20 savvy ways to decorate on a shoestring

A tight budget requires resourcefulness, which is a creative asset when decorating a home. This is where you find original touches that draw the eye, thoughtful updates that make the most of what you have at hand, and an admirable can-do attitude to upcycling and DIY.

Some of the best-dressed homes are full of inherited, second-hand or otherwise thrifted furniture, and interesting knick-knacks picked up on travels or strolls through the countryside. The magic is usually in the mix, and as a bonus, everything has an interesting back story.

So, before you open your browsers or step onto the high street to start shopping, consider some thrifty ways to decorate without spending much at all. Be a bit economic with a clever use of paint, consider everything in your home as worthy of display and decoration, replace worn-out kitchen cabinets with quaint curtains, scour vintage shops for the best picture frames, and get creative with some foraged wood.

Here, we share 20 thrifty and nifty decorating tricks to help you stay on budget.