When to Splurge and When to Save? A Home Decor Shopping Tips Guide!

When to Splurge and When to Save? A Home Decor Shopping Tips Guide!

This post is sponsored by Cortland; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

When it comes to decorating your home, it can feel a little overwhelming knowing where to start, what decor items to splurge on and what items you should save your money on. I’ve furnished three of my own homes in the last 10 years and decorated many more through my home staging business. Throughout the years I’ve had hits and misses when it comes to buying furniture and decor for my business and my own homes. I’ve been able to learn from these experiences and now know the VERY best items to invest a little more money on, and what decor pieces are better as cost saving items. Here is my shopping tips guide to help you decide when to splurge and when to save for your own home!

Today’s post is sponsored by Cortland, an apartment community owner and manager with more than 20 communities in DFW. Cortland’s in-house team of designers, Cortland Design, creates unique, beautiful amenities like pools and clubhouses, in addition to awesome apartments that are designed for great living experiences. If you have a pool, water damage is inevitable, water damage tulsa ok can help you manage any damages. There’s a Cortland apartment home that’s waiting for you to make it your own and #MyCortlandHome.

Splurge worthy home decor items

Living Room couch

One of my top items to splurge on is a top quality couch for your living room. This is a piece of furniture that is going to get lots of traffic by your guests and used frequently by you and your family as well. It’s one of the biggest pieces of furniture you will buy for your home, and hopefully will stay with you for a long period of time! Couches travel, so don’t be afraid to splurge on one when you’re apartment living. I like to invest in a top grain leather couch for my living room sofa. High quality leather is a great investment that will last, is super comfortable, and can easily transition through seasons of life (babies, kids, pets, etc). A leather couch can also coordinate with various design styles as your design taste changes and evolves.

Unique one-of-a-kind finds

Another type of item that is splurge-worthy are items that are antiques, rare collectibles that have meaning to you, or you simply think are unique and different! While new decor items are great, finding that perfect one-of-a-kind find can be so rewarding, and make your home feel truly special and unique. Are their unique items that are special to you and you’re passionate about? Is there a special item you already collect? These types of pieces are what turn an apartment or house into a home and are worth the extra costs. Furniture isn’t made how it used to be and finding hand crafted antique furniture or rare vintage finds are great items to spend a little more on. Antiques usually hold their value as well (or even keep going up!) so it’s a smart investment too! However, you must also invest in damage restoration services, more about which you will know if you click this link, so that all that you buy for your house looks great. 

Foliage and flowers

Some people might disagree with me on this one…but hear me out! In interior design, plants are essential to making a stark space feel welcoming and alive! If you aren’t an expert “plant lady” you might end up spending a lot of money buying real plants, and then months later throwing away the dead plants that you spent a lot of money on. (I’m speaking from experience????) Faux plants and flowers can be somewhat pricey, but in the end you’re saving lots of money by not having to re-buy real ones. Faux plants and floral arrangements have come a LONG way and there’s lots of options for real-touch and life-like florals! I like to buy the floral arrangements that are in the faux water with glass vases. With the life-like looking water it truly looks like a real floral arrangement, but that will live forever and never wilt!

Decor accents that make a big statement

Sometimes when it comes to decorating less is more! There are times when I want to buy lots of little trinkets, or multiple shelf filler type items, and I think I need more and more to keep filling the space. When you’re living in an apartment, especially, you want fewer pieces to have maximum impact. Instead of buying 5-10 little decor accents and scattering them around the room, invest in 1-3 eye-catching items that make a big impact in the room. Some examples would be large ornate table lamps, or a really unique decor piece on your coffee table.

Cost saving home decor items

Rugs

My all-time favorite item to save big on are area rugs. Most of my large area rugs in my home I spent less than $200 on! Area rugs are a great way to add lots of style, color and texture in a space, with no labor involved. For their size and impact on a room, you get a lot for a little amount of money.

Accent furniture

Accent furniture is another area where you can save money. There are lots of stylish options for accent chairs, side tables, stools and ottomans that don’t break the bank, but are still trendy too! Accent furniture pieces can be switched out easily if your decor style changes or if you want to make a cost-effective room refresh.

Wall art

There are many places online and in store to find inexpensive wall decor and art. Whether your style is traditional, farmhouse, boho, or modern, there’s a cost-effective art option for you! Shopping Tip: Buy art already framed, as framing wall art separately can be expensive and is an added cost we sometimes forget about!

Throw pillows and blankets

Throw pillows and blankets are decor items that you can purchase for low cost. I like to invest in pillow inserts and buy in-expensive pillow covers to change throughout the seasons. Shopping Tip: When you’re shopping for decorative pillows and throw blankets, look in kid bedding department of the store! They are just as stylish and trendy but about 15-20% less than the regular bedding or home decor sections.

Apartment Living

Helpful tips to add your decor style damage free

When you live in a rented space like an apartment home, it can sometimes be a struggle to add your own design flair that won’t cause damage to the space. Here are a few decorating tips that let you still add your unique decor style and are damage-free.

If you are wanting to hang art and pictures on the walls, use the command mounting strips and hooks! They are so easy to use and come off the walls completely damage-free!

An easy and damage free alternative to wallpaper is fabric wallpaper! Fabric wallpaper is used by buying strips of fabric and applying with liquid starch, which comes off easily with a sponge and water.

You can avoid hanging pictures and decor on the walls altogether and go with the trendy leaning + layering effect! Leaning and layering frames on your mantle, bedside tables and dressers are a great way to show off your art and photos, without having to hang them on the walls.

Searching for your perfect apartment home

Selecting decor is an exciting step of the new home process, but the most important decision is picking the right community for you to live in! With more than 20 locations throughout DFW, Cortland has amazing communities to pick from to find the perfect community for you. Their helpful community teams put your needs first in everything they do, and your living experience is their top priority! Also, their amazing amenities and top quality service will make your apartment living an exciting and enjoyable experience.

Hopefully these splurge-or-save shopping tips are helpful to you and make your decor shopping experience easy and fun! Do you have other items you like to splurge or save on in your home? Let me know your top picks in the comments!

Happy {splurge or save} shopping!