Change over your tired interiors with these Easy Ways to Refresh your Home on a Budget! Even if you don’t want to spend a dime, you’re sure to find an idea!

You’ve been working from home for a while now, and it’s stopped being weird. You take a break, stretch out your arms and turn to your side. You see the same old couch, the same old wall and the same pile of clutter on the coffee table. Everything the same.

As if COVID wasn’t bad enough, the boredom has been getting to all of us working from home. We’ve managed to carve out makeshift workspaces, but the monotony of the view is getting on our nerves, and we’re craving a change of space.

A change of space? In these times? Am I seriously suggesting taking a trip to a crowd-filled, virus-ridden public place?

Not at all! Yes the pandemic has hit us hard and we’re being more careful with our cash than ever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your home a mini makeover. There are many easy ways to refresh your home on a tiny budget, or in some cases, no budget at all!

Yes, it’s all completely doable, and by the time you’ve finished reading through this post, you’ll be convinced!

20 Easy Ways to Refresh your Home on a Budget

1. Declutter

One of the biggest reasons you could be feeling uneasy is because of all the stuff. Stuff on tables, on chairs, on the floor – everywhere you look, there’s stuff! With families being stuck at home all day, it’s only natural that all their stuff will accumulate too, which is why a decluttering session is the first step in this list of ways to refresh your home.

Grab a few boxes (you know you have those Amazon ones lying around) and go through your drawers and cupboards, tossing whatever you don’t need, is broken or is plain ugly. You don’t have to go through the whole ‘spark joy’ process; just take out whatever obviously doesn’t belong there and put it in the box.

This can easily get overwhelming, so its important to go with your instinct on this one, and make snap decisions. Else, you’ll only find yourself surrounded by more stuff!

2. Clean

I know you’ll hate me for this, but it’s true! Cleaning is definitely one of the ways to refresh your home, and it’s only then that you’ll realize it was those cobwebs and accumulated dust that was causing you all that anxiety! Once you have decluttered, cleaning is easy, and the more often you clean, the less dreadful it is.

Wipe down your surfaces, vacuum upholstery and rugs, clean windows and mirrors. Clean switch boards and use a long flat mop to clean walls. Don’t forget the areas behind clocks and pictures as well as the ceiling.

3. Rearrange your furniture

So everything is clean and you’ve gotten rid of all the junk. Now look around your home. See how that chair would look in another corner, or if you exchanged the end tables in the bedroom and the living room. Even small changes like pushing the sofa towards the center of the room instead of pushed up against the wall can make a huge difference.

If you don’t know where to start, make a simple sketch to scale, keeping in mind the measurements of your room and marking the doors and windows. Play around with a pencil till you find a layout that’ll work. If you dare, you can even go ahead and try to change up rooms – let your kids have the guest room and turn the guest room into one for the kids.

In less than an hour, you can have a completely refreshed home, with absolutely zero expense!

4. Change out your wall art

This is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to refresh your walls, and in effect, your home. Replace the paintings in the frames with new pictures or photos. Change photos to more recent ones or try a black and white theme. If you print your own pictures, this is an almost zero cost change!

If you have a gallery wall, remove all the little frames and put up a big one. However, keep in mind that large frames can be expensive, though large canvases are cheaper. If you had a large painting, remove it and think of a gallery wall.

You don’t even have to stick to paintings or photos. Get rid of the frames altogether and try out a basket wall or a plate wall. Or go for interesting wall decor pieces like tapestries or macrame wall hangings. The options are endless!

5. Makeover your sofa

Your sofa is probably where the family spends the most time – and what you’ve got the most tired of! Fortunately, giving your sofa a new look is really easy. Simply change your cushion covers and you’ll instantly have a completely new feel. If you had neutrals, go for bright colors or vice versa.

Check if your cushions have lost their fluff, maybe it’s time to get new ones – they’re not too expensive. If you want to change the look of the sofa itself, use a throw. You can even make one out of an old bedsheet by adding interesting trims like tassels and pompoms.

If you’d like to change up the entire sofa and don’t want to spend on upholstering it, a slip cover is a convenient and economical choice. Plus, they’re available in a multitude of colors and patterns.

6. Replace your handles and knobs

Tired of your drawer pulls or cabinet handles? Switch them out! This isn’t a zero cost option, but it’s certainly a cost-effective one. You can change the handles of your desks, wardrobes, kitchen cabinets and pretty much everything in your home!

One stylish way to get a quick refresh is to go for gold or brass handles and pulls – they add a touch of instant glam. Else, try handcrafted ceramic knobs that are available in all kinds of colors. You can also try using old toys or other things lying around your home as drawer pulls.

