Sarah Coffey

Here's how to make this bold, cheerful color work for you.

Finally...hang your art without breaking the bank.

If you’re working with a limited budget, shelling out lots of money for a rug that might get ruined or wear thin over time is a scary prospect. Fortunately, there are lots of sources for stylish but inexpensive rugs that won’t leave you trembling in fear of a red wine stain. h.71 s.centercrop src="https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/upload/at/archive/1ed50a2ce3eed0a222659416b01456430061ad1b._w.94_h.71_s.centercrop_.

Cabinetry usually adds up to about half of kitchen renovation expenses, so if you have a small budget, you’ve got to find ways to cut costs. Shop sales, check second-hand and salvage stores, try a demolition auction, or find ways to get a custom look from big box sources.For kitchen cabinet sources, click here. Home Depot Big box stores like Home Depot have frequent discounts on stock kitchen cabinets.

We know — you’re tired of seeing IKEA on every single affordable furniture list we pull together. It’s one of the biggest and best sources for modern furniture on a budget… but, yes, it can get old. So, to make up for the IKEA overkill, here’s a list of sources for cool furniture on the cheap. We tried to stick to non-obvious sources. (Don’t worry — there’s no West Elm or CB2 here either.

Lyndsay and Fitzhugh are talented designers who renovated their Brooklyn home and built much of the furniture themselves from reclaimed wood. Even if you’re not gifted with the ability to throw together a handmade sectional sofa, you can still be inspired by their accomplishments… and you can rely on our shopping guide for a similar look.

Dehlia’s tiny bathroom is typical of a city apartment: a 4 x 6 foot space that benefited from a functional, small-scale redesign. The floors are slate, the walls are seaglass, and the fixtures are well proportioned for the room. It can be difficult to find small tubs, toilets, and sinks for a bathroom renovation, but combing Dehlia’s source list as well as a few good posts from the Apartment Therapy archives, we’ve found some relevant resources.

We’ve been blogging lots of small space solutions lately, but the prettiest ones are usually high-design options, unfortunately out of reach for most of us. Here’s a more down-to-earth list of smart modern furniture resources that even a first-time apartment renter can afford. Umbra On-line Store Umbra makes a few different wall-mounted space savers, including the Conceal Shelf, a powder-coated steel rack that becomes invisible under a stack of books.

Are you pinching your pennies this season and holding off for a little reno project in the new year? We have plenty of budget-friendly sources in our Marketplace for home re-do’s. Who needs new earrings when you could have these cost-efficient sinks and overheads as stocking stuffers? Sears Outlet A leading name in appliances, Sears is known for its affordable prices, deep selection, and its online and brick-and-mortar outlets, where you can find good deals on mark-downs.

If you don’t own a dishwasher, invest in a good dish rack—it can mean the difference between whether or not you enjoy doing the dishes. No, really…it sounds like hyperbole, but I’ve been through the experience of upgrading from a cheap model to a nice dish rack (from Simple Human) and it changed the way I felt about my daily dish-washing chores. Simplehuman Most of Simple Human’s dish racks come with 5-year warranties.

As technology grows ever “better, faster, stronger” — to quote Kanye — it also shrinks to smaller physical dimensions. Speakers the size of a candy box can provide decent or even excellent sound, and they’re getting better looking, too. Just check out the gorgeous Jawbone Jambox (above), with its variegated surface and bright colorways. Here are 10 more like it that offer compact size and slick style.

It’s the New Year, and for those of you in organizing mode, we’re pulling together shopping guides to help you get your home in shape. Wall-mounted desks and shelving can be hard to come by, so for those who live in tiny apartments or have a closet-sized home office from which they work, here are some of our favorite options. Resource Furniture New-York based Resource Furniture specializes in space-saving designs for bedrooms and home offices.

When you have children, your need for storage space can quickly (and freakishly) multiply. Editing what you own is the best way to keep your stuff from overwhelming you, but good storage can help, too. Particularly if it’s modular storage that can adapt and expand when needed. Smart Furniture This webshop specializes in stackable storage. They carry the popular Cubits shelving, modular Smart Shelves, and the stackable ABS plastic Componibili in round or square shapes.

We recently bought an air purifier for our home, and we sifted through a lot of different information to find out what’s really the healthiest option. Ultimately, our allergist was the best resource; he offered honest advice on what type to buy and how effective an air purifier really is.HEPA (or high efficiency air particulate absorbing) filters are required by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention to remove at least 99.97 percent of airborne particles.

Stocking your home bar for a summer party? We’ve got a few ideas for affordable places to shop. If you need a few dozen wine glasses, a nice big ice bucket, or a cocktail shaker and jigger, here are our suggestions. CB2 They’ve got stores across the country and a website with sections devoted to barware and party stuff. Shop here for basic modern cocktail and wine glasses, shakers, jiggers, and serving supplies.

Comfort and durability — that’s what most people want out of an office chair, since such a huge percentage of time is spent sitting in it. If a chair is attractive as well, so much the better. In case you’re shopping for a new seat, here are 10 good sources to check out. Steelcase Store They’ve been making office furniture since 1912, and their office chairs are well made, with a 10-year limited warranty.

