Five Tips for Eco Friendly Decorating on a Budget

Guest post by Laura, Tales of a Natural Spoonie

Living in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner doesn’t mean that your home can’t be stylish. Yet so many eco and sustainable homeware items cost a fortune! So how do you have a stylish home on a budget? Well in this blog I am going to share with you 5 tips for eco-friendly decorating on a budget.

Having rented for years I have a lot of practice in switching up the style of a room, without spending a lot, which suits my frugal nature perfectly. So without further ado here are my five tips …

Shop your home

The most effective way of keeping your carbon footprint as small as can be during redecoration is to buy nothing at all. Instead take a look around your home at what you currently have and see what you can repurpose. Can that old jam jar be turned into a vase? Can that old bedspread be used as a throw in the living room? That kallax unit from the hallway moved to one of the kids bedrooms?

It often amazes me how completely different my home can look when a few things are moved about. The style and feel of a room can be completely switched up by just moving your furniture and existing items around.

Use reclaimed materials

Reclaimed materials can be used around the home for a whole manner of goodies. For example a simple search of pallets on Etsy brought up a whole range of options such as pallet slat walls, pallet beds, pallet coat racks.

Depending on how bijou your design tastes are there are a whole heap of ways to turn unwanted materials into stylish new pieces of your home.

Get some thermals…

…and no I’m talking the ones like your Granny wears. Adding a thermal lining to your existing curtains can drastically reduce how much hot or cold air is escaping from your home. Not only will this make your home more comfortable for your family but it will also save money on your heating bills.

Choose your paint wisely

One of the easiest and most affordable ways to give a room a whole new spark of life is to give it a fresh lick of paint. Not all paint is created equal though and so you need to choose your paint wisely.

A lot of paints contain something called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which is a pretty potent variety of nasties. Paints containing VOCs have the potential to be releasing toxins into your home and the environment for years after they have been applied. Harming not only the planet but potentially you and your family – scary stuff.

The great news is that developments in the paint industry mean that there is now a wide range of ‘low-VOC’ paints around – all you need to do is check your tin before you buy.

Houseplants

Houseplants are all the rage at the moment with whole instagram feeds dedicated to some people’s love of their green friends. They are a budget friendly decoration that can bring a renewed life to any space.

If you remember your science classes you will know that plants breathe in carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen. They can also soak up a lot of the harmful toxins, pollutants and chemicals that are unseen in our home therefore purifying the air.

So not only are they stylish they may have health benefits too.