Okay, so we all knew those guys in college who had lawn chairs and an old pallet in their living room posing as real furniture. I bet those guys were great money savers. But never fear – you can still have a cozy apartment and save money at the same time (no lawn chairs necessary). Keep reading for my 8 best free and low-cost tips for how to make your apartment cozy on a budget.
#1) Clean is the new cozy
I see all kinds of articles and videos online talking about how to make your space cozy and inviting. They talk about mood lighting, textiles, art, color palette. But many of them fail to mention what is, to me, the number one most important thing needed for a to make a space cozy on a budget – its cleanliness.
Maybe that seems obvious, but then why do so many homeowners and renters who care about how their spaces feel not make this a priority?
The great thing about cleaning is that it’s basically free. All it really costs you is some time, energy, and a few cleaning supplies (which, if you’re on an even tighter budget or looking to be more sustainable, you can even make from home).
It can be all too easy not to make the weekly or even daily effort needed to keep our spaces clean and tidy. But the reality is that all of the LED candles and fairy lights in the world can’t make up for the pet hair coating your sofa or the pile of dirty dishes on your kitchen counter.
In my opinion, a living space that needs to be cleaned is about as far from cozy as it gets.
#2) Eliminate clutter
Cozy is more than just a look. It connotes a feeling of being safe, relaxed, and cocooned in a space. And you know what’s not relaxing to be cocooned in? Clutter.
You know what I’m talking about… that pile of junk mail on the kitchen table that you’ve been meaning to go through. That heap of dirty towels that you haven’t put into the laundry yet. Those cheap nick-nacks on top of your dresser that are just collecting dust.
Studies have actually shown that visual clutter can raise cortisol levels (the stress hormone). I can’t think of anything more opposite to cozy than stress.
Closed storage options and organization solutions can be helpful, but a free way to remove clutter is to simply own less. You might even be able to make a few dollars back by selling your unwanted items.
So to achieve a relaxing vibe in your space, re-evaluate the items in it. Do they actually add value to your day-to-day life? Do they really – dare I say it – spark joy?
More often than not, they spark other less pleasant emotions, such as guilt or overwhelm.
And the best part about being committed to owning less stuff means that you’ll be buying less stuff, which means you’ll be spending less on things that you don’t need in the first place.
If you want more tips on how to declutter your home, I highly recommend you check out this post by Marissa from A to Zen Life. Her blog and YouTube channel have been infinitely helpful to me in the process of decluttering my home and learning about financial minimalism.
#3) Don’t forget about smell
We can look and look at pinterest-perfect images of spaces that we love online. But one thing that we might forget about – because we get so used to using only one sense when looking at these inspirational images of cozy living spaces – that there are other senses that we need to pay attention to in order to make our spaces cozy on a budget.
One of these is smell. This goes along with #1 on this list. If you keep your space clean, this will help ensure that your guests (and you!) are greeted with a pleasant scent when they walk in the door. Scented candles are nice, but they can’t cover up the underlying smells of piles of damp laundry and the trash that hasn’t been taken out for days.
I personally don’t enjoy heavily scented candles, but I do think lighter fragranted ones can make a space more appealing. Other ways to make your apartment or home smell nice are to make simmer pots on your stove, make a diffuser using natural essential oils, or to bake something yummy. Can you think of anything cozier than the smell of freshly baked cookies?
Another way to make sure your space is smelling fresh is to simply air it out. Nothing quite beats fresh air. I don’t do this in the winter – winters are very cold where we live, and I don’t want to waste the heat – but during spring, summer, and fall, airing out the house every couple of days can keep it from smelling musty. There are also added health benefits to flushing your home with fresh air regularly.
#4) Surround yourself with items you love
We talked about getting rid of (or not purchasing in the first place) items that don’t add value to your life. But what about the items that do? Honoring these items by displaying them and keeping them free of dust can really make a place feel personal.
For me, these are my books. For you, it might be your collectible football jersey or your array of vintage tea cups. Maybe it’s some framed photographs. Everyone has their thing. Displaying items that make you smile can make it feel as though your space isn’t just anyone’s, but uniquely yours.
And this doesn’t need to mean spending money. In fact, many of the most meaningful items that I own are ones that I got for free, such as my mom’s jewelry box and pictures that my husband has drawn for me. I bet you have some special items that deserve to be displayed. Just avoid displaying too many, as this can lead back to visual clutter.
#5) Keep relaxation zones separate from work zones
If at all possible, keep a separate space for work that you do at home, whether that’s for your job, school, or household work such as budgeting, meal-planning, and paying bills.
