How to Decorate Your House on a Tight Budget {Farmhouse Style!}

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Are you trying to decorate your house in farmhouse style but you’re on a tight budget? It can be done! Don’t miss these smart ideas to make your house beautiful without spending a bundle!

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Is It Even Possible to Decorate on a Tight Budget?!?

In 2017, a soot puff-back forced us to empty our entire house for cleaning and repainting—the First Great Purge. With everything spotless (a rare moment with toddler twins), we decided to sell sooner than planned.

After battling permits and chaos, we sold in August 2018 and prepared to move from NY to Tennessee—cue the Second Great Purge. Most of our stuff wasn’t worth moving.

We landed in Tennessee, spent time with in-laws and in a rental, and—by God’s grace—ended up buying our forever home, three times the size of our old one, for $80K less than we sold our NY house. Wild!

But as I stood in our new (and very empty) home, I thought, “How am I going to decorate this on a tight budget?” As a SAHM doing Instacart for extra income, a full-time salary was still years off.

I’m happy to say the house isn’t empty anymore. It’s still a work in progress, but today I want to share how we made it feel like home—without breaking the bank.

14 Clever Tips for Decorating on a Tight Budget

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1| Big Box Stores for Discounted Decor

Modern  home decor has come a long way in stores like Walmart and Amazon. I’m not embarrassed to say that we’ve gotten lots of pieces we love from those stores.

They aren’t necessarily high-end quality, so you need to know your end game (we have little kids, so we’re NOT looking for those kinds of pieces – and really, we aren’t fancy people, lol), but some are beautiful!

Walmart’s Better Home’s and Gardens line is better quality than its store line (Mainstay).  And they add new lines from well-known decorators all the time!

Hobby Lobby is also another can’t-go-wrong store for farmhouse style. Their clearance happens 2x a year, for 70% off and above, and they rotate 50% off sales on all their different items over the course of a few weeks. We got these signs for half off!

Michael’s also offers 40% or 50% off on regular priced items weekly. And to be honest, I think Michael’s has one of the best farmhouse decor lines out there.

You can also find great deals at Kohl’s. Often their prices are 1/2 off (although my hunch is that they’re intentionally marked high so they look like it’s a deal). If you have the charge card, you can get up to 30% off with their coupon. 

I’ve even scored a few farmhouse deals at Kroger and Aldi!  I’m always looking for deals whenever I’m in any store.

2| Discount Home Decor Stores

You absolutely can’t go wrong with stores like Home Goods, TJ, Maxx, Ross, Bealles, At Home, and Marshalls for farmhouse and rustic decor.  And don’t forget Burlington! I wouldn’t say they’re super-cheap for furniture, but definitely reasonably priced if you are looking for higher-end furniture at a lower price.

3| Dollar Spots

Don’t neglect Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and the Target’s Bullseye corner! I have scored decor at all 3 of those places – chicken wire basket, galvanized buckets, etc. Even Five Below has a cute home decor section.

 

They are especially good for seasonal decor that you don’t want to spend a ton of money on – Target is my favorite for that – always on-trend.  But be sure to check Target regularly and snag it when you find it – once something’s gone, it’s gone. 

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4| Facebook Marketplace

I cannot tell you the farmhouse decor deals I’ve found on Facebook Marketplace, and honestly, it’s my first go-to, even before brand new.

Why? Because you can get higher-end used items for less than brand-new lesser quality. I usually look for items that are being sold in fancy neighborhoods, lol.

 

5| Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, Estate Sales

This goes hand-in-hand with Facebook Marketplace—you can browse tons of items quickly, and I’ve scored some great finds. Yard sales are usually the cheapest, but most thrift stores have fair prices too, and I don’t mind paying a bit more when it supports a good cause.

Estate sales are another goldmine—people are often eager to clear things out and open to negotiating. (You can even search for local ones online!)

Don’t skip Habitat for Humanity ReStores either. They carry everything from furniture to building materials—often donated by contractors—and it all supports a great mission. A friend of mine even found marble tile for her bathroom!

Bring your imagination—so many of these items can be upcycled into beautiful home decor!

6| DIY

This is another great option – whether starting a project from scratch or when you are buying on Marketplace or from yard sales or thrift stores.

With a little imagination, you can take something that is a little boring or not quite what you want and add your own touch.

Usually, if I see something I love that’s too expensive, I look for a DIY tutorial.

Below you can see the picture of a Christmas print I created for the DIY  hanger frame (and here’s a link to the print if you’d like to create one also!)

And if you want to learn how to make a hanger frame, here’s the tutorial!

 

Along the lines of DIY, consider having pieces custom made. There’re a lot of craftsmen out there looking for side work and can build beautiful pieces.

For example, I found someone on Facebook Marketplace who could custom make side tables I was looking for, for less than even Walmart. And these were made with real wood, not the pressed wood you’d usually find.

7| Interest-Free Financing

This isn’t something we’ve done, but if there’s something brand new you’re wanting, many places offer interest-free financing for furniture. As long as you can afford it (it can be as little as $15 a month), that’s another option. 