When getting new handles, make sure you measure the distance between the ends of the handles so that you don’t end up drilling unnecessary holes in your furniture.

7. Change a wall

No, this isn’t has hard as it sounds, and yes, it can be really cheap if you want! People can get sick of their walls for many reasons. Maybe it’s got many cracks and marks. Perhaps it is a color you are tired of seeing. Maybe it’s just too plain and boring.

Whatever the case, wallpaper is a great option to completely makeover your wall and refresh your space. Wallpaper can give quite a major transformation to your room – you have to try it to experience it! You can also try painting your wall – there are many tutorials to follow online. The cheapest method is to use a stencil to get a lovely pattern without the hassle.

8. Restyle your bed

Your bed is the focal point of your bedroom, and giving it a makeover can change up the space entirely. One of the easiest ways to refresh your bed is by changing the pillow arrangement. There are many styles to arrange pillows and cushions on your bed, and you can easily change it up. You may need to get a couple of different sized cushions, but that small expense will have a great impact.

Another thing you can do is to change out the bed coverings. You probably already do it with a change in season, and that’s great. Get out the light dohars for summer and a nice cozy quilt for winter. Don’t just stop there – add a runner or a throw at the foot of the bed for some added color or patterns.

You can do a lot of rearranging here – use the runner from the dining table, or bring in the cushion covers from the living room. Even a dupatta can add a gorgeous color and fabrics like silk can bring in some luxuriousness.

9. Rearrange your shelves

Ah shelves! Most of us have a love-hate relationship with the shelves in our home. On one hand, you have a perfect stage for all your prized artefacts or books. On the other hand, you have one hell of a dust problem that’s also a clutter magnet!

Open shelves look amazing when styled properly but they can get messy fast. If you’ve got books on your shelves, change the way you arrange them for a different look altogether. Group them by color, or change the orientation; place some horizontally and some vertically.

You can also insert some knickknacks to break things up and add some interest. Add book ends if your shelves are open on the sides. However, if you find that your shelves tend to have lots of tiny items creating that messy look, go for beautiful baskets or boxes. Remember those Amazon boxes? Just cover them up in nice fabric or pretty paper and you have a custom set of decorative boxes that’ll also hide your clutter – win-win!

10. Add plants

Do you want a simple solution that involves minimal effort and cost on your part? Easy – get a plant!

We’re talking real plants here, not the faux ones. There’s something about having a live plant in your home, and tending to it frequently. Live plants don’t just purify the air you breathe, they also add a lovely fresh feel to your home and nothing can beat them when it comes to refreshing a space on a budget.

And it’s okay if you don’t have a green thumb – plants like pothos, peace lily, snake plant and ZZ plant are all perfect for plant beginners, and require very little maintenance. And if you can’t get to the nursery, you can order online!

11. Try out DIY decor

DIY is one of the best ways to refresh your home, due to many reasons. For one, your creativity is encouraged, which is therapeutic in itself. Another thing is that you get to refresh your space with something that you have touched and changed – something which has your stamp on it. What’s more, when you DIY, you end up with something that’s completely custom and unique – no one else in the whole world has that piece!

DIY doesn’t have to be hard. Just get some paint and a brush and repaint any decor object or just the legs of a chair in a fun color. Polish old metallic artefacts to get them shining like new. Try a skill like embroidery or felt crafting or macrame, and you’ll be able to make all kinds of lovely things at a very small cost.

One way DIY can save you loads of money is art. Like mentioned earlier, a large canvas painting can be expensive, but not if you do it yourself! Just grab a plain canvas and go nuts with colors!

12. Get some new scents

Refreshing your home isn’t just about seeing, it’s also about your other senses as well. Do you get a stuffy smell whenever you enter your home? No one likes that and it’s enough to ruin your mood – so let’s change it!

The best way to get your home smelling great is by using non-toxic candles. There are so many varieties out there and you’re sure to find something that resonates with you. Another option is incense sticks, although these can be quite powerful. If you get headaches with these, opt for diffusers which are much more gentle.

If you want a ‘spot treatment’ of sorts, try making your own DIY room spray so you can just spritz it in places that are feeling stuffy. Then there’s the option of simmering some ingredients in a pot – a little more labor intensive, but very low on cost and completely worth the effort!

13. Change up your table setting

Just like the bed in your bedroom, your dining table is the show stopper of your dining room. It’s very easy to change the look of your dining table, and you have more options. If you generally leave your table bare, try adding a tablecloth. If you use a table cloth, try switching to a table runner.

