The living room is the centerpiece of the home. It's where we entertain friends and family. It’s where we come to relax after a long day of work, school or running the kids around town.  
 

Having a living room that looks straight out of Pinterest in your Central Alberta home can easily be expensive. But I'm here to challenge that assumption.  
 

By following these budget living room ideas, you can achieve the picturesque look of a five-star hotel – without spending big bucks.  

1. Paint the walls   

Painting the walls is the ultimate way to brighten a room and give it a new look.  
 

Choose your living room's three favorite shades and assemble them to create a simpler palette. After you have assembled the space, see if it needs a few accessories to highlight your new scheme. But remember, buy only what you truly love and can use within the space.  

Have just enough colors to make the living room interesting without looking too intense. 

2. Move furniture around  

To update your living room the least expensively, work with what you've got. Move pieces around until you find an arrangement that's ideal for conversing or watching movies and "shop" other rooms for pieces that might be just right for your new living room.  

Moving the chairs and the couch around can make a big difference in how your living space feels.  

Meanwhile, if you are looking at buying second-hand furniture, check out this guide here.  

3. Update the curtains or blinds   

Sometimes, we don't realize how much we can brighten up our living room simply by changing the curtains.  

A quick and easy change to make your curtains feel new again is to swap them out for something light and airy. Hang them a couple of inches higher than your window frame to add height to the room and make the window appear larger.  

4. Add a rug   
 

A rug makes a room cozy, comfortable and homey.  

Laying down a large area rug can add visual appeal while also highlighting your living room as its own distinct space.  
 

It's a simple but effective way to warm up any environment and make it more inviting for friends and family to hang out.  

You can buy any style of area rug at a big box store, discount home shop, or home-improvement center (just save the rugs that suit your style until after summer sales).  

5. Display photos or paintings on your walls   

Fill your bare walls with framed art. As print sizes have shrunk and frames have gotten cheaper, it has never been easier to dress up your walls without breaking the bank.  

Pick a theme and make sure you leave enough space between frames—about 5 cm is a good rule of thumb. If you’re renting, use Command 3D picture mounting strips to put them up. The strips are easy to remove without leaving any residue on the wall.  

If you have the blood of an artist, you can try painting your own canvases and hanging them above a mantel or sofa. Using different colors and shapes, create cool geometric designs or splatter paint at random for a contemporary composition. For something less abstract, use the canvases to display painted images, stenciled motifs, or collages made from crafting remnants.  

6. Bring in plants  

Decorating your living space with plants won't just liven up your decor—it'll benefit your health, too. Studies have shown that houseplants remove toxins from the air, regulate moisture levels and increase overall mood.  
 

There are plenty of low-maintenance varieties for you to choose from, for a price that won't break the bank. Look for interesting leaf shapes or colorful foliage to bring a little extra life to your living room.  

If you're not confident caring for live plants or have an aversion to natural light, faux plants are a great option for the living room.  

Takeaway: You don't have to spend a ton of money for your living room to look great. And you don't have to be an interior designer to know what looks nice. Personally, we think that's a good lesson to learn—especially if you're planning on decorating that living room.