Would a Professional Decorator Have Been Cheaper?
I looked into this before I started, mostly out of curiosity. A professional interior decorator for an apartment typically charges anywhere from $500 to $8,000 per room, depending on the scope of the project and your location.
My entire apartment, all six categories combined, cost less than what a single room with a professional would run at the low end. That comparison alone made the DIY route an easy call for me.
The One Free Styling Trick I Used Everywhere
I didn’t know this had a name until after I’d already started doing it. Apparently it’s called the 3-5-7 rule, and it’s the reason my shelves stopped looking messy without me spending anything extra.
The idea is simple. Group decor in odd numbers, three, five, or seven items, instead of pairs. My coffee table has three items on it, not two. My gallery wall has five frames, not four or six. It sounds small, but it made everything I already owned look more intentional, for zero dollars.
Do I Need to Paint Before I Decorate?
I didn’t repaint at all, and I don’t think most renters need to. Painting an average apartment typically costs a few hundred dollars in materials alone if you’re doing it yourself, more if you’re hiring it out, and most leases require landlord approval first anyway.
I used peel-and-stick wallpaper instead, which gave me the color impact without needing permission or a paint tray. If your lease does allow painting and your landlord’s fine with it, that’s still usually cheaper than hiring anyone, but it’s a bigger project than anything else on this list.
Is $5,000 Overkill for Decorating Alone?
Based on what I spent, yes, if you’re only decorating and not furnishing from zero. $5,000 is closer to what people spend furnishing an entire apartment with new furniture, not decorating one that’s already furnished.
If you’re starting completely from scratch, buying furniture and decorating both, a bigger budget like that makes sense. But if your apartment already has the basics and you’re just making it feel finished, my $404 total is a much more realistic target to aim for.
A Note About Renting
Everything on my list is fully reversible, and that mattered to me the whole way through. Guidance on move-out charges from RentSpree notes that small nail holes are usually treated as normal wear and tear, but larger holes from mounted shelves or brackets can get billed back as damage.
Nothing I bought needed a drill. The peel-and-stick wallpaper comes off cleanly, the lamps just unplug, and even my rolling cart rolls right out the door with me on move-out day.
What to Do Next
Walk through your own apartment and make your own list, the same way I did. Don’t copy mine item for item, since what bothers you in your space might be completely different from what bothered me in mine.
Start with whichever category feels the most urgent. If your walls feel the barest, start there. If your storage is the real problem, that’s where your first $50 should go. Small, planned purchases add up to a finished apartment a lot faster than one big shopping trip does.
If your bedroom specifically still feels unfinished after this, I wrote a full breakdown just for that room here: Small Bedroom Decorating Ideas on a Budget. And if storage keeps showing up on your own list the way it did on mine, my small closet organization ideas for renters guide uses the same no-drill approach as everything here.
FAQ: Apartment Decorating Cost Breakdown
How much does it cost to decorate an apartment on a budget?
I spent $404 total decorating my apartment across paint, lighting, furniture refresh, textiles, storage, and plants. Your number will vary, but a full budget decorating project commonly lands under $500.
What’s the difference between furnishing
and decorating an apartment?
Furnishing means buying every piece of furniture new, which can cost thousands. Decorating means finishing a space you already have furniture in, which usually costs far less.
What should I decorate first on a budget?
Start with whatever bothers you the most every day, not what looks trendiest. For most people, that’s either bare walls, harsh lighting, or missing storage.
Can I decorate my apartment without spending on furniture?
Yes. My furniture refresh category cost $45 total, just paint and new hardware on furniture I already owned, instead of buying anything new.
Will decorating on a budget affect my rental deposit?
Not if you stick to peel-and-stick decor, plug-in lighting, and freestanding pieces. According to move-out guidance from RentSpree, it’s usually larger drilled holes, not small ones, that get billed as damage.
How much does a professional decorator cost for an apartment?
Typically $500 to $8,000 per room, depending on scope and location. My entire apartment cost less than the low end of a single room with a professional.
What is the 3-5-7 rule in decorating?
It’s a styling trick where you group decor items in odd numbers, three, five, or seven, instead of pairs, since odd groupings tend to look more intentional and less staged.
Is $5,000 enough to furnish and decorate an apartment?
It depends on whether you’re furnishing from scratch or just decorating a space you already have furniture in. My full decorating budget, on top of furniture I already owned, was $404.