The centerpiece is another area where there are many options for changing things up. Add a decorative tray or basket. Place a plant or candle stands, or go with some cute salt and pepper shakers and coasters. You can even make your own runners, table mats and napkins out of bedsheets or excess fabric you may have.

14. Treat scuff marks

Scuff marks are among the main reasons that walls, skirtings and furniture look tired and badly in need of a refresh. For scuff marks on most white surfaces, a magic eraser works well, but use it in an inconspicuous spot first, especially if using on the walls. If you find uneven gaps, use some filler or putty to fill them and touch up with paint.

For furniture scuff marks, some wooden polish in the right color can work wonders – and you can do it yourself. Minor touch ups can be solved by paints or some thorough cleaning. And for marks that are too stubborn to go away, we’ve got solutions like wallpaper, paint and more – just go through the tips above!

15. Corral small items

We know that clutter and messes can make you feel unhappy, which is why declutter is the first step in this list! But sometimes you just have to have items on counters and tables and other surfaces, which can again lead to that messy look. So what’s the solution?

Easy – trays and baskets! Whenever you have a group of small items on a surface – like a dresser or bathroom vanity – place a tray or basket of the appropriate size to hold everything together. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the space gets refreshed and transformed!

You don’t need to buy new items for this too – just shop your home. You probably have some unused serving trays or boxes – even box lids can work as trays to corral those small things.

16. Use contact paper

Sometimes you can be so sick of your furniture that it can be tempting to just throw it out and buy new! However, that’s not exactly an economical way to refresh your home, but there’s still help – in the form of contact paper!

Contact paper is sticky paper in various patterns and colors that you can use to stick on pretty much any surface – cupboards, tables and even kitchen counters. They’re available in patterns that resemble natural materials like wood and marble and can make your old furniture look as good as new – oreven better!

17. Change up your lights

Lights are something that have a significant impact on your space, and many people underestimate this aspect. If you want some easy ways to refresh your home, look at your lights. You probably have a main source of light like a tube light and maybe some task lights like a desk lamp. Add some more layered lighting to completely change up the space.

There are so many options here, ranging from the super cheap to the ridiculously expensive, so take your pick! You can get LED lights that are eco-friendly as well as good looking and have them installed as recessed lighting or along pathways for an interesting effect.

Other mid-range options are table lamps and pendant lamps that you can fix yourself and can be used in any room. For really cost effective solutions, you have fairy lights and small LED lights that can be stuck onto any surface. You also get dimmers for lights as well as motion sensors – there are so many options to transform your space!

18. Dress up your curtains

Curtains are those subtle elements that can really affect the overall look of a room. Are your curtains too low? Do they end many inches above the floor? Are you tired of the rods and ends?

Don’t worry, there’s a solution for every problem, and they don’t require changing out your curtains completely! Curtains should ideally just skim the floor, and start from many inches above the window. In case your curtains aren’t long enough, just get some extenders that’ll lower the curtains and make your space feel more luxurious and elegant.

Another thing you can do is to add another layer of sheer curtains – they give a lovely look to the room and are perfect for warm weather. You can also add some pompom or lace trim to your existing curtains to add a pop of color.

19. Change your kitchen backsplash

What? Change my kitchen backsplash? I thought this post was about budget friendly solutions!

Yes, yes, it is and no, you don’t have to change your backsplash by uprooting it. No, the solution here is to add some stick-on tile to your backsplash and voila! Your kitchen suddenly looks fresh and new!

You’ll find these tile stickers easily online and they’re available in many colors and patterns, so you can choose one that fits your theme. They’ll also withstand heat and moisture, making them perfect for the kitchen. What’s more, you can change them out again when you’re tired of it!

20. Use items differently

When looking for ways to refresh your home or redecorate any space, one thing to always remember is to throw rules out of the window. Think outside the box (or basket or tray) and look for weird but unique solutions.

Shop your home and you’ll find all kinds of things you can use in different ways. Use a bust with a hollow center as a vase. Turn a stool into an end table or a rolling cart into a night stand. A jug can turn into a planter, and a beautiful bowl can hold pot pourri.

Don’t hesitate to show your personality – display your collections, whether it’s die cast cars or a flair pin collection. Just do it in a way that feels balanced and not out of tune with the rest of your decor. You’ll be surprised at how revived the place looks!

There you have it – 20 ways to refresh your home – many of which can be done without spending a dime! Please remember that you don’t have to implement all of these at once. Go over the list a couple of times and see which ones look like they’ll have the most impact in your home. Then make a shortlist of your own ways to refresh your home, and set about executing the list – and be ready to say ‘Hi’ to a lovely, fresh space that you’ll love!