To ask your (affordable) interior design loves?

A nice paint job on the walls & trim. Installing trim, like cornices and proper skirtings.

Facebook marketplace is your friend, if you're willing to be patient and have an eye for mixing and matching pieces. I bought a swoon sideboard (paid 100, cost 800 new) for its retro design, original 1970s prints ( paid a tenner, goes at auction for 100), an original starburst wall clock (paid a tenner and auctions at 150+), a g plan long John coffee table (£5, but sells at 100+) and build the room around them with elements of boho wicker and plants, lots and lots of plants...talking of plants I do love a hanging macrame planter, so I have those too hanging from the ceiling. Vintage/ second hand is not for everyone but if you're on a budget it's great for creating style without having to have a fat wallet.

Some of the things that people insult in those threads are things I have and love. Just because they don't like them doesn't mean they're bad. Faux panelling, for instance. I don't own a period home and never will, but I like painted panelling, so we added it to a few rooms in our house. I think it looks nice, and DH likes it, so who cares what random people on MN think? Who cares what professional interior designers think, for that matter?

That said, here are my contributions:

A mix and match approach to furniture, rather than a full matching suite with everything in the room bought at the same time and place.

Meaningful decor, so your own or your family's or friends' artwork, crafts, or sentimental belongings displayed as art.

Large vessels: ceramic, glass, woven, etc.

Warm lighting - I love a salt lamp for its light

Shutters on sash windows. Nice art work.

Wallpaper! Obviously you need to be selective, but I like doing feature walls. I recommend good quality ones, but if you're only doing a small area, it's still very affordable.

Good antique furniture is really underpriced at the moment. Good Georgian pieces on Ebay that are actually cheaper than Ikea.
Nothing wrong with Ikea, though. I used to have a very grand interior decorator friend - the sort who charged £300,000 for curtains alone for a French chateau - who used to say 'But everyone shops at Ikea, Dahling. Why wouldn't one?'
It's how you use it.

For some reason the first thing that came to mind was radiator covers 😂 I love mine - the room just looks so much better without them showing.

Also rugs and pick a colour from it for curtains (with a pattern), cushions, large clock.

Duck egg - everything duck egg or turquoise.