Even if it’s nothing more than a small desk in the corner of your living space or bedroom, having a separate space that’s specifically for work will help your brain quiet when it’s time to switch gears to relaxation mode. If you study while sitting on the sofa, when you close your book and try to relax with a cup of tea, you may find that it’s harder to keep your brain from wandering back to tests and deadlines.
And this can work in the reverse; having a designated space to be productive can help you focus on work when you need to.
#6) Marry your color palette
Having a color palette that’s all over the place can make a space look busy to the eye and actually register as visual clutter, again, triggering that stress hormone response.
To avoid this visual business, a good rule is to aim for a palette of three colors. You may be able to get away with more, but three colors is a good guide, especially if you’re not experienced in interior design.
When choosing a color palette, make sure to stick with colors that you genuinely love and won’t get tired of. Try not to pay too much attention to what colors are on trend. Instead, go for colors that make you feel at ease.
Colors carry emotional connotations, and those connotations may be different for each of us. So pay attention to the hues that make you feel cocooned, relaxed, and peaceful.
Remember, divorce is expensive, and if you want decorating to cost less in the long run, don’t divorce your color palette. If you stick with the same colors whenever you buy something new, new purchases will likely mix well with the things that you already own, which will reduce the feeling that you need to switch out older furniture and decor in order to match new purchases.
#7) Cozy is tactile
Something may look nice, but how does it feel? If you punched your throw pillow, would it just bounce back? or can you nestle down into the feathers? After a long day, do you sit down onto a stiff sofa or sink back into a cushy one?
Remember, price isn’t always indicative of quality. A good way to measure quality aside from an item’s price is to keep an eye on the materials that things are made of and to opt for natural materials when possible. Think wood, stone, cotton, wool, etc. Not only are they typically nicer to interact with, but they’re usually more durable and therefore will save you money in the long run, because they won’t need to be replaced as often. They tend to wear in over time, rather than wear out.
Use clothes as an example. The difference of wearing a 100% linen shirt vs one made of a cheap synthetic blend is like comparing, well, linen to plastic. The same goes for the items in your home. If everything is cheap kit furniture and poly-blend textiles, then your place might look sharp in an instagram photo, yet it might end up feeling flimsy and cheap IRL.
Does this mean you should run out to Pottery Barn and buy a brand new sofa when you can’t afford it? Of course not.
This leads nicely to my next tip for you, which is:
#8) Buy used
Sure, this may not be the most original advice on how to save money when purchasing items for your home. But the financial impact of this one is so great that I had to mention it.
Buying used can save you so much money. And no, this doesn’t always mean that you need to compromise on style. The key here is patience and being willing to strike out quite a few times before you find the right piece at the right price.
A lot of times, you can find high-end quality furniture in like-new condition for less than the price that you would pay for a brand new item at a budget retailer.
Take this example: My husband and I recently decided that we needed to swap out our sofa. The sectional that we had bought when we moved into our house was just too big for the space, and it was making it feel suffocated. Fortunately, we had bought the sectional used in great condition, and since we had taken good care of it, we were able to sell it for almost the same price as what we had paid for it about three years previously.
We wanted something that looked nice but was super comfortable, and we shopped around in several different big-box retail stores. The quality of these stores didn’t impress us. The sofas felt stiff, and the frames were not made of solid wood, which meant that they probably wouldn’t last as long. Even these ‘budget’ sofas were in the range of $1,200-$1,800. If I’m spending that much on an item, I want to be sure that it will hold up for many years of use.
On a whim, we dropped by a local furniture consignment store. Lo and behold, there was a sofa and loveseat set directly in front of the door when we walked in that was Bassett brand, the exact look we were going for, and at such a reasonable price that we thought they had been mismarked. The furniture looked brand new.
We ended up paying less than $1,000 for a sofa and loveseat that, new at the Bassett store, would have cost upwards of $4,000. So we got brand new condition, high end quality furniture that will last years and years to come, and all for less than the price of one new budget sofa.
Granted, finding used furniture in this condition isn’t normally that easy. But hey, you never know when you’ll get lucky and time things just right! If you keep checking around, chances are that you’ll eventually find something that you’ll be happy with.
If you’d like more tips on how to make your home cozy on a budget by buying used furniture and decor, check out my ultimate guide here. As someone who bought and sold furniture and antiques for over seven years, I can show you some hacks to find the best deals and also some pitfalls to avoid.
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