Inexpensive Ways to Update a Room?

I second the painting. Changing the walls and rearranging how the room is laid out will make it feel like a new house.

I love to add candles to a room. I also love to spruce up the room with random work from my children. I live in an apartment and cannot paint nor put holes in the wall so I use random ideas such as adding a new rug or picking up inexpensive knickknacks.

Yard sales. I am not kidding. I've just about transformed rooms from other people's stuff and paint. Lots of dated frames look good when painted. Look at antique stores for furniture you can update. When I am at Lowes or home depot I look for oops paint- their mistints. If I see what I like, I can get paint for $5 a gallon.
I have gotten pretty good at fake outs. I bought a round mirror with a thick black plastic frame for $5 at a gs and painted the plastic to look like wood. It's as good as mirrors costing around $80 at Target. I have it above my mantle with part of a set of brown transferware I bought for $10. It's pretty elegant for $15!
If you can keep a plant alive, it's a good choice for bringing life to a room.
When I actually spend money I am looking for bang for the buck. A rug is big impact and can really set the tone. Modern or traditional. Don't get it too light or it will be a pain to clean or too dark because every little piece of lint will show. Patterns are good.
Keep buying what you like and you will begin to notice a common theme. Like a color or an era or style.
Use what you have in unusual ways like grouping inexpensive items together for mass impact. Look on pintrest for ideas. They can be dollar store stuff spray painted. It's modern and graphic.

Well, unless the room is insanely large, for $60 you can repaint it. THAT will have a big effect on the room!

From there, a few new throw pillows, maybe a new lampshade. If the couch is hideous, a slipcover can do wonders.

If you're at all handy, you can get an attractive but inexpensive new light fixture (IKEA, or on clearance elsewhere).

Paint, rug and change things up. Switch out lamps from another room. Swap pics from another room. Search your attic and closets for something you love but never knew where to put it. If you have a BFF this would be a fun project for you both. Swapping things out will keep it all fresh. Have fun!

Paint is the easiest way to make a huge impact. Throw rugs, accent pillows, art, lamp shades, etc.

Yes, I agree with the others abour painting, but also add Crown molding on top and bottom after you paint. The wood is not as expensive than the labor will be but it really makes a place look more expensive.

here is what I would do:

get to Marshalls or TJS or Target and look 3 places: pillows, rugs and artwork Pick something that inspires you in colors that you love and that will work with the rest of your home. Says its throw pillows. Buys several that coordinate -(example: one damask, one funky floral, one plain, one striped, one animal print) then pull a paint color that pops from the collection. After this pick artwork that pulls from the colors and the vibe of the pillows. Or you could even DIY by going to the wallpaper store and picking a couple patterns to frame in a collection. Then choose a throw rug from the pillow colors as well and something for the windows if you need it. The whole room should inspire from the pillows.
But point is to have an inspirational start point which could be anything instead of pillows. Do check target though-I saw some really great pillow patterns there yesterday. Their prices are great also and they are always on-trend.

I agree with "shopping from within." I just did it to decorate my mantle for Valentine's Day and grabbed all the red, pink and purple objects in the house (plus some sweet family photos) to completely change the look. I do this for holidays and when the season's change. As for purchasing new items Home Goods is a great source - if not try Marshall's and Ross.
Have fun!

Paint
Art. Buy ready made frames and then find art you like to fit in the frame.

Paint is the obvious choice, but less obvious is curtains. To me they change up the entire look of a room. Rods can be found pretty cheap, and if you don't find curtains you like you can always use table cloths. Do a fun print, something unexpected.

Paint.

Pillows

rug, but most rugs aren't cheap. Sometimes there are some cheap-ish ones at Cost Plus. Make sure the rug isn't too small.

Art. There are ways to make homemade art, or frame a beautiful piece of fabric. You can get old frames at thrift stores and revamp them.

Target is a good place to shop for some things, and CB2 has the best, relatively inexpensive modern furniture out there. Oh yeah, of course IKEA.

Accent pieces.
Meaning, lamp shade, floor rug, paint 1 wall an accent color, pillows.
All in updated accent or complimentary colors, to make the room look "new."
Or different color light bulbs.
Or a house plant in a cool modern color or style of pot to add a jolt of color.

Paint is an easy update for a tired room. If you sofa is worn, a slipcover is a great way to help. New pillows too. Rugs don't have to be expensive, though I prefer nice rugs that will last for many, many years. Sometimes you can find deals at a place that is going out of business. If you have low sitting furniture, you can buy nice fabric to put on top of them - I use Japanese obi material on mine.

Dawn

Paint and a new rug.

I reuse & reinvent all the time. Pull everything from the room. Go thru your other rooms & redecorate by pulling from all over the house.

You will be amazed at how this changes things up. :) Thinking outside of the box will take you even further....use sheets for curtains, use twin blankets/quilts for on the sofa. Hit Pinterest & find some simple craft projects using household items. Hang a fav dress as artwork.....for years my Sis had her buckskin dress hanging on her bedroom wall. It was kickass awesome!

& paint can be your best friend!