How I Spent $20 on Frugal Wall Decor for a 2 Bed Apartment
And before anyone asks, the answer is NOT “I just don’t decorate lol”. I’ll have you know my apartment’s got wood carvings, tapestries, prints, and posters on every available wall. I’m a visual person so I love having pretty wall decor to look at all day, especially when it’s frugal wall decor.
Out of the 20+ pieces of art hanging from my walls, I only spent money acquiring three of them: a small Japanese tapestry for $3, a local art print for 25¢, and a €15 elephant tapestry I got from a flea market in Madrid (El Rastro FTW).
That elephant tapestry has hanged in different places in my several apartments, serving as a window curtain, cover, and gorgeous statement piece in turns. I love having it in my bedroom now, and after having it for 6+ years I still love seeing it. That, my friends, is what you call money well spent!
The rest, obviously, I got for the unbeatable price of free. Unsurprising when you consider how most of my stuff is free and/or secondhand, anyway. Despite this my apartment looks incredibly lovely and artistically fulfilling, if I do say so myself 😉
Let’s check out the different avenue for discovering incredible frugal wall decor. Who knows, you might be able to beat my own record and rub it in my face.
Frugal Wall Decor at Thrift Stores and Flea Markets
My favorite thrift store has an area with framed art, ranging from the modestly small to absolutely huge. I avoid this area like the plague because I will be way too tempted to buy more art for my apartment. At one point I seriously considered becoming an art dealer before going into a career with more upward mobility. So thrift store pieces hit on both my love for art and my love for excellent financial decision-making.
There are so many incredible frugal well décor pieces up for grabs at your local secondhand shops, often coming with hints of a cool history behind them. You can either purchase a mass-produced frame at Walmart, OR find an incredibly unique piece for much less. Plus, when you think about it, going the secondhand route is more in line with how the wealthiest folks on the planet do it anyway. If you’re going to own art worth several millions, odds are high you’re not its first owner.
Fun Darcy fact: I have been big on art since my high school days and can passably debate topics with gallery snobs. I’m talking debates on whether Dana Shutz should have painted that painting in 2016 (it’s controversial for a very, very good reason). Or why more women artists aren’t represented in the most prestigious museums (big fan of the Guerilla Girls). Or the merits of modernism versus post-modernism (hint: post-modernism sucks and that is a hill I will die on). You get the idea.
Best of all, you never know if the thrift gods will bless you with an incredibly valuable find. It might not just be cool prints in there, but stuff worth much, much more.
Upcycling What You Already Have
At conferences and other fun events where creative folks thrive, I’m often given impressive prints to admire and keep. Why not display them proudly once I get back home?
In fact, that’s what I did for several of my pieces. I had a big box of empty frames so I put them to good use. My prints in the guest bedroom are from a library conference I went to a few times and dearly miss; it’s mostly stuff promoting your local library, which fits into my aesthetic perfectly.
You can get pretty creative with upcycling, too. My living room prints are from two old calendars I had; one showcased photos of Tiffany stained glass works and the other was from NASA showing the beauty of outer space. I ended up combining two of the NASA calendar photos to create one badass piece of art of the Earth and the Sun. Get creative with what you have already! It’s a shame to toss beautiful prints away when you can still use them for several projects.
In fact, you don’t need to use upcycling for just frugal wall decor. Remember that Tiffany calendar I mentioned? I used more of the prints to create a rocking table top in my living room. I can personally guarantee there’s nothing like it in the whole entire world, making it a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind piece (right).
Hitting Up the Free Sections Once Again
Because there is truly no bigger joy than winning at Adult Scavenger Hunt. Excuse me, finding the greatest deals for frugal wall decor that people will just give to you for free. Several of my most-loves pieces were gotten for zero dollars; this includes the city wood carvings over my kitchen table and my magnum opus, four-foot-tall Katherine Hepburn print.
I’ve written way in-depth about this before, including the greatest places to find such works in your local area. If you go this route I have a big tip for you: don’t look at just the art.
Getting other materials can also prove worth your while. I got all of my frames from some lady who was moving some years back; she was ready to get rid of them all in one fell swoop and I was happy to assist. I then used them for framing art and prints I already had; I still have a couple I may use if I find future prints I can’t pass up on.
These supplies, and other free art, are all things folks are looking to get rid of. They offer this stuff up on any number of free sites like Freecycle, Craigslist, or Nextdoor. You can also challenge your luck and stroll around neighborhoods for some cool street finds; I actually got my wood carvings and Hepburn print from Allston Christmas, aka the frenzy of activity when all the college kids are moving in Boston. What a cool story that would be; ain’t no way those gallery snobs can top that!
The Classic: DIY Art
You can always make your own frugal wall decor, too, if you’re so inclined. I’ve seen some awesome ones like this r/frugal example with the orange and white stripes. I’ve also dabbled in this myself with a painting or two from one of those Paint Nite events with friends.
If you can’t draw a stick figure to save your life, you can still go down this path with Jackson Pollack as your inspiration. Just get a bunch of paint and go to town. Call it cathartic art therapy; you can then take a gander at your masterpiece and name it whatever you wish. “Chaos,” for example, or “A Melancholic Stroll Down America’s Metaphorical Wall Street”. Hey, you’re the big artiste here. The naming nomenclature is yours to decide.
Does anyone have cool frugal wall decor stories on how they got their pieces?