Being a blogger and influencer means taking a lot of pictures. Sure they are mostly of me and my family but they are often inside of my house, which means you get to see a great deal of my living space in these photos. I’m sure by now you know that most big-time influencers and celebrities have ultra-trendy, polished houses. Everyone has that “Influencer house”: Everything is white (walls, countertops, couches, EVERYTHING), nothing looks lived in, there is no clutter and there is a ton of natural lighting. I’m not sure where the Influencer House came from, but I suspect either Pinterest or HGTV. Either way, scrolling online will make you feel like everyone has this house and if you don’t, then it’s time for a makeover.
Well, I don’t have the Pinterest-HGTV-gone-wild house. I have small children and a husband so a white couch is out of the question. Actually, white anything in our main living spaces is out of the question. I can’t afford white shaker cabinets or stainless steel appliances yet and the lighting quality varies from room to room. I live in a very real house! But that doesn’t mean I can’t do things here and there to make it more photogenic.
This was my exact task before my recent lifestyle shoot. Instead of renting a space, I wanted to save money & time by shooting in my home. Doing this meant I not only had to deep clean everything, but I also needed to find a way to improve the overall aesthetic in the places I chose to shoot. The budget did not allow for new furniture, art, lighting fixtures, or appliances, but I was able to do a few tweaks here and there. I bought a new comforter for the kid’s room, a chair from Goodwill, and a framed poster for the Office. These small changes did help but the biggest change came from giving my coach a makeover.
Give Your Couch a Makeover
When I purchased this couch from American Furniture Warehouse years ago, I never intended to have it long. It really was just a couch to satisfy our need to have somewhere to sit in our new rental home. I expected to be a homeowner and to have a new couch by now but that’s a story for another blog post.
Anyway, I chose this gray couch with removable seat covers because it would be easy to clean and wouldn’t show a lot of dirt. It definitely does this but it just isn’t much to look at. The pillows have always been a pain point for me. My original plan was to replace them with cute throw pillows from HomeGoods or TJ Maxx.
When it finally came down to doing this the store’s selection did not disappoint but the prices did. I’m not sure if you know this but pillows are expensive! After talking about this with my mom and cousin, I realized that spending $200 on new pillows didn’t make sense. I plan on replacing this couch within the next 2-3 years so spending money on new pillows would be a waste of money. That’s when my mom offered the ultimate solution: Pillow Covers.
Of course, I headed to Amazon and found exactly what I needed for my DIY couch makeover. My living room is full of neutrals (black, white, wood) so I knew I wanted the couch to compliment this. If you need help deciding what colors or style of pillows, do a quick Pinterest search for inspiration. That is how I decided I wanted to attempt to mix textures and colors. After that, I took a ruler to measure my couch pillows and I was ready to order.
I decided to go with Amazon because of their wide variety of couch pillow covers. Amazon is a great choice when you aren’t 100% sure of the pillowcase size you will need. Anything that doesn’t fit can be returned and reordered quickly and easily. I did end up returning one pair but after that, I found exactly what I needed. These simple suede pillow covers were very inexpensive and I love the quality. I chose black to compliment the carpet and furniture but they come in a wide variety of colors. For only $9.99 you get a set of two pillowcases which is a steal when you consider the fact that one pillow at Homegoods can be $20.
To add texture and a bit of color, I splurged on these brown faux leather pillowcases. There were several options but I went with the ones that had the best reviews. I got two pillowcases for $33.99, which is more expensive than the suede but still a great deal. Both sets of pillowcases fit perfectly and look as good in real life as they do in pictures. Finally, I added in some miniature pillows I found in Target’s Bullseye play zone, their dollar section. These couch pillows were $5 each. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find them on the website, hopefully, they bring them back in the future! They are really soft and the pattern really does compliment the other pillows and the room as a whole.
To finish it off, I added a simple gray Steve Madden Throw blanket I found at Ross. This was only $9.99. It’s not necessary but we do use our couch to lounge and watch movies. Having a comfortable throw blanket is a must.
Purchase Links:
Faux Leather Pillow Cases $33.99 –> https://amzn.to/3yWFUwr
Black Suede Pillow Cases $9.99 –> https://amzn.to/3fHP9ZE
Other Budget-Friendly Ways to Improve your Home Aesthetic
If you are looking to revamp your space on a budget, I definitely suggest trying out pillowcases to save money. But there are other ways to accomplish this.
- Wall Art: Adding a nice canvas painting can really transform a space. Try Ross and HomeGoods. They always have beautiful pictures. They also always have a nice selection of mirrors and other wall decor items.
- Plants & nice planters: Plants always make a room more inviting. For some reason, when I see a person with healthy, thriving plants in their home I just feel like they have life more figured out than most. Even if the plants are fake, they improve the aesthetic of a room. Try your local grocery store or hardware store for live plants or Ikea for realistic faux plants.
- Fresh Flowers: Although temporary, fresh-cut flowers are a nice way to beautify your home. I love setting out flowers in the kitchen and living room during photoshoots. They look nice in the background and also make a great prop. These are also nice to have when you are expecting guests.
- Couch cover: These have come a long way from the sticky plastic covers our grandparents had. I’ve seen a few on Amazon that look really nice! You can also get them made custom, which is more expensive than a general couch cover but is also less expensive than buying a whole new couch.
- I have also heard of people using paint to give their couch a makeover. I am no stranger to repainting furniture, but I have no seen the results of a painted couch in real life, so I can’t vouch for it.
- Accent wall: This trend was very popular on TikTok in 2020 but accent walls will never not be a thing. You can paint a solid wall, use painter’s tape to make an abstract design, or use wallpaper to create a beautiful accent wall. When this is well done and thought out it can really elevate your room from basic to booshie!
Have you ever tried any of these methods? Share your inexpensive design tips below!
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