As I chat with more and more people (thanks to social media apps like Instagram!), I hear over and over that people want to love their homes. They want to arrive at home and feel relaxed in their space – like the weight of the world can just fall off and they can unwind with ease. I totally get that. Another thing I hear is that people are dissatisfied with their homes for one reason or another. Some reasons seem very valid and when finances allow a renovation or update of a specific space will do them well, but in other cases, I think I’m picking up on a dissatisfaction that actually wouldn’t be there if we didn’t follow other people’s lives online and see some “picture perfect” homes on our feed.

For all of my married life (going on 21 years now), my husband and I haven’t had the luxury of spending money to make our home a space we love. When we refinanced our mortgage almost 5 years ago, we drew money out to renovate a good portion of our home. That was the first time we could do something to make a real difference in our living space in 16 years. Once that money was gone, that was it. Any additional decorating that happens around our home comes from my spending money (good thing I only have a 40 hanger closet!) We just aren’t in a financial position – as many others as well – of having excess income to spend on things like home decor.

For the last 21 years (other than our reno 5 years ago), I’ve been penny-pinching and finding ways to create a space I love using what little means I’ve had available. So today, I’m sharing how we’ve stretched our dollar. Some of my design projects have also been on a shoestring buget, so I’ve got quite a bit of experience when it comes to creating a space you love on a dime!

My hope is that people can invest into their personal spaces so that they have the type of home that is an oasis even if they don’t have a big budget. Here are 5 ways to decorate with almost no money!