There seem to be so many lifestyle bloggers out there extolling the virtues of home makeovers and sure, if you’ve set aside enough budget giving your home a do-over can look and feel great but for the rest of us spending hundreds on painting and decorating simply isn’t an option.

So, we’ve come up with a cheaper and thoroughly unique way of adding some personal touches to your home without breaking the bank.

Salvage Yards

Bear with us here, this is not the same as scrap metal these are scrapyards of a very different type. We’re talking architectural salvage. Do you need an antique church pew in your back garden? This is the place to find one. Butlers sinks? Check. The odd gargoyle? Again, you’re going to find it here.

These places are fascinating and well worth an afternoon of rummaging. You will find yourself walking away with antique radiators, doors and all manner of small one-offs that will give your home a unique feel, without spending hundreds on new walls, rugs and carpets.

DIY Art

Let’s face it you’ve been snapping away on your phone for years and built up quite a collection, but what have you done with them? Not much really, except look back wistfully over some great memories. Well, now’s the time to declare: print and frame my picture and spend some time going through those memories and choosing some outstanding prints that you’d love to see hanging above your fireplace or finding pride of place in your bedroom or dining room.

Your phone contains a small art gallery and you only have to spend a little bit of time using free or paid online editing Apps to iron out anything ruining the effect. It might be a great time to file and delete some of those older photos too, to free up space for even more holiday snaps!

Make sure you choose a frame that really sets off the image and think about creating a set that can be placed together or at strategic points around your home, feeding into each other and creating a theme or style unique to you.

You really don’t have to have a large budget to make either of these ideas work for you. If you’ve got an eye for a quirky bargain, then visit your nearest salvage or reclamation yard. If you’re nearby an antiques outlet, have a nose around and see if you can find one or two small but impactful pieces that will get your visitors talking and come with bags of character.

Spend a happy afternoon looking back over old times and pulling out prints that match your colour theme and style to make a unique montage or one-off print that will act as a great reminder of holidays gone by and the friends, family or even pets that you love.

However, you decorate your home, keep it you and sit back in a cosy armchair knowing you’ve stamped your mark without breaking the bank.