Decorating a flat in Singapore is both exciting and daunting. While there’s no shortage for chic home decor in the city, shopping can feel like a pointless exercise when you’re on a tight budget. And unless you have endless amounts of creativity and patience, executing DIY projects aren’t worth the time and effort.
However, there are ways to achieve a Pinterest-worthy flat without breaking your budget or going DIY-crazy.
1. Look Out For Furniture Bargains
Note: All the fittings and decor accessories are from Taobao
IKEA, Carousell and sales from department stores are some of the usual haunts homeowners look for good furniture deals. Make it a point to drop by department stores’ home sections every now and then, to see if there are any items on sale. Keep a lookout for online sales fever such as the US Black Friday sales and Singapore's 12.12 sales.
Looking to shop at Taobao? Check out our guide and quick shopping hacks here.
Image: Free Space Intent
2. Mix and Match Your Bed Linens
Expect to pay at least S$200 for a matching bed linen set. If that sounds ridiculous, you can buy linens separately (on sale), then mix and match the patterns. Not only do you save a lot of money this way, but using different textiles creates a very interesting bedroom space.
To pull this off successfully, choose a colour palette then pick a variety of prints that fall within this palette. Working around your chosen colours results in a unified yet stylish look.
Image: The Association
3. Say Yes to Hand-Me-Downs
If family or friends offer to give their hand-me-down furniture, just say, “Yes, thank you!” Even if they don’t quite fit the look you hand in mind, find a way to make them work. Right now, the priority is to feel comfortable in a furnished home.
Image: Fifth Avenue Interior
4. Stalk Your Credit Card’s Deals Page
This is a no-brainer. Enough said. Check if your credit card offers discounts at your favourite stores and you may earn that cashback or miles. We recommend to stagger the bulk purchases. If you have yet to hear about this cashback credit card we raved about, it's time to check it out.
5. Decorate with Throw Pillows
Give your living room an instant makeover by updating your throw pillows. At S$15 or less per pillow cover, it’s an inexpensive way to breathe life into your sofa. Like the mix-and-match bed linens idea, mix up different patterns, shapes, and textures to create visual interest.
Image: i-Bridge Design and LuxeSpace Interior
6. Add Decorative Ornaments
A vignette is a small, pretty picture formed by grouping a variety of objects together. Think of it as a miniature display that sets the mood of your room or tells a story about yourself, as opposed to displaying a collection.
Vignettes are an easy way to decorate a bare table using items you already own or inexpensive flea market finds. Or, place some coffee books from bookstores. They instantly add sophistication to your space.
Image: 0932 Design Consultants
7. Download Your Wall Art, Or Just Hang Up Your Bike
If you can’t afford real art, don’t bother with posters or department store prints. Instead, get inexpensive frames and fill them up with free art you can download online.
Reusable Art is a great resource for public domain images – that is, vintage advertisements, old posters, and historical photos whose copyright has expired. For something more 21st century, you can download stunning photos from today’s best photographers at Snapwire Snaps, Life of Pix, and Pixabay. Hey, you wouldn’t need to splurge on a feature wall afterall.
Or simply, make your bike part of the 'feature wall'.
It’s 2016, and your nightstand no longer has to be an overpriced brown boxy thing. It can be a chair, a repurposed ladder, even a quirky cylinder drum! You are only limited by your imagination (and budget) when it comes to executing this hipster home decorating idea.
9. Update Knobs and Handles
If you’re getting bored with the furniture that came with your flat, try updating the hardware. New knobs or handles make the most ordinary piece of furniture look more glamorous, and they come in all price ranges, some for as little as S$1 each.
Before rushing to the hardware store, count how many knobs you are planning to replace. Updating the handles of your bedroom cabinet will be much cheaper than updating the handles of your kitchen cabinets. Decide on your budget and stick to it before falling in love with pieces you can’t afford.
Image: Three-D Conceptwerke
10. Exclusive Cashback Deals On Qanvast App
Last but not least, if you haven’t heard about it yet, the Qanvast app carries more than 50 popular brands of home furnishing items (think Tempur mattresses, Originals Furniture etc), with exclusive discounts and additional cashback of up to 20%!
View the full suite of home furnishing items on the free Qanvast app! Download it free from the App Store or Google Play.
Image: Linear Space Concepts
These money saving tips were originally published at SingSaver.com.sg, Singapore’s #1 comparison site for credit cards and personal loans. This article was modified with permission from SingSaver.
