. Color inspires me because I use a lot of it in my work so I tried to pull images that had pops of color everywhere.

When it came to decorating my space these were things I kept in mind: I needed it to photograph well, I couldn’t have anything too permanent because I am renting and I needed to make the most of my space because I’m running a shop out of my closet…isn’t that cool though?! I think so. My bed actually takes up a majority of my room and there was no way I was going to fit a desk in there too for drawing. Thankfully I have THE BEST roommate and she is okay with my “office being in our shared space. So my desk is right on the other side of my bedroom wall. Moral of the story…it’s a small space but it’s perfect. Here are my tips for decorating on a budget.

1. If your walls are white, keep them white. It is a clean crisp base and nothing is better than a bright space. Plus, you don’t have to pay for paint. Win, win.

2. You can in fact tape things to the wall without it looking super tacky. Washi tape will help you out big time here. You can get it in almost any pattern or color at most craft store. I like to print out my Instagram pictures from Walgreens (you can download their app and order your insta pics all from your phone, super cheap) and tape them up. This trick also cuts out the cost of the frame and it makes it easy to rearrange photos all the time (I’m guilty of this. My room looks different everyday for photo ops)

3. Paint a picture. Okay, I know that’s really easy for me to say because I’m an artist but seriously it’s not that hard. Buy one or two tubes of paint that fit your color scheme and a canvas and just splat some color down until you like the result. I did this last night but I did one that was completely out of my color scheme and I am SO in love with it. It’s nice to mix it up sometimes. It will be 500 times cheaper than buying any sort of art…unless it’s my art, then you should buy it! hah.

4. Display your favorite pieces of clothing or books. I think there is really nothing better than having some of your favorite things out. If you’re going to spend money on them, they should be displayed and not hidden away in a closet. This is also great if you have guests over, they will get to know a little bit about you from what you have out.

5. Thrift and antique. Antiques won’t always be cheaper but most of the time you can find amazing, unique pieces at antique stores. All of the furniture in my room was found antique shopping as well as my artist desk that was used as a vanity when I was in college. Almost all of the frames for my artwork were bought at Good Will for around $3 and spray painted white. I have a bunch of crates for carrying around artwork to and from shows that were antique and painted. They make the perfect little magazine holders or mini shelves to display things on when my art isn’t in them. The one that sits on my desk has little slots in it and it is perfect for all of my paints, stamps and glitter.

6. A tassel garland from my bestie’s shop, Studio Mucci will do absolute wonders and make any space feel fun. Seriously. How fun would it be to have one of these in your college colors or in my case, my company’s colors…

Lastly, make your space cozy and functional for your life. Sometimes clean isn’t always inspiring. Some of my favorite things I have on display are my dirty paintbrushes. Twinkle lights are always a plus year round as well as flannel sheets for me. Don’t ever buy a comforter that can’t disguise a syrup stain because breakfast in bed is always a good idea. And never underestimate the power of a good Target shopping trip.

xo-