How much will your budget decorating project really cost?

Are you planning a budget home decorating project, but have no idea how much it will cost? Perhaps you’ve been putting it off, because think you can’t afford it. Well good news, I’m here to help! I’ve broken the boring budget bit down in to simple steps and even created a free printable decorating budget planner, just for you.

And who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised! At the very least you can work out how much you’ll need to save.

Well, there’s no time like the present. Shall we get started?

What’s your ideal budget?

Firstly come up with a figure, that you’d be comfortable spending for this specific project. Then go through the steps below to estimate how close to that figure you are. If the figure happens to be zero or very close to it, don’t panic. Check out my post about budget decorating for some inspiration first.

Use my free decorating budget planner to help estimate cost.

Measure up

Before you even begin to think about the costs involved you need to measure up. Grab your tape measure and get to work, include the floor, walls and any windows or doors. This way you’ll have a much more accurate picture of how much paint or wallpaper you’ll need and whether the furniture you’ve got your eye on will actually fit.

Labour

Will you be doing all the work yourself or do you need to hire a professional for some jobs? If you are outsourcing, get a few quotes to compare. I like to ask friends and family if they have any recommendations when hiring tradespeople, it’s reassuring that they will do a good job and you’re not going to be appearing all sad-faced on cowboy builders anytime soon.

Checktrade is a good way to find reliable tradespeople in your local area.

Walls

Decide whether you’ll be using paint, wallpaper, tiles or a combination of both and then calculate the cost. I like these handy calculators  from B&Q for working out how much paint, wallpaper or tiles you’ll need.

The cheapest way to freshen up your walls for a budget decorating project is white paint and it will suit any colour scheme. 

Flooring

If your flooring needs replacing, you’ve got some decisions to make. Are you looking for carpet, wooden, laminate or tile? Once you have an idea of what you want hit the shops and find out what your likely to pay per square meter. Refer back to your earlier measurements to estimate the costs.

Don’t forget to include underlay if this is required as well as the cost of fitting.

Furniture

Write a list of furniture you already have and furniture you’ll need to purchase. Divide the purchase list into stuff that’s essential for the room to function and items you could live without for now. Now for the fun bit, hit the internet, shop around and as you find items you like add them to your budget planner.

It really pays to do your research here, often you can find cheaper alternatives that are just as good.

Lighting

In most rooms you’ll need at least 2 sources of light. Make sure you choose wisely, it’s amazing how easily a beautifully decorated room can be ruined with the wrong lighting choice. If you could use a few pointers about how to choose the perfect light for your room, make sure you take a look at my post about lighting at home and how to get it right.

If the budget is tight you can always prioritise the overhead light fixture and add task or ambient at a later point.

Accessories

Ah the absolute best bit in my opinion! Before committing to a single purchase you should shop your own house. You might be surprised at how many items would work perfectly in your newly decorated room, without spending a single penny.

Again, make a list of essential items like curtains or blinds and stuff you’d really like if you can afford it.

Live in the room a little before going too mad on accessories, you might find your priorities change.  

Now you’ve got all the figures you need, it’s time to do your sums for this budget decorating project! First add together everything only including the essentials, that you need and see how close the total is to your ideal budget.

How’s it looking? Hopefully not too scary! If you’re lucky enough to have some of the budget left this can go towards the non-essential fun things.

If your budget is falling short, no worries. Either hold fire while you save what you need or take another look through the budget and see where you could potentially save a bit by making savvy choices.

Need a little interior inspiration? Here’s 9 great places to find interior ideas besides Pinterest. 

Good luck with your budget decorating project. Let me know all about it in the comments below.

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