Image Credit: Heather Keeling
by ANTONIA DEBIANCHI
that doesn’t mean you have to stop sprucing up your home. Before you give up searching for new decor, check out these eight living room staples experts say you can find for under $5.
Image Credit: Joe Lingeman
As a professional organizer, Beth Levin of Closet Queen says there are all kinds of bins to hide items like coasters and remote controls. “The dollar store is an awesome place for things that are inexpensive,” she says.
Image Credit: Katie Holdefehr
“People want pictures—it makes your home more homey,” Levin says. Luckily, retailers like Target and Walmart sell small, affordable picture frames that you can sprinkle around your living room.
Image Credit: Cat Meshcia
New York-based home stager Anne Kenney looks to nature for inexpensive DIY decorative accents. Find a pine cone or unique-looking branch? Spray paint them a neutral color, and place them in a vase or coffee table platter.
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The next time you visit Home Goods, Marshalls, or TJ Maxx, peruse the items near the checkout line. Sometimes there are small prints on canvases that’d look great near a light switch or on a gallery wall.
Image Credit:Joe Lingeman
Retailers like Target and Marshalls have fake plants under $5. Plus, depending on what’s in stock, you may be able to snag a small, real plant for cheap at Home Depot.
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Kenney says IKEA and Michaels have under-$5 options for small mirrors around six inches. “You could do some sort of a display with two or three mirrors… going along a wall or over the couch,” she says.
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TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and just about any big retail store has little affordable candles and scent diffuser oils. Why splurge on bigger candles when smaller ones will still leave your room smelling like warm vanilla sugar?
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Since original coffee table books tend to be expensive, the ones at thrift stores can be the ultimate find. “Books are art,” Kenney says, so it’s a must to decorate your coffee table with one of your thrifted treasures.
Image Credit:Lara Kalis