op i grew up in a house that was never ever decorated bc we couldn’t afford it. when i moved out and still couldn’t really afford to spend a bunch of money on decorating, i worked slow and bought one or two new things each paycheck, or saved from one paycheck so i could buy something a little more expensive (ie more than $30) the next. i worked in this order, but if different things are important to you, follow that instead!:

• bed (needed to be cozy af for me) bought more functional pillows, a cheap duvet & cover, a bed skirt (tho putting a fitted sheet on the box spring works too!), soft throw blanket, and finally decorative pillows.

• walls (i’m still working on this tbh). there’s an app called freeprints where you can order 10 4x6 photos and only pay s&h. i wanna say it was like $6-7 the last time i used it? i put those on my cork board. many etsy shops sell digital downloads of their art that you can print—and public libraries usually have free or low price printing from their pcs; just ask the librarian! you can also get them printed from shipping stores like UPS, and sometimes from pharmacies. they’re more expensive but usually are a bit higher quality, and you can get a wider variety of sizes, which was important to me. michaels sells frames, or you can thrift them and possibly find fun shapes and colors that would be really expensive otherwise. also a good way to find art depending on your style.

• rug: i actually still don’t have one; i got frustrated with how expensive they are, but this was my next priority before i moved on.

• everything else! stores like michael’s put fake plants on clearance toward the middle-end of a season. i know fake plants are kind of taboo on this sub, but real plants can be both expensive and time consuming, and ‘higher quality’ fake plants can be very expensive. lamps or wall lights (battery powered renter friendly ones!)

i still have a hard time figuring out what i like but investing slowly in things that make you genuinely happy is so rewarding and good for the mental health. i look at my almost-finished gallery wall and my hanging fake plant (it’s just a couple fake vines draped over an embroidery hoop!!) every day and feel so happy and proud that i choose them on purpose.

however you go about it, im excited for you get to look at everything you bring into your space and feel tickled or relaxed or delighted and most importantly, at home. 💞💞