How To Decorate A Kid-Friendly Home On A Budget
If you’re looking for ways to decorate a kid-friendly home you are in the right spot. I have always loved interior design, but it can get costly if you’re not careful. I am going to share how you can design a good clean space for you and your family without breaking the bank.
One of the number one questions my husband and I get asked raising two kids in an expensive city is, how do you afford it?
I am going to dish on some of our “secrets.”
Why did we choose city life?
To begin, we live in a fairly spacious old apartment building. Although it is nothing glamorous from the outside, what appealed to us was the nice bright open space, big bedrooms and how costly it was. Taking into consideration all those factors, we realized we could work with the space in the “design” department and spruce it up.
We got grandfathered into the old rental prices so we only pay CAD 860.00 for rent!! (absolutely unheard of in the city). On top of that our location is amazing. Being surrounded by a friendly walking neighborhood filled with parks and yet still only being 15-20 mins from downtown. On top of that, we have a rooftop patio that slightly overlooks the airport so we watch the planes coming and going…
Our unit also comes equipped with a dishwasher and washer/dryer unit in-suite and yet the only utilities we pay for is BC Hydro which is $63.00 every other month. At the end of the day, we have everything we need living this way for a total of about $890.00/month.
For us, it seemed like the perfect fit while we figured out what we wanted to do long term.
Here’s the breakdown of how we spruced up each room and what we roughly spent on all of it:
Living Room
1. Don’t Underestimate The Power of Paint
It is one of the cheaper ways to spruce up a place and make it nice and bright. Just your average eggshell white paint. We painted every single wall in this place just to make it feel clean and bright.
I added accents of grey paint rather than going crazy with wall decor which can add up.
2. Do Not Be Afraid To Ask For A Deal
All my furniture I found on craigslist for a killer deal. I wanted a wood stump as I love the rustic look, but those stumps can be SO costly. I found a guy on craigslist who was selling one for $80.00 and I bartered him down to $60.00! Do not be afraid to ask for a deal. Worst they will say is no!
3. Refurbish Old Furniture
That dresser that our TV is sitting on was an old ugly dresser that was left in the unit when we moved in. I turned this dresser into a little DIY project, painted it and changed the hardware and that was it.
It was quick and easy to spruce up, and it was completely free!
4. Use Ikea and Craigslist
Here we have all clean white Ikea furniture, which we know is cheap (yay because that benefits the budget). The wooden bench was probably the most expensive item in this room. These benches usually go for around $120.00, but I found a guy on craigslist who makes custom benches and bartered the guy down to $80.00.
Repeat with me… Do not be afraid to ask for a deal! The mirror was $50.00 and to be honest, it isn’t my favorite, I would like something bigger, but for now, it does the trick of just opening up space even more.
5. Use Gifted Items
The Baby Einstein toy in the corner is like a jungle gym that the girls use, so it is a staple in the living room area and was completely FREE. This is just another practical toy that was gifted to me.
The high chair was also a gift at one of our baby shower’s so that too was free. Lastly, nothing to me makes a room feel more tropical and vibrant that green plants. The decorative plants around my place are also just Ikea plants. These means they are good for a budget as they only cost around CAD 19.99.
6. Create an “Adult Space”
This is technically the dining room area, but I created more of a bar/cocktail “adult space” here to open up the entire room. Not only does it give us more space this way, but it’s a place where there aren’t a bunch of kid’s toys. It’s a space for us.
I created it as more of a standing cocktail room because everyone hangs out in the kitchen area when people come over. Funny thing is, when you see the size of our kitchen (or maybe I should say micro kitchen haha), you will see why we needed this extra space.
The room was not costly to design at all. I painted a grey accent wall which brings out the wood and the white. The bar island is straight from Ikea for about $100.00 and the white bar stool was $15.00.
7. Clean, Clean, Clean for a good refresh
The beautiful cabinet in the corner was here when we moved in as well as the authentic old chandelier. Each individual piece got hand washed by a family member and re-hung as it was super dusty and old but we knew there was some great potential with it.
My hanging bar rack on the back wall was a wedding gift from Crate and Barrel, so once again free. We just really tried to utilize the decor and items that were gifted to us.
8. Lights & More Paint
We have this itty bitty side patio that we LOVE. We painted the old french doors a nice crisp white and kept it very European looking.
There are little pretty lights hung and draped through the iron bars so it’s quite a cozy little space to get some fresh air. The little bench was also here when we moved in, it just needed some paint and a good clean to spruce it up and was at no cost to us.
9. Buy Vinyl Floor Lay and Vinyl Countertop Covers
Enter the micro kitchen (haha). This small space took the most work. It was in rough shape. For a very inexpensive price, we laid down these vinyl self-sticking tiles to redo the flooring. A box is around CAD 50.00.
We removed all cupboards, sanded and painted them and replaced all the hardware for a cheap refresh.
The countertops and backsplash were in bad condition so all of that was replaced with a really special thick vinyl that simply covered the backsplash and the countertops. It was the absolute cheapest alternative then ripping up countertops.
