Room makeover on a budget: 12 changes under €500

You do not need a new sofa to fall in love with a room again. With a clear direction and a few well-chosen changes, €500 goes surprisingly far. Here are twelve ideas, roughly in order of impact per euro.

Free or almost free

1. Rearrange. Face the seating towards the window or focal point, clear a straight path through the room and pull the sofa off the wall. It costs nothing and often changes the most.
2. Edit. Take out a third of the small objects on shelves and surfaces. Keep the pieces you love and group them in threes.
3. Swap between rooms. That lamp in the bedroom or the rug in the hall might be exactly what the living room needs.
4. Fix the bulbs. Replace cold, bright bulbs with warm white (2,700 K) ones. For a few euros the whole room feels softer in the evening.

Under €100 each

1. Cushion covers. Two or three new covers in your accent colour and one in a texture such as linen or bouclé, €40–100.
2. A throw. A chunky knit or wool throw over the sofa arm, €40–90.
3. A large plant. One big plant (a fiddle-leaf fig, an olive tree or a monstera) does more than five small ones, €40–100.
4. A framed print. One large print in a simple frame, €50–100.

€100–300

1. A rug in the right size. Most rooms are let down by a rug that is too small. A flat-weave or wool-blend rug of 200 × 300 cm can be found for €150–300.
2. A floor lamp. Light at sofa height makes evenings feel cosy, €80–200.
3. Curtains hung high and wide, €80–200 including a rail.
4. Paint one wall, or the whole room yourself. Two tins of good paint plus supplies is often €80–150.

An example €500 plan

• Rearranging and editing: €0
• Warm bulbs: €15
• Two cushion covers and a throw: €110
• Large plant with pot: €70
• Rug, 200 × 300 cm: €220
• Floor lamp: €85

Total: €500, and the room looks noticeably different.

When you are ready to go further, our guide to what a living room makeover costs explains the next levels. And if you would like a plan made for your own room and budget, Gaudi does exactly that.