Where to Splurge and Save in Your Living Room

You don’t need to shell out a ton of cash to re-decorate your living room. But you also can’t expect to create a cohesive new design without having to spend a dime. There are certain areas that you can save your pennies and certain areas where it will be obvious if you skimp. Read on to find out my recommendations for where to splurge and save in your living room.

Splurge: Light Fixtures

Skimping on light fixtures usually results in an issue of scale more than anything. Inexpensive lighting is a lot smaller than it should to be to make a statement. This goes for chandeliers, pendants, and even table lamps!

where to splurge and save in your living room

Chandelier linked here. Photo source: Ivy Pierce Interiors

Save: Drapery

Instead of spending a large portion of your budget on custom drapery, purchase retail hardware and panels. Just make sure that you measure correctly because drapery that is too short or too slim looks cheap!! You can jazz them up to make them look custom if you’d like to as well. Here’s a blog post that gives a tutorial for adding decorative trim to pre-made panels.

Photo source: Samuel and Sons and Lindsey Meisenheimer

Splurge: Furniture

This one might be a bit obvious, however I thought it was worth mentioning! I’ve said before that it’s wise to keep the larger pieces of furniture in your space neutral and bring in pattern with your textiles and accessories. This makes it easy to switch up the look of your space without replacing furniture each time. So it makes sense that you would invest more in furniture than the other layers because you’ll most likely be keeping these pieces longer than your throw pillows. You also don’t want to skimp on elements that you’ll use as often as furniture. (Also – performance fabrics are usually more expensive, but worth the investment because of the messes made by little ones and pets!)

Sofa is linked here

Save: Accessories

I love a great, large vase as much as the next person, but decorating with too many pricey vases isn’t the best investment to make the most of your budget. Don’t skip out on accessories completely. They play such a huge part in bringing the room together and making it feel “lived in.” However, be smart with where you purchase accessories from. You can start with a few large, stand out items. Then fill in with less expensive things. I suggest purchasing books from your local dollar store or thriftbooks.com. At Home Stores offers so many options for vases and objects. Don’t forget to add in personal treasures and photos!

Photo source: Studio McGee

Splurge: Rug

It can sometimes be easy to tell when you’ve purchased a low quality rug, however the biggest reason I’m recommending you splurge on a rug is because you should make sure to get the appropriate size (which is often larger than you think!). At least the front legs of your furniture should be on the rug and it’s okay if all of the furniture is on it. What you don’t want is a tiny rug that floats in the middle of your room. Also – get a rug pad to protect your floors, add comfort, and keep everything stable. This reel shows a drawing example of how a rug should look in a living space.

Photo source: Serena and Lily

Save: Wall Accessories

Whether you’re needing a gallery wall, shelves, a mirror or artwork – I believe the wall decor is an element that you can save on. Look on Amazon or Target for gallery wall frames that mimic the Pottery Barn look. (I love mine that are linked here). Decent shelves and mirrors can easily be found on West Elm or Kirklands. And there are great artwork options are available on Etsy these days!