Peel and Stick vinyl backsplash also retails for around $50.00, so it’s all really good options when you’re on a budget.
10. Have Fun With Wall Design
A family member had been messing around with electrical tape design on this wall. I thought it was a cool design, so I painted parts of it to give it a funky feel. Again it just gave a little added design to a small wall and cost next to nothing.
11. Accent Walls and Greenery
Here is another grey accent wall that just needed a few simple touches to make brighter. There is nothing more I love than a piece of greenery to bring the flow of a space altogether.
This entryway bench I found on craigslist for $80.00 and bartered the lady down to $50.00. Originally, it was all grey, but I wanted to brighten it up with a bit of white so it would pop against the grey. The Cali/Mexican boho theme is one of my favorites so that’s why I chose a tropical plant and some macrame. This macrame piece I found on Amazon for $20.00 and the tree from Ikea for $20.00.
12. Use Tapestries As An Alternative To Paint
This is our bedroom. It’s the smaller room in the house because we wanted the girls to share the room that was the biggest.
I painted a black white and grey accent wall. All my bedding and wall tapestry I got from urban outfitters apartment sale section on their website. A big wall tapestry like this is a great alternative to hide a big wall if you don’t want to paint it.
The side tables are cheap Ikea side tables and the blue “drawer” style inserts we have were a wedding gift and I had no idea what to do with them so I turned them into “drawers.” My little plants once again are Ikea plants that are about $4.99.
I love a good wall ladder, I think it is such a good piece to create extra space and just a “pretty” piece of furniture. Thankfully for us, I registered for this from crate and barrel for our wedding and we got a $200.00 crate and barrel gift card for our wedding so this is what we ended up buying with it, so it didn’t cost us anything. Once again, just tried using gift cards and wedding gifts to create timeless pieces.
13. Pick A Few Custom Pieces
This office desk is one of my favorite pieces. It perfectly matches our living room coffee table. I got them specially designed by a local guy. I bought two pieces from the same guy and so he gave me a deal on them. Keep that in mind when thinking of pieces, if you’re buying multiples from the same supplier or person, try and make a deal
14. Turned The Master Bedroom Into A Shared Space For Toddler And Baby
First off I painted one wall black, the other white and two different shades of grey. I wanted a very neutral room and would accent with color.
The little marquee letter lights on the wall with the girl’s initials came from amazon for cheap. Another macrame piece I found on Amazon as well for CAD 20.00.
The bassinet for Tennessee was bought off of craigslist for $40.00 and those retail around $100.00. Huge Savings!
Items such as the bean bag chair were a gift and I figured would be fun for a kid’s room. A kids table I knew would be such a great piece in the girl’s room and because I was verbal about looking for one, it was a gift to me at one of my baby shower’s.
Make that a lesson, when people ask what you need or would like, be vocal about it. You can find some great inexpensive tables like this on Amazon for around CAD 100 for the entire set.
15. Have Fun With The Walls
This is my favorite wall I did. I wanted something neutral but very fun for the girls. The decals I got off Etsy for super cheap, like $10.00 for a pack of 60 or something like that. Seriously, paint and wall decals can be an inexpensive way to spruce up any room, especially a kid’s room. The dresser is just an Ikea dresser and the teal blue organizer is actually more of a kitchen organizer piece from Ikea, but it works perfectly for diapers, lotions wipes, extra blankets, etc…
16. Re-Use Item’s
This is our toddlers’ corner. She’s got the big girl bed. This was her crib that we got off craigslist for $100.00 back before she was born. We decided instead of buying a big girl bed we would utilize the option to convert this into a big girl bed. Saved us money and time
Her black accent wall has some gold triangle decals once again just to add some design to it, and these were ordered for cheap off Etsy as well.
Another play area in the girl’s room is the play kitchen. This is probably used the most. I don’t know what it is with little girls and kitchens but this is where our two year old gravitates towards. This piece was given to me by friends whose daughter had outgrown it, so another free piece (yay).
17. Closet Organizers
Two girls, one closet! That calls for some serious organizing. This Ikea stand up shelf was $40.00 and I chose to lay it on its side to give more space and use as a closet organizer.
There is a shelf above the hanging clothes (not pictured) where I store additional kid’s toys, extra diapers, blankets, etc… I now have TWO hanging black shoe holders (only one pictured here, but we needed a second) and that way each girl has there own shoe rack.
As the girls grow out of clothes I try and get rid of them by donating them or handing them down and then it keeps more space free.
Take-Home Points
If you want to redesign a space on a budget, look around at what you already have. Find a way to work with what you’ve got. Perhaps looking up some DIY projects to paint and distress furniture to make it something new again. Or you could just try an accent wall for a little pop of fun. Look at local thrift stores or craigslist for pieces you can use and don’t be afraid to ask for a deal. Think outside of the box for cheap solutions to problems such as an older countertop or flooring like we did with the vinyl pieces.
If you want any further details on any of this, feel free to leave me a comment or go to my contact me page and write to me. I love you all!! Finally, make sure to subscribe if you want to be notified of new posts and follow me on my social media pages, particularly Instagram!
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XO, Asia
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