10 ways to get a nicer home with just $20

I’ve always hated flipping on a bright light first thing in the morning.

Until recently, I assumed there was nothing to be done about this — at least not without buying a new bedside lamp or paying an electrician. Then I read that I could simply get a cheap dimmer that attaches to any old lamp. Now, when I wake up, I slide it to the lowest possible brightness and sip coffee in groggy peace. For $20, I significantly improved how I start each day.

My dimmer-DIY was a lightbulb moment (bad pun intended). It got me thinking of all the other easy fixes that could probably make our apartment more comfortable or attractive. Home decor and DIY experts confirmed I was right: Here are 10 ways to upgrade your space for $20 or less.

1. Upgrade your lighting

As I learned with the table lamp dimmer, lighting can seriously affect your mood. Adding it to my lamp was simple: I just plugged it into the wall outlet, then plugged my lamp into it, like you would with an extension cord.

Or, try trading a regular bulb for a smart lightbulb, whose brightness and temperature you control through your phone (no special smart home system required). Monica Benavidez, the interior stylist behind DIY blog Monica Wants It, recommends the kind by Bulbrite which cost about $18 each (or less if you buy a pack of several). “If I’m crafting, I want the brightest and coolest setting, but when I’m working on my blog in the evenings I prefer warm, dim light,” she says.

2. Make over light switches

3. Feature museum art

Many large museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian, include downloadable public domain art on their websites that’s free to anyone. Just be sure to download a high-resolution version so it won’t be blurry when printed.

“Once I find art I like, I print posters using a one-hour photo service to create my own art for super cheap,” says Benavidez, who has printed 16-by-20-inch images for as little as $8. “Then, I use thrifted frames to create a gallery wall. It’s a great way to get high-end looking art.”

4. Make your own giant art

Extra-large art can get expensive, but you can make your own using little more than wood furring strips (long, flat pieces that cost a couple dollars apiece at hardware stores), and — of all things — a shower curtain.

5. Add decorative trays or boxes

To wrangle keys, mail and other household ephemera, interior designer Cassandra LaValle suggests buying decorative boxes or trays. Visual clutter can contribute to stress, but having nice places for everyday items helps keep the chaos at bay. While small storage solutions, sometimes called “trinket dishes,” are cheap at large retailers, you can also find unique pieces at thrift stores. Vintage candy bowls, for instance, make elegant holding places for jewelry and toiletries such as cotton balls or Q-tips.

6. Adopt a plant

Research shows that houseplants can make us feel happier and more peaceful in our homes. Though large or rare plants tend to get pricey, more common types — such as pothos and snake plants — can easily be found for under $20. Research care instructions in advance to choose a variety that will thrive in your space.

Or maybe you have a plant that just needs a snazzier home. Retailers such as Target and Ikea have a host of stylish planter options for under $20.

Home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s often sell “mistint” paint at a steep discount. In many cases, these paints have been returned by customers who realized they’d chosen the wrong color.

“It’s kind of a crap shoot in terms of what will be available, but they’re definitely worth checking out,” says Benavidez, who has used this strategy to buy a gallon of paint for $15.

Depending on the cost, you might be able to coat a small accent wall for under $20 (use a paint calculator to estimate how much you’ll need). You could also paint a door or trimwork, or an old piece of furniture.

8. Refresh cabinet hardware

While cabinet knobs and handles range widely in price, Benavidez says you can update your existing hardware using only spray paint.

“That’s a quick afternoon project that can make a big impact,” she says. “It still looks great five years later.”

9. Add pattern with fabric

To add a jolt of pattern to a relatively small surface area, such as an accent wall or the inside of a bookshelf, try fabric as a less expensive alternative to wallpaper.

Lifestyle blogger Amber Oliver used a floral print she found at JOANN Fabric and Crafts for a wall in her former home office. To attach the material, she sprayed Elmer’s Craftbond Spray Adhesive directly onto the wall, then had a friend help her carefully spread the fabric over it. In a few spots, Oliver added staples to keep edges in place, but she says one benefit of such a busy print is that it hides imperfections.

Another perk of choosing fabric over wallpaper: It’s easier to remove. Oliver says her accent wall held up for several years before she moved, at which point she peeled the fabric off without leaving a mark. Though this specific project cost about $40, she has used the method on the interior of a bookshelf for less than $20. And, of course, the cost of fabric varies widely, so you can decide how much or how little you want to spend.

DIY blogger Carrie Waller loved the vintage end table she’d found secondhand, but not its sponge-painted top, so she covered it with about $5 worth of peel-and-stick wallpaper.

She sanded down the painted surface, then cleaned it with tack cloth and a dry towel. (If your tabletop is smooth already, you could possibly skip these steps.) She applied the wallpaper, using a wallpaper smoothing tool to get rid of air bubbles and a handled razor blade to trim edges. She says it took only about 30 minutes to transform the table.