Okay, let’s be real. You’ve seen every single episode of Fixer Upper (and you know Chip and Joanna Gaines on a personal level… kind of). You are obsessed with the idea of redesigning the inside of your home, but hey. Life gets in the way and you’re stuck in a rut. Questions like “What is my style?” and “How to I use the limited space that I have?” plague your brain as you think about all of the projects that you want to do to create your perfect, ideal home. NOT to mention that you actually have a budget, unlike everyone you’ve ever seen on Extreme Makeover – Home Edition.

So how do you even get started? Keep on reading, darling.

Step 1: Get Inspired

Seems easy, right? Sometimes it is, but sometimes it is SO HARD. The first thing that you want to do when you are redesigning your home is to do your research. You may have already done this step, and that’s okay! Go to Pinterest or Houzz and find the style of home that you ADORE. There are going to be lots of different styles, home decor pieces, colors, and furnitures, so you need to keep tabs on what interests you the most. Which colors light your soul on fire? Pin them. If you like a certain shape of couch, bookmark it. If there are a variety of styles and colors, great! That means that your taste is eclectic and unique, just like you! Collect all of your research, and move to Step 2.

Step 2: Make a Budget

This one is up to you. How much money are you willing to put aside for your interior design adventure? If you’re willing to spend a lot of money on this redesign, you might want to consider hiring an interior design firm, like Allure Home Staging and Design, to work with you to bring your vision to life! If you are on a tight budget, that’s okay too! There are so many home decor stores where you can find beautiful pieces to spice up your living space, like At Home, Ikea, and Target, (just to name a few stores that have locations worldwide). Do some research on their prices and if they fit within your budget. If you like searching for extraordinary pieces in thrift stores, you can get some amazing decor for ultra cheap. Again, it depends on how much money and effort you have for this adventure.

Step 3: Look for Beautiful AND Functional Additions

Are you giving your home a total makeover, or are you just looking to jazz up your place? If you’re just looking to make a few new changes, look for things like colorful lamps, wall art, rugs, or vases. These are little things that can make a huge difference. Just remember, they can be beautiful, but that new lamp you bought is going to be the one you use to read your book at night. If you’re not a fan of the light color, you probably won’t use it and you just wasted money for a useless, albeit beautiful, lamp. Make sure that you actually want to use the things that you are adding into your home.

If you’re looking to make bigger changes, go for the furniture. Exchanging an old sofa with a newer, colorful (YET COMFY) one can make everything in the room feel brand new, even if the only thing you’ve done is change the sofa! If you like the idea of painting an accent wall, do some recon on where the sun comes into the room. A bright color can blind you if the sun hits it just right, but a dark color can darken the whole room if it doesn’t get any sun at all. Function and beauty go hand in hand when it comes to interior design.

Step 4: Do Some Hunting

According to your research you did in Step 1, how are you going to find what you’re looking for? You can mix and match where you get your decor from, anywhere from a local home decor store IKEA to your local thrift store. Thrift stores take a bit more time, because you can never predict what you’re going to find… but when you DO find something good, you’ve probably just saved yourself a lot of money!

Any way you do it, anywhere you go to find home decor, THIS is the fun part! Find the decor and furniture that you LOVE. They don’t even have to match to go together. As long as you love something, there will be a place for it in your home. If you want to make a wall filled with all different kinds of pictures in all different kinds of picture frames, do it! Above everything else, as long as you are finding things you love, your home will have its own unique style that will be totally and completely YOU.

Step 5: Put it All Together

Once you have all of the pieces of your glorious home decor puzzle, it’s time to put them together! If you’re having trouble figuring out how to change around and re-position your furniture, check out our article 5 Easy Ways to Create Space in Your Home. Other than that, do what makes you happy! Add some wall art. Change out your lamps. Add a super colorful rug. Whatever you do, have a good time doing it. (And don’t forget to use those tips you learned from Fixer Upper!)

Have you recently redecorated your house? What are some tips that you have for the DIY home designer?