Transform Your Decor with 4 Simple Swaps (Budget Friendly)

Do you want to change your living room on a budget?

Today I’m going to show you four easy swaps that you can make that can completely change the look of your living room without changing any of the big, expensive things like the couch or painting the walls.

I’ve seen a million transformations, as I’m sure you have, where they completely overhaul the whole room without disclosing the price—and it would be high. Not everyone can afford to do those kind of transformations. This is a lower cost approach.

And I’ll say, there’s one caveat: If you have a couch that is not neutral, this might not work for you. But if you follow my advice on choosing a couch, which I talked about in my design series, you have a couch that is basic enough that it is versatile. Let’s face it, a lot of us move frequently, so that’s why I really think it’s important to have a couch that can fit into lots of different spaces.

Keep reading until the end, and I’ll show you three different rooms that are actually all the same room with the same couch and the same paint, but they all have a completely different look based on these four swaps.

If you haven’t met me before, I’m Andrea and I create custom floor plans and mood boards for my clients to help them get a home that feels unique to them.

Swap #1: The Rug

The first swap that can really change the look of your room and in fact drive the look of your room is the rug.

A rug is a great way to really set the color palette of the room and to set the tone or the feeling of the room. Just switching out the rug alone can make the room feel completely different, and you can use the rug to help you set your style.

If you want a more traditional or a more cottage look, you can go with an oriental rug. If you have a more minimalist look, you can go with a natural fiber rug. If you want a more modern feeling, you can use a rug that has some geometric pattern to it.

The most common three mistakes that I see people make when they buy a rug is:

They get a rug that is too small. You want your rug in a living room to be big enough where all of the main pieces of furniture can sit with at least their front legs on the rug. The rug can really help define the area.
They pick a rug that doesn’t really go with their color scheme so that it looks like it’s a little bit out of place. I think a rug is a really important place to start with your color scheme.
If you’re using a solid rug, then your color scheme probably won’t come from the rug. But a rug is a really easy way to set the color scheme for the room, and it can immediately pull together the room.

Swap #2: Window Treatments

The second swap is window treatments. And this can either be curtains, roman shades, or a combination of the two.

It’s a great way to add color, texture, and pattern to your space. And the most common mistake I see with window coverings is that people hang them too low and too close to the window frame. You’ve probably heard you should hang your drapes high and wide. And what this does is it makes your windows look bigger.

In fact, most of the window covering for curtains or drapes will be hanging over the wall. And the other mistake I see is that people don’t get a wide enough drape. You generally want to make sure you have at least one and a half to two times minimum width of fabric as the width of the window. You can read more about getting the right size curtain here.

I had one client who made one change to her room, and that was adding a floor to ceiling drape, and that immediately changed the look of the room.

You can use curtains that have a lot of pattern if that’s where you want to bring in your color palette. Or you can choose curtains that have just a really warm and luxurious feel to them.

Swap #3: Lighting

The third swap is something that I’ve talked a lot about, and that’s lighting. Lighting is something that is often overlooked by people, but lighting is like the jewelry for an outfit. And if you don’t wear a lot of jewelry, it’s like your shoes for an outfit. It really helps to make a statement about the space.

And if you don’t have the budget to get an electrician and have new pieces wired in, there are lots of lighting options that can be plugged in, even overhead lighting.

Every room needs to have all three kinds of light and at least three sources of light:

Ambient light, which comes from usually the lighting that’s in the room
Task lighting, which is for things like reading or chopping or sewing
Mood lighting and accent lighting, which is really what helps set the mood of the room

In the three examples I’m going to show you, I just switched out two light fixtures, an overhead light, and a lamp, and just those two things alone can make a big impact in a room.

You can go with a statement chandelier. There are lots of really interesting floor lamps that can also make a statement. And there are some really great sconces that can really take your room to the next level.

So if you have basic builder grade light fixtures, changing up the lighting is something that’s really going to make a big difference.

Swap #4: Accessories

The fourth swap is accessories, and I’m not talking about tons of accessories. You’ll see when you look at these rooms. Basically I’m talking about things like pillows, plants, and artwork.

Those are the main three. Pillows are a great way to add in more texture and color, and if you feel uncertain about mixing the patterns of the pillows, check out my guide where I give an easy formula for combining patterns.

You also want to make sure that every room has something alive in it. And if you’re not good with real plants, there’s some great faux ones out there.

And artwork. Artwork is something that is so personal and doesn’t have to be expensive. You can thrift a lot of artwork. You can make your own artwork, or you can buy really inexpensive prints and have them framed.

So these seemingly small items can add a lot of personal touch to your space.

See the Transformation

Now let’s take a look at the three rooms. You’ll notice it’s the exact same room. It has the same couch and the same wall color, but I’ve changed up these four things: the rug, the window coverings, the lighting, and a few accessories.

I did this because I want you to see the power of just changing these few things because that’s something that you can easily do yourself. So if you’re ready to transform your living room, try making these four swaps first, and you might not need to change anything else.

For those of you who want a little bit more personal help, I do offer virtual design plans, and I’ll link those below.