24 Free Home Makeover Ideas Using What You Already Have
Some days all you want to do is decorate your living room, and most days the low bank account severely limits that.
The not-so-pretty part of owning an old house is the not-so-pretty but expensive updates we always have to make around here.
But the good news is there are still lots of ways to decorate your home for free!
How to Decorate Your House for (Mostly) Free
Recently, we’ve shelled out quite a chunk to get our water heater replaced, our dated electric work throughout the house redone, and our HVAC replaced. That’s just the tip of the expensive home-owning iceberg.
And while we know this house is totally worth it, that subject lends itself to another challenge that we’re very familiar with after several years of this home journey- decorating a house for FREE. Totally and completely $0.
It’s gotten me brainstorming lots of great ideas lately if you’ve been craving a decorating refresh in your home too without paying the hefty price.
- Get creative with art and free things to frame
- Repurpose and restyle
- Shop your rooms
- Rely on nature
- Rearrange
- Sell and swap
All 24 of these free home makeover ideas only require using what you already have.
1. Frame Public Domain Images or Free Printables
Usually, just good ol’ Google does the trick for searching free printables and public domain images. You can find lots of them in our printable library. But free art is all over Pinterest ready to be printed straight from your computer.
Tutorial: See more tips about how to find free art in public domain archives here.
2. Rearrange Your Furniture
Rearranging your furniture is like getting a brand new piece for a room that you shopped in your own home. Try reconfiguring the layout of your living room or bedroom.
Or better yet, swap furniture from one room to another.
Usually, nightstands make great living room end tables. Or a bedroom dresser can make a nice dining room sideboard or entryway chest.
3. Recycle Jars or Bowls to Turn into Vases
Give glass jars a good wash and fill them with flowers or use them as votives for candles. Look through your kitchen cabinets to see what bowls or cups can double as vases or planters.
4. Rotate Pillows and Rugs Room to Room
Change up the whole color scheme in any room by swapping rugs and pillows from other rooms in the house. Move pillows from your bed to your living room couch. Or move a rug from your dining room to your bedroom.
5. Clip Flowers or Branches from Outdoors
Bonus: Flowers from your yard always last much longer than buying them from the store because they’re fresher.
6. Display Family Mementos That Have Meaning
That top suitcase belonged to my grandparents that they took on their honeymoon over 60 years ago. It’s one of my favorite things that I love seeing every day. We use it for storing our family’s old photos.
Display souvenirs from your travels, a map of your hometown, a sketch or painting of your childhood home using a photo-to-art app, or frame preserved letters/recipes.
7. Declutter Shelves, Tabletops, and Countertops
Nothing makes me appreciate our home more than after we’ve decluttered. Clear away the everyday stuff that piles up to enjoy some minimalism in your life.
Tutorial: How to Declutter Your Home Quickly with These Organizer Secrets
8. Restyle Your Dining Table or Kitchen Counter
Even just a pitcher from your kitchen with flowers can brighten up your dining table.
Tutorial: How to Decorate Kitchen Countertops
9. Have a Decor Swap With Friends
Pull together decor you’re no longer in love with and have decor-enthusiast friends over for a local swap. Make a girls’ night of it!
10. Check Marketplace for Free Furniture and Decor
People who need to move in a hurry or are purging after the loss of a family member often have an estate sale. You can often score large pieces of furniture they just want hauled away for free to whomever is willing to pick it up quickly.
Tutorial: How to Find the Best Deals on Facebook Marketplace
11. Turn Sheets or Drop Cloths Into Curtains
I haven’t tried this project personally, but it would be a great idea, especially if you have an abundance of extra plain white sheets to create a light, airy effect in a room. This tutorial can help.
12. Frame an Old Calendar or Tea Towel
Cute dish towels are cheap already, but if you have a pretty one currently in your kitchen drawer that you love, frame it! Or take an old calendar with pretty art that you can cut up to put in frames.
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13. Sell Old Decor to Buy New
This is one I do all the time. List items on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or apps like Offer Up and Let Go to make money to go towards a home refresh. If you have a lot of items, host a garage sale.
14. Transform Furniture With Leftover Paint
You can use spray paint, wall paint (just make sure you prime first), chalk paint, mineral paint, whatever you have on hand to give a new look to any furniture in your home that is looking drab.
Tutorial: Beginner’s Guide to Painting Furniture
15. Melt Down Old Candles to Make Them New
If you have several half-used candles lying around, melt them down in a water bath on your stove top to create a new candle out of canisters, bowls, or cups.
Tutorial: DIY Candle from a Thrifted Brass Canister
16. Propagate Houseplants or Dry Flowers to Display
Walk around your yard to see what flowers you can hang up to try and display. Or use this tutorial to snip from your existing houseplants to grow new ones.
Tutorial: How to Dry Hydrangeas | Preserved Flowers + How to Dry Leaves and Flowers for Decor
17. Press Leaves or Flowers to Frame
Spring and summer are the perfect time to press flowers to use as art. Press them inside old books or use a flower press, if you want to be “official” about it. In the fall, keep an eye out for beautifully colored leaves that you can press inside of heavy books to display.
Tutorial: DIY Pressed Flower Art | Pressed Leaf Gallery Wall
18. Rearrange Your Bookshelves
Change the look of your bookcases simply by rearranging them. Steal items from around the house to display and mix in a houseplant or two if the room gets enough natural light.
19. Paint a Mirror
Change the look in your bathroom or on a wall by painting your existing mirror frames. You can also use Rub n Buff for a realistic metallic effect.
Tutorial: Rub n Buff Colors Tried & Tested: Color Guide & Tutorial
20. Frame an Old Rug or Fabric Scraps
Don’t throw out a damaged rug, piece of clothing, or drapery without considering framing it first. It can make beautiful textile art. If you’re good at sewing, repurpose old fabric items into a table runner, placemats, or cloth napkins.
Tutorial: DIY Designer Knock-Off Textile Art from a Recycled Rug
21. Repurpose Tea Towels or Rugs for DIY Pillow Covers
Tea towels, rugs, cloth napkins, and table runners make great throw pillow covers. If you can’t sew, try using hemming tape and an iron.
Tutorial: 3 Items You Can Repurpose Into DIY Throw Pillows
22. Restyle Your Coffee Table
Borrow items from shelves, nightstands, or dresser tops to create a new look on your coffee table.
Tutorial: Easy Coffee Table Decor Ideas and How to Style Them
23. Paint Your Planters
Change the look of your planters on your porch with leftover spray paint. Just be sure to seal them with polyurethane to protect them from harsh weather.
Tutorial: Faux DIY Concrete Planters With Spray Paint
24. Make a Stovetop Potpourri Pot from Fruit Scraps
If your family eats lots of oranges and apples, toss the peels and cores into a pot with water to simmer on the stoves. It makes the best natural potpourri to make the house smell cozy.
Tutorial: No Waste Fall Simmer Pot Recipe
Got any free decorating strategies you’ve used on your own? Comment below so we can make this post an ongoing resource for everyone to get ideas. I’m all ears!