I searched “how to decorate your apartment on a budget” so many times before I moved in, and every article said the same thing. Shop secondhand. Add plants. Use lighting. Nobody told me what any of it actually cost.
So I tracked every dollar I spent decorating my own apartment, category by category. This is my full apartment decorating cost breakdown, real numbers included, so you know exactly what to expect before you spend a cent.
Why Nobody Tells You the Real Numbers
Furnishing an apartment from scratch can run $3,000 to $8,000, based on recent furnishing cost data from industry sources. That number scared me at first.
But decorating is not the same as furnishing. “Furnishing” means buying every piece of furniture new. Decorating means making the place you already have feel finished. Those are two very different budgets, and most articles blur the line between them.
Once I separated the two in my head, my actual spending looked a lot more reasonable.
The First Thing I Did Before Spending Anything
I walked through my apartment room by room and wrote down what actually bothered me. Not what looked bad on Pinterest. What bothered me, in my own space, every single day.
My list looked like this:
- Bare walls in the living room
- Harsh overhead lighting everywhere
- A dresser I hated the color of
- No rug anywhere in the apartment
- A bedroom that felt unfinished
That list became my budget plan. I only spent money on things from that list, nothing else.
1- Paint and Walls: What I Actually Paid
I didn’t repaint the whole apartment. I couldn’t, since I’m renting, and it wasn’t necessary anyway.
I bought peel-and-stick wallpaper for one accent wall in my living room. That was $34. I also picked up a large canvas print for $28 to fill the emptiest wall in my bedroom.
Paint and wall decor total: $62
2- Lighting: What I Actually Paid
The overhead lights that came with my apartment made everything feel like a waiting room. This was an easy fix.
I bought two plug-in floor lamps for $45 each, and a set of warm-white smart bulbs for $22. No electrician, no wiring, just plugging things in.
Lighting total: $112
3- Furniture Refresh: What I Actually Paid
I didn’t buy a single new piece of furniture. Everything I owned just needed a small update.
New drawer pulls for my dresser cost $14. A can of paint to redo the dresser itself was $19. I also picked up a secondhand side table from a thrift store for $12, which I sanded and painted myself.
Furniture refresh total: $45
4- Textiles and Rugs: What I Actually Paid
A rug changed my living room more than almost anything else on this list, and I wasn’t expecting that.
I found an area rug for $58 during a sale. I also bought a set of throw pillow covers for $24, which let me reuse the pillow inserts I already owned instead of buying whole new pillows.
Textiles total: $82
5- Storage and Organization: What I Actually Paid
My apartment came with almost no built-in storage, so this category mattered more than I expected going in.
A slim rolling cart for my bathroom cost $38. An over-the-door organizer for my closet was $22. Both are things I’ll take with me whenever I move.
Storage total: $60
6- Plants and Small Touches: What I Actually Paid
This was the cheapest category by far, and honestly one of the most noticeable.
Two low-light plants cost me $24 total. A set of picture frames for a small gallery wall, filled with photos I already had, was $19.
Plants and small touches total: $43
My Full Apartment Decorating Cost Breakdown
| Category | What I Spent |
| Paint and wall decor | $62 |
| Lighting | $112 |
| Furniture refresh | $45 |
| Textiles and rugs | $82 |
| Storage and organization | $60 |
| Plants and small touches | $43 |
| Total | $404 |
For comparison, furnishing an apartment from scratch with new furniture typically runs well into the thousands, based on the cost data I mentioned earlier. My total for making an already-furnished apartment feel decorated was under $450.
” Get further ideas about Decorating an apartment on a Budget That Don’t Look Cheap. “
What I’d Skip Next Time
Not everything I bought earned its spot. A set of decorative baskets I picked up early on still sits mostly empty in my closet.
If I could redo this, I’d wait longer before buying decor “just in case” I needed it. I’d also measure my rug space before ordering, since my first rug was actually too small and I had to return it.
Ayesha Khan is a home stylist and interior layout strategist and the founder of Webpluse. She specializes in transforming compact residential spaces through practical apartment decorating ideas, high-density storage solutions, and budget-friendly home improvement strategies—all tested in her own rental apartments. Her guides help a global audience across the United States, France, and Germany furnish and style small spaces without overspending.
