How to smarten up my home?

[alwaystrying2]

My house itself is fine but everything is old and tired. I cant a afford to decorate atm. I want some bits to make it look smarter and more grown up. I don't want to buy cheap stuff to make it look tatty but it needs something. I look at other peoples houses and they look like something out if magazines but i can't afford new furniture or kitchen etc. What can I do to update
cheaply?

Any household dupes around??

Thanks!

I'm a big fan of neutral colours and I too prefer to have things on the walls that are meaningful to me.

Start by having a big clear out. You might be able to sell stuff on marketplace or if it's unusable, take it to the tip.

Pick a colour scheme. Do you like neutrals or bold, bright colours? I tend to go for whites/greys/creams and chrome and I try to only ever have one pattern. So if the curtains or carpet are patterned, I keep everything else unpatterned.

For pictures...I'm by no means a photographer but I have a load of family photos that I turned to black and white (with a photo app) and I decorated a whole wall with them in matching white frames. Whole thing cost me about £50. You can buy white frames in bulk online. I also have a friend who's an artist and as a housewarming gift, she drew me a picture of the front of my house...which is now in a frame in the hallway. I also have a couple of quotes that I like in frames in the spare bedroom. I designed them in Canva and printed them using vistaprint.

Kitchens can be totally renovated with just some cupboard paint. If you have tiles that you hate, you can buy tile stickers to cover them up.

I bought some really good quality curtains from B&M yesterday...floor length heavy blackouts, reduced to £50. But also Dunelm often have good deals in-store (that aren't advertised on their website).

I tend to spend most cash on the stuff I'm keeping longest, so sofa or other furniture but always accessorise from places like Dunelm/B&M etc. Also, recent discovery is that bigger B&Q stores sometimes also sell cushions and stuff. I've had some great bargains from there.

I think the biggie is having a big clearout first of all and then you'll get a proper view of what you need.

Thank you for starting this thread @alwaystrying2 ! We're moving house in just over 2 weeks and are buying our first home after renting for over a decade. I'm really excited and had all these BIG plans but my wallet is telling me otherwise.

The tips here have been really helpful.

A few things I do:

1. Declutter massively
2. Deep clean. I read years ago on Flylady that if you can't afford to renovate your home, treat it as though you adore it just as it is. Deep cleaning makes it look 100 times better and is almost free and a good workout.
3. Create 'altars' in every space in the house. These are focal points in each room that guide the eye, are beautiful to look at and might be talking points. Could be a collection of beautifully displayed musical instruments or a reading corner with a lamp and stack of books on a side table, or a big print and a house plant against a bare wall. Play around with arranging things that matter to you and make them look attractive. Look online about how to group them. You can do this with glass jars and candles and stacks of folded colourful towels in a bathroom, or a big vase of flowers and a pretty pottery dish to keep house keys in on the hall console etc.
4. Repainting, especially chipped or worn gloss on windowsills, radiators and skirting will lift the room. Paint is the least expensove way to renovate a room and makes a big difference. Take a lot of time finding a colour that feels modern and fresh but works with your existing carpets, curtains, furniture.
5. Sign up to Freecycle and similar in wealthy local areas. Lots of people give away almost new or new items, or good quality classic stuff they no longer want.
6. Hunt in charity shops for vases and baskets, prints or paintings etc - things you can use for display or storage, that have more character than cheap modern versions.
7. Buy prints unframed and order bespoke mounts and frames from online companies at a tiny fraction of the price you'd pay in shops. I got several things framed last year from an online company (forget which - but hunt around) and they worked out at about £12 each, uncluding bespoke mounts. If I remember the company name I'll post it.
8. If anyone tends to be generous with you at Christmas or birthday, ask for better quality every day household things than you can usually justify buying - good quality table lamps or light shades or duvet covers etc.