8| Shop Your House

This has been a fun one for me lately.  I’ve been spending a lot of time moving furniture and decor around from room to room.  A rug or a lamp from one room moved to another can add a whole new life.

Your attic or basement could have hidden goldmines. You might even have some other decorative items that you can update or repurpose.

For example, the picture below is an 80’s light fixture I upcycled and painted with chalk paint. I added some beaded garland from Walmart that they had out around Christmas. To see the full view, scroll back up to the dining room table picture!

You can see how it has evolved over the years below!

9| Use Personal and Meaningful Decorations

I’m also a big believer in meaningful decorations – things that remind me of what’s important or something or someone special.

Below, you can see where I used one of my wedding centerpieces as decor and hung our bookmark favor onto it. I also framed another one. 

This manzanita tree is a centerpiece from my wedding.  I doctored it up a little and added the Willow People figurines under it, which were gifts from a dear friend. I also decorate this tree seasonally as well! Multi-purpose decor!

 

Here, I hung a bookmark on the tree,  which was a favor from my wedding. 

And here’s another way I used the bookmark!

 

This is from my very first missions trip to Africa.  I bought this from an outdoor market in Kenya back in 1996.  I’ve used this for pens and various other things over the years. Here, I repurposed it to hold some faux baby’s breath.

Dig through closets and basements and maybe you can find some items to repurpose before you Kondo them.  Sometimes a little paint or accessory can recreate a whole new piece of decor.

10 | Include Free Decor

So what counts as free decor? Anything you can make using nature, depending on the season: flowers, acorns, pine cones, branch trees… all those things are free.

Upcycled things around the house: glass jars leftover from food, Amazon boxes, old fabric (pillowcases, shirts, sheets, etc), that you can make rag wreaths, mini-pillows, placemats.

And don’t forget other people’s stuff you can get for free. Facebook Group (Buy Nothing) are places where your neighbors are getting rid of things FOR. FREE.

Below, you can see flowers from my yard (free) from old food jars (also free).

(PS. In the above picture, the apothecary jars are Dollar Tree DIYs, and the wood candlesticks are upcycled and painted with chalk paint!)

 

11 | Fetch Rewards

This is a little out of the box, but it’s helped me! Fetch is an app where you scan your receipts and get points that you cash in for gift cards. 

I’ve gotten many $25 gift cards to Home Goods (you can pick the card you want)! Free money to spend on your house, just for doing your regular food shopping! Here’s my referral link if you’d like to download the app! 

12 | Roadside Warehouse

Don’t underestimate the treasures on the side of the road! My dad was a pro at repurposing discarded furniture, and I’ve learned to appreciate the art.

Try driving around the night before trash day—especially in nicer neighborhoods. You might have to swallow your pride, but the finds can be amazing.

A word of caution: During the First Big Purge, my husband tossed a Pier 1 chair I loved. I gave in and let it go. A few days later, I saw it listed on Facebook Marketplace—for $75! Let’s just say that sparked some… spirited discussion.

Lesson learned? Don’t be too proud to pick up curbside gems—or to rescue your own before someone else cashes in on them!

13 | Friend Decor Swap

This is another fun and budget-friendly way to decorate! Host a girl’s night where some of your friends get together and bring over decor that they no longer want or need.

I promise, what you are bored with, someone else will love! And vice versa! It’s a great way to snag some new-to-you decor. And if these girls are your friends, you likely have similar taste. Win-win!

14| Neutral and Transitional Seasonal Decor

I always try to include neutral pieces that I can keep out all year long, that go with any type of seasonal decor. It cuts down on what I have to buy or create each season (plus it simplifies the whole decorating process!).

I also try to seasonally decorate for one season, keeping the next in mind. For example, when I decorate for Christmas, I try to include things that I can keep up for winter. Then, I see if any of my winter decor (think ‘white’) would work for Valentine’s Day. 

Make your decor multi-functional, and squeeze the most you can out of every piece! I made an Instagram reel showing some of these tips I shared, as well as how I went from Spring to Summer (I also highlighted the entire ‘before and after’ from spring to summer in this post!)

Decorating Your House on a Tight Budget is Possible!

We’re far from finished with our house—there’s always more painting, decorating, and settling in—but it’s been such a joy.

Along the way, I’ve had to check my heart. 

It’s easy to rush into making everything perfect, but home is more than decor. It’s a place to bless others, find peace, and recharge.

And trust me—you’ll feel proud when you see how far you’ve come.

Decorating Specific Areas on the Home

If you are looking for more room-specific ways to update, decorate, and refresh, I’ve got a few more resources for you.

 15 Genius Ways to Update a Kitchen on a Budget. 

 7 Super-Easy Living Room Makeover Ideas.

7 Cheap Playroom Ideas on a Budget (Must Haves for a Super-Fun Room)

Master Bathroom Floorplans BEFORE you start!

More Home Decor Inspiration:

6 Genius {&  Pretty!} Ways to Use Kitchen Towels as Home Decor

Easy Farmhouse Dollar Tree Crafts

25 Ways to Decorate with Old Windows

25 Budget-Friendly Rustic Farmhouse DIY Home Decor Projects

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them! If you have some tips of your own, please share!