As a college student, there’s always something coming up that you have to incorporate into your already tight budget. From planning out vacations with friends to having to buy another set of textbooks for a new semester, the spending may seem endless for your current lifestyle. With all these costs to consider, you may find your budget not having a lot of room for other projects or things you want to do. For example, you may want to give your apartment a small makeover but have no idea where to start when considering your college student budget. 

Keep reading for tips on how to keep your apartment makeover affordable. 

 

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Create a vision board 

Before you begin your apartment makeover, take the time to create a vision board for your apartment. This can be done digitally, through something like Pinterest, or physically through a notebook or collage on a poster board. Your vision board can be as detailed as you need it to be. 

Some vision boards can center around creating a general vibe and not really center around interior design when you want to focus on a mood or color scheme during your makeover. 

On the other hand, you may want to consider incorporating set designs, specific furniture and decor pieces in your vision board to show what you want your apartment to look like after your makeover. Your vision board doesn’t need to be replicated perfectly in your makeover but can serve as a great guide during your makeover when you have something to reference rather than buying whatever you like in the moment. 

Repurpose what you already have

Rather than deciding to replace everything you already have to makeover your apartment, look at your apartment as-is and evaluate what you can do to make use of what you already have. For example, your current furniture may not serve the overall look of what you are looking for. Unfortunately, furniture is expensive and replacing big items can take a major hit to your budget makeover. Furniture can be refreshed in a variety of ways:

• Upholstery on chairs, fabric covers on couch

• New paint or sanding down the current finish on furniture 

• Replacing the knobs and handles (or spray painting your existing ones) on dressers and cabinets 

If you can’t repurpose what you currently have or don’t have an affinity for DIY - consider selling some pieces and using those funds toward your apartment makeover to minimize the costs your makeover brings. 

Shop sales or secondhand

Depending on what you want to accomplish with your home makeover, things can get expensive pretty quickly. From buying a new couch to adding accents like rugs and lighting, costs can rack up and do a major hit to your budget. 

Minimize the impact on your budget by hunting sales or buying secondhand. If you prefer to buy new furniture, hunt around for sales at different stores rather than buying the first thing you like when it’s full price. Alternatively, hunt sites like Facebook marketplaces, yard sales, and thrift stores to score some new pieces for your apartment at a small cost. 

Take your time

If you are in a rush to complete your apartment makeover, you are also running the risk of pressuring yourself to pay higher prices to get things immediately. You will not have the freedom and time to hunt around for a better deal through a sale or find something secondhand. 

If your makeover does have a limited timespan for whatever reason, consider what you want to accomplish immediately. With these tasks singled out, you can plan to allocate more of your budget and energy into making sure these things are completed right away and that you aren’t running out of money by spreading yourself too thin during your apartment makeover. The rest of your makeover can come with time, cutting costs and helping you spread your spending over a longer period. 

Making over your apartment doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice other areas of your budget, especially when you plan out your makeover right to make it affordable.