Stylish interior design on a tight budget

These modern interior design trends can help make your home a touch more contemporary without you having to spend too much.

Do you catch yourself daydreaming about doing up your lounge, refurbishing your kitchen, redecorating your dining room or renovating your attic? If only you had enough money to bring it up to date and contemporary. Or, at the very least, you want to stop having to avoid visitors coming to your home! It would be great to have rooms that you can feel proud of, without it costing too much. Well, there is some great news for you. Modern interior design trends – and the materials and furniture available to support them – could make your daydreams come true.

Stripped back and laid bare

Not long ago, shabby chic was all the rage – but the high prices charged for having some items restored and painted in eggshell pastel shades had some folk running for brand-new items instead. Now, the move towards having things stripped bare, laid back and “authentic” is far more real and offers opportunities to keep refurnishing costs low. This is largely due to the industrial-themed decors that are now on trend. This means using exposed beams, brickwork and piping as a design feature, for example. What could be better than using what’s already there, with a little careful restoration, to make your room look bang up to date?

[Stunning loft conversion showing exposed walls and pipes by http://www.loftcentre.co.uk]

Reclaimed and repurposed furniture and furnishings

The same applies to furniture and fittings. Reclaiming and repurposing old items is sweeping the nation’s homes, hospitality venues and workplaces. This is partly as a reaction to times of austerity and caution. We are all trying to make the most of items instead of throwing them away. Clearly this is also an environmentally sound trend – reuse and recycle. But let’s be honest, to some degree nostalgia is “back” in fashion. In a period of great social, political and financial upheaval, having echoes of the past around our home is reassuring and comforting. But of course, reclaiming and re-purposing items is also great fun and a chance to get really creative.

[We just LOVE this rustic coffee table by www.woodworksofrugby.co.uk]

Creative ideas for low-cost furniture

There are many ideas for how you can cut costs by reusing what you already have, or restoring junk shop finds. How about a bicycle frame hung on your wall, with photographs, flowers or small ornaments attached? Crates and barrels make great tables, or sections can be hung on walls for shelving. We have even seen metal barrel chairs and sofas. You have probably come across tables created from the bottom half of old sewing machines, but they also make great stands for basins in bathrooms or dressing tables in bedrooms. The ideas are endless. For instance, we have seen sections of old freestanding baths with cushions inside used as sofas. The front sections of cars used at bars. Bathroom cabinets made from sturdy leather suitcases. Park bench kitchen seating. And even wooden ladders used as shelving, bookcases or frames to hold planters on patios. The alternative to this trend is to buy new, modular furniture for up-to-date décor on a budget. Funky office-style furniture that you can mix and match, and move around easily to serve multiple purposes.

[Check out Pinterest for inspiration such as these beautiful projects using Singer Sewing machine parts.]

Low-cost finishing touches and floors

Textures and layering can be used to good effect in more simplistic interior design. It’s all about understated elegance. By choosing fabrics in neutral shades then layering them over a less desirable feature, or putting textured plaster on a plain wall for example, you have low-cost steps to great interior design. The simplistic and authentic nature of contemporary interior design means that less is more. So you don’t need to spend a fortune on fussy fabrics or chic ornaments to finish off the room. Using a single, strong colour as your starting point fits well, and keeping the whole look as stripped down as possible is reassuring, calming and uncluttered. New flooring is easier to find on a budget if you can focus on one colour, or look for more simplistic options that look incredible but don’t break the bank. 

Talk to the team at Best4flooring to help find the best, affordable flooring option for your home.