New Year, New Look: 10 Bargain Buys That Will Instantly Transform Your Home

Courtesy of Made.com
Courtesy of Made.com

Architecture & Design Editor

Is your home looking a little tired? Now is the perfect time to spruce it up for the New Year, and giving your interiors an instant refresh doesn’t have to cost the earth. Here are 10 of the best buys that will have maximum impact for minimum spend – everything costs under £50.

Jazz up your flooring

A colourful rug can make a real difference to your interiors and it’s such an easy change to make! The right rug can really pull a decorating scheme together and is a good way to introduce a new accent colour into a room. Rugs are also great for zoning areas when you’re working with a modern open-plan layout – it will help define the function of a space such as the dining area. This Brockley rug from Habitat costs just £30 – match it with accessories that share the same accent hue for a cohesive look.

Courtesy of Habitat

Opt for statement lighting

Courtesy of Heal’s

Smarten up your home office

These pastel-toned stacking suitcases aren’t just gorgeous to look at with their on-trend gold clasps and suede ribbons – they’re a pretty practical way to store your office essentials out of sight. This is essential if your study space is in an area of your home such as the living room or bedroom; items like these will help it blend into the rest of your decor without unsightly folders, cables and pen pots cluttering up your space. The cases from Oliver Bonas start at £40 for a small suitcase.

Courtesy of Oliver Bonas

Choose Instagrammable tableware

Get your flat lay spot-on with some tableware worthy of Instagramming – go for dark designs with pops of colour and pattern to add drama to your table, such as this Asian East Tableware range from John Lewis, starting at £2, and costing up to £25 for a set of four bowls or tea cups. All you have to do is make the dish look pretty…

Courtesy of John Lewis

Makeover your bedroom

This wallet-friendly bedding from online company Made.com is genius – if you fancy a switch up, the Duno duvet cover is reversible, so you can other opt for the more subtle pattern or the bolder look depending on your mood. Again, bedding is a cheap and easy way to give your bedroom a whole new look without much time or money spent.

Courtesy of Made.com

Update a piece of furniture

One easy trick is to take a tired old piece of wooden furniture and give it a lick of paint and update the hardware. A tester pot of paint will probably cover it and should cost less than £5 – make sure it’s still a good-quality paint, however, as this will give you the best coverage; Farrow & Ball’s sample pots cost £4.50 and there are 132 colours to choose from. In addition, some new knobs can really add character to a chest of drawers, wardrobe or sideboard – Anthropologie has a great selection, such as these Riko flower knobs at £6 each.

Courtesy of Anthropologie

Add some greenery

Indoor plants are an amazing way to liven up a small apartment, especially if your lacking outdoor space. Group a range of plants with different textures together for real impact, or create your own mini terrarium in a jam jar or cheap vase to put on a side table. There are plenty of benefits to growing your own herbs too, not only will they add a lovely aroma to a kitchen and brighten up a windowsill, they’ll obviously cost less in the long run than supermarket ones. This three-pot tray is an ideal solution from Annabel James at £12.95.

Courtesy of Annabel James

Sort your bathroom storage

Fed up of being surrounded by bottles on the windowsill or the edge of the bath? Give your bathroom an on-trend makeover with this sleek rose-gold storage rack from Urban Outfitters costing £35. The brand also stocks other rose-gold and copper items in the range, plus it has a good selection of shower curtains and bath mats for a cheap and cheerful update.

Courtesy of Urban Outfitters

Create your own gallery wall

You can’t look at Pinterest these days for interior inspiration without coming across gallery walls, and it’s easier to do than you think. King & McGaw is a great place to look for ideas as it splits prints into categories and themes so you can choose an overarching theme and then mix up the frame sizes and composition. It’s best to either stick to one style of frame, one theme or one overarching colour scheme, so there’s something that brings the whole look together. If you’ve already got unframed prints at home, King & McGaw you can also design your own frames to fit from £15.

Courtesy of King & McGaw

Swap your cupboard fronts

One really simple way to give your kitchen an entirely new look is to replace the cupboard fronts – it can turn a dated kitchen into a million dollars in just a weekend. IKEA’s kitchen fronts are very reasonable, so if you’ve already got the basic base units, you can buy new doors – take inspiration from the Scandinavians and keep it classic with the Savedal range from just £12.

Courtesy of IKEA

Looking for other affordable ways to transform your home? Check out how to makeover your bedroom on a budget, or take a look at these 20 design icons that you can invest in for under £100.

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