When you rent your first apartment of your very own, you feel excited and nervous at the same time. Living on your own is a big change from living with your parents or with roommates in your college dorm, but you are ready to take the leap into adulthood. However, you may not have the budget to go all out when you are furnishing and designing your new apartment, especially your living room. While you likely have your own bedroom furniture from your childhood home, your living room is a brand new endeavor. Get to know a few ideas for designing your living room on a budget so that you can get started and have more than just an empty room to call your living room.

Shop Garage Sales,  Estate Sales, And Other Hidden Gems for Used Furniture

One of the easiest ways to design your living room on a budget is to purchase used furniture instead of new. When you are designing your living room, you will want to look at less conventional locations to get your furniture.

Garage sales are a great place to start in your search for used furniture. Chairs, lamps, bookshelves, end tables, entertainment or TV stands, and coffee tables can all easily be purchased at such sales. For slightly higher end furniture that is still discounted, you can also keep an eye out for estate sales in your area, or used furniture retailers (like Wertz Brothers Furniture Inc).

When it comes to furniture that has a great deal of fabric like your sofa, you need to be extra cautious when buying your furniture used. Look for these pieces to come from reputable consignment stores or even close family and friends who are getting rid of old furniture to get something new. You want to be sure your fabric pieces are not infested with bed bugs or other such unpleasant creatures.

DIY Wall Decor

Decorating the walls in your living room could be a pricey endeavor if you wanted to purchase art and other pieces to display. Instead, you can create your living room wall decor yourself. Look for interesting picture frames while you are at those garage and estate sales you are perusing for furniture, for example.

You can then remove the glass and the back of those frames and hang them on your living room walls as decorations in their own right. Or you could fill the frames with swatches of fabric remnants that you can purchase for a dollar or two at a local fabric store. This creates the illusion of unique artwork without spending the money.

And, of course, if you can draw or paint, you can create your own framed artwork to display in your loving room. All of these options will make your living room decor unique and interesting to anyone who comes to visit.

With these ideas of how to design your living room on a budget, you can get started in the process and create a living room space that is fun and unique without draining your bank accounts to do so.