12 Money-Saving Decor Tips Only Designers Know

Looking for professional decorating tips? When you’re lucky enough to find a unique piece of furniture that looks great in a room, it can be tempting to look for similar pieces to create a matching effect. This temptation should be resisted. “Spotting my coffee table was like meeting the love of my life. I recently saw a brass end table that resembled it, but I decided to leave it behind,” explains designer Emily Henderson. “Something this great wouldn’t look as special if it had a match.”

“Store-bought shower curtains often ride high above the floor, awkwardly revealing part of the tub,” notes designer Kimberly Seldon. Ideally, find a glam-looking shower curtain that reaches the floor, but she offers a decor DIY hack if that’s not possible. “Simply sew a deep fabric hem at the bottom of the curtain to create a couture look,” she adds.

Designer Emily Henderson is a big fan of flea market finds and cautions treasure-hunters that all the best stuff tends to be snapped up pretty quickly. “I wake up at five to be there at six,” she says. “I get home in the afternoon, dirty and ready to play with my treasures, like this cool leather pouf, which I got for $40. I’ll spend the day rearranging the room with my new things. My hoarding tendencies are strongest at the flea market where there’s one-of-a-kind stuff.”

Flea markets aren’t the only place where amazing pieces can be found at bargain prices. “Visit auction houses,” advises designer Rita Konig. “Because they have interior sales.”

Don’t neglect your walls; just because you don’t have a big budget for artwork, doesn’t mean it has to look like you skimped. “Go for ‘gallery glam.’ Give a humble piece of art the appearance of a masterwork with oversize matting and framing. When surrounded by an eight-inch matte, a small print instantly gains the presence of something valuable,” advises designer Kimberly Seldon. “Consider investing in original artwork by local up-and-comers and find out when art colleges are having student showings of original works at affordable prices.”

If faced with a choice between a sofa with a great shape with questionable fabric or a so-so sofa with fabric you love, always go with shape over material. “Look at the shape of furniture before you look at the fabric,” says designer Emily Henderson. “I fell hard for this $700 couch from a vintage store in Portland, Oregon. I happened to love the navy velvet, but remember: you can refinish or reupholster anything.”

One no-cost decorating tip: simply repurpose an item you already own, by either changing it with a coat of paint or new upholstery or even simply just shifting it from one room to another. “Start by looking at what you already have and re-envisioning it,” advises designer Jamie Blake. “Move it to another room or flip the floor plan. Reupholster, spray the wood pieces. Shopping at home can be your most inexpensive resource.”

Don’t feel intimidated when it comes to combining different items from different eras, as modern and more expensive pieces can be perfectly partnered with vintage flea market finds. “You have to vary the prices so you can make your budget,” says designer Florence Deau. “But I really like that mix – original vintage things with things that are made today.”

Matching lamps can create an orderly, symmetrical look, but deliberately mixing and matching lamps can create a delightfully eclectic look that’s far less “cookie-cutter” by imbuing a room with far more interest. “No two are alike in my living room,” offers designer Emily Henderson of how she uses lamps in decor. “I usually choose opposite styles and different heights. I paired my bird lamp (one of my favourite things in the room) with a $10 brass desk lamp for a fun contrast.”

If you come across the ideal item, but it’s only available as part of a set, that’s when you need to access your network of friends. “This leather safari chair from the ’70s was part of a set, but it was expensive, so my friend Morgan and I both chipped in – she took the sofa, I got the chair,” says designer Emily Henderson. “I’m attracted to anything ’70s. I dress ’70s and have since high school.”

Finding a good upholsterer can change the way you view couches and chairs, with a new fabric working wonders to transform something old and tired into a fresh, vibrant piece that feels like new. “I purchased a couch in Atlanta for $1,900 and reupholstered it two years later,” recalls designer Rita Konig.