If you rent or you’re a homeowner on a tight budget that doesn’t include a kitchen renovation in the near future, consider making small upgrades instead. Affordable projects — like switching out light fixtures or improving your cabinet storage — can make a huge difference. None of these ideas are revolutionary, but they work and they’re relatively easy to do.A few wall shelves provide extra storage space and a place to show off your best dishes and cookware.

Room dividers can be useful in a shared kids’ room, a studio apartment, or a large loft — but they’re often very pricey. If you’re on a budget and searching for ways to separate space, here are 10 options under the $100 mark. IKEA Their thin, sheer panel curtains can be hung from ceiling tracks to create room dividers that separate space but still let light through, and they carry nearly 30 styles and colors.

The sleeper sofa is a workhorse of apartment living—a tried and true way to accommodate overnight guests in even the tiniest home. They’re complex pieces and the market is full of good and bad options. Here’s our guide to shopping for a well-designed sofa bed to fit your space and your budget. Measure your area based on the size of the sofa bed when open. You want to make sure there’s enough room to comfortably unpack the bed without rearranging your whole apartment.

Cast iron rocks—it’s durable enough to last over generations, and it’s one of the few things you can buy for your home that improves with age. When you’re shopping for cast iron, prices can vary widely and there are a few key issues to consider. Here’s our guide to help you figure out what type is right for you.Because cast iron lasts so long, it’s possible to find vintage pieces for less than you might pay new.

New patio furniture can be prohibitively expensive, but the good news is that if you’re on a budget, it’s easy to find old stuff at thrift stores and flea markets. Although it may have seen better days, don’t write it off. You may be able to rescue it using one or more of these techniques. Clean it. Because outdoor furniture is left to the elements for long period of time, it can get pretty grimy.

There’s something so appealing about the “all in one” kitchen unit — it’s like a well-oiled engine on which the whole home runs. While not always practical (high-end kitchenettes can end up costing as much or more than their full-sized counterparts) mini kitchens are at the very least inspiring in their space saving ingenuity. Here are 10 of our favorites. Dwyer This Illinois-based company makes all-in-one compact kitchens.

Paging through our archives, we realized we’d never done a comprehensive “best of” list for outdoor furniture stores. With heat waves happening across the country, it’s now or never, so we scoured our listings for favorite stores and sources, organized into three categories: high-end ($$$), mid-range ($$), and budget ($). Curran Based out of Seattle, this online/catalog retailer has a gorgeous selection of high-end furniture for the yard or patio.

Anyone who’s renovated a kitchen or bathroom knows how confusing it can be to navigate the world of tile, so we thought we’d try and give you a map. This resource guide runs through the basics of buying tile, including size, style, and price.Larger tiles are easier to install; smaller tiles are better for surfaces that require more detail. Measure your area, then call a tile shop or take your measurements in for an exact breakdown of how much tile you’ll need for your project.

Welcome to bedroom month! To start March off with a bang, we’ve updated our annual list of the best bunk beds. These are our current favorites — from Italian space savers that are so slick they’d feel at home in a modern bachelor pad, to basic budget options that fit in with almost any decor. Resource Furniture These bunk beds are expensive (you could drop $10k on one), but they’re pretty amazing.

As we head into spring cleaning and organizing season, a pantry organization project might be on your to-do list. If you number among those planning to clean out the pantry and get it into working order, here are some of our favorite sources for simple, streamlined food storage. OXO Their POP Containers ($99.99 for 10 pieces) have a push-button top that creates an air-tight seal and doubles as a handle.

From CFLs and LEDs to dimmers and sustainable materials, there are many different ways to approach lighting from an eco-friendly point of view. Check out this year’s updated guide to bringing green lighting into your home. Green Depot With locations throughout the East Coast and Midwest and an extensive web shop, this is a good resource for lamps, bulbs, and switches that are designed to save energy.

You don’t have to own a condo or a house to make your home yours. Rentals can be challenging (unattractive flooring, standard white walls, outdated light fixtures) but there are plenty of ways to work around the problem and tailor your apartment to your own tastes. 1. Use modular furniture that you can customize to fit your space. Casey Marie’s sectional sofa, for instance, splits up into chairs or a loveseat.

The hardest thing about setting up a studio apartment is figuring out the right layout. With so little available space, every decision makes a huge impact.

Visiting SoHo for a shopper is sort of like visiting the Louvre for an art lover — all the big names are spread out before you in one walkable place. It’s crowded, totally commercial, and lots of fun if you like hopping from store to store, weaving between people with shopping bags, and finding just about anything you could want for your home. Although most stores tend to be high-end showrooms, there are still enough eccentric holes in the wall to satisfy the adventurous shopper.

So, you’re shopping for a sofa that won’t overwhelm your tiny studio apartment or you’re looking for seating to fit inside an alcove. The problem is, you keep coming up short (bad pun intended — sorry). Most furniture stores tend to favor large sizes, especially when it comes to anchor pieces like sofas and beds. But if you know where to look, you can find moderately sized sleepers, settees, and loveseats that will work in a small home.