Contrary to popular belief, decorating one’s home does not have to involve a big budget. This misconception has led to many home owners to neglect any form of home decoration as it is seen as unnecessary and a luxury that cannot be afforded.

Here we present a list of easy, quick and low cost ways you can decorate your home without breaking the bank. Of course, these are only ideas and you can feel free to be creative and tweak them according to your taste.

• Hang up some colourful plates on the wall. It won’t only look attractive, but offer a conversation piece when visitors drop by.

• Instead of repainting the whole room, paint only one wall to match your sofa and make it the focal point of the room.

• If professional art is costly for you, why not paint your own pictures and frame them up?

• Hang or stick seashells that you’ve collected at the beach in places like the kitchen or bathroom to give it a fresh nautical feel

• If you have a plain-coloured lampshade, spruce it up with lace, ribbons, beads, buttons or stickers to make it more interesting. This step can also create shapes and shadows on the wall when the lamp is turned on

• When decorating a room, choose only two contrasting colours, like red and white, or blue and white.

• Instead of buying brand new furniture, try buying some good second hand furniture from stores or online sites. DurianProperty ’s Second Hand Furniture page is a good place to start.

• If you have too many books and not enough racks, try stacking the books elegantly and neatly on the floor at a corner or on a side table

• Buy some 4 inch or 6 inch high terracotta or earthen pots and paint them in pastel colours. Plant some herbaceous plants and line them up near the window sill

• Large mirrors placed opposite the window in a small dark room will help to brighten it and make the room look bigger.

• Rather than thick and heavy curtains, switch to light fabric in earthy colours that will cool the room

• Sew your own pillow cases from discarded fabric or make a patchwork cushion cover to add some personality to your home.

• Instead of discarding old sofas that have ripped, drape a blanket or old bedsheet (or a sofa throw cover) over it and it is good as new. Plus makes the sofa look cosier.

• Add some decorations to your front door like wind chimes, post boxes and a welcome mat.

• Have a glass bowl filled with natural elements on your dining table. These natural decorations don’t need to be store bought, but can be gathered from our environment. Examples include seashells, pebbles, seeds and ferns.