How To Accessorize Your Home On A Budget

Want to freshen up your room decor without spending a lot of money? Learn how to accessorize your home on a budget by re-purposing what you already own.

How to accessorize your home on a budget

Well, it’s fall.

Which means the season of hosting dinners and spending time with family is almost here.

To keep things looking fresh, it seems like I need a new dinner table setting, front hall console vignette, or living room decor scheme every other week.

As much as I would love to go out and buy new things for every occasion, I can’t justify the expense (or find the storage space) for all of that new “stuff”.

Plus, if I’m being really honest, I’m often decorating at the last minute so I don’t have time to shop even if I want to.

In order to change things up, I have to get a little creative by re-purposing things I already own.

People are always commenting on my “new” accessories. A lot of which really aren’t new at all. They’re just displayed in a different way.

In case you are in the same boat…trying to update your decor for the season but don’t want to spend a lot of money.

And you need some easy ideas to try, I thought I would share some of my “go to” tricks to accessorize your home on a budget.

1. Napkin Rings Are Not Just For Table Settings

This post may contain affiliate links. We make a small commission if you buy the products from these links (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But we only recommend products we would use ourselves. For more information, click here to see our disclosures.

Faux magnolia napkin rings used as vase filler accessories

I love napkin rings that aren’t just rings. They’re inexpensive and have so many more uses than just holding napkins!

Especially ones that have floral or leaf details like the boxwood leaf napkin rings I used to line this shallow bowl.

They help to add some much-needed texture to this display.

Hydrangea napkin ring used as faux flower accessories on a table

Or the hydrangea napkin ring I used as a flower in one of my fall living room vignettes.

It adds a welcome pop of color.

Hydrangea napkin ring in a votive candle holder used as a faux flower place setting

I have also used the hydrangea ones in a votive candle holder to make it look like mini potted plants on a spring table setting.

I use napkin rings like these pretty much anywhere you might want to use real flowers or greenery. But don’t want the hassle of trying to keep them watered.

2. Glasses Make Great Vases

Repeating glasses used as vases with flowers

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to accessorize your home with repeating flower arrangements, stemless wine glasses* or high ball glasses* work perfectly as small vases.

You can use them for really simple flower arrangements like the ones above from my Easter buffet. In this case, the flowers actually caused the water to turn pink…but you could add a couple of drops of food coloring to the water to create the same effect.

A highball glass used as a vase holding a flower bouquet

Or wrap a sparkle ribbon* around the glass to give them a different look, like I did with this Thanksgiving dinner tablescape.

A stemless wine glass used as a vase with a red rose

Floating a single rose in water in a stemless wine glass is a really easy and inexpensive way to add flowers anywhere (I did this for one for some Valentine’s Day decorating).

As an added bonus, the roses seem to last longer this way! I’ve had some stay looking good in the glass for 3 weeks.

3. Glasses Also Do Double Duty As Candle Holders

A wine glass used as a candle holder with a tealight candle

In my book, you can never go wrong accessorizing your room with candles.

Wine glasses and other glassware won’t melt with the heat from a flame, which makes them perfect for using as candle holders. I find round wine glasses like these these Chardonnay glasses* are perfect for this.

You can go really easy by placing a tealight straight inside the glass, like I did for my last minute Christmas tablescape last year.

A Chardonnay wine glass used as a candle holder

Or dress it up a little more by putting a mercury glass votive candle holder* inside the wine glass.

A stemless wine glass with sand and faux pearls used as a candle holder

Using sand* and faux pearls* in the bottom of the glass is another of my favorite ways to make the candles look a little more interesting.

Get all the details for making sand and pearls candle holders HERE.

4. Place Mats Act Like Trays

A tray with a group of accessories

A common designer trick for accessorizing is to use trays to make groups of objects look like they belong together.

Gold flower place mat used as a display surface for accessories

However, if you don’t have a tray available (or your trays aren’t the right size, which always seems to be my dilemma), place mats work pretty well, too.

The gold magnolia leaf placemats look great in my bedroom…and help to spruce up very old end tables 🙂

Leaf-shaped place mats used to display fall accessories on a table

You can also put a few place mats together to create a table runner. I love these maple leaf placemats* for adding a touch of fall to my console table in the living room.

5. Use Christmas Ornaments As Place Setting Decor

Butterfly Christmas ornament as table setting decor

Another one of my favorite ways to dress up a table is to use Christmas ornaments as place setting decor.

This tends to happen a lot at Christmas around here.

By then, I have usually had so many dinners that I’m tired of my usual selection of napkin rings. Christmas ornaments are an easy way to change it up.

They can also make pretty take home place holders for your guests. Just add a name tag to them.

Peacock Christmas ornaments used as napkin rings on a table setting

As you can probably tell, I like to use nature-inspired ornaments, like birds and butterflies. For this peacock-inspired tablescape, I literally took the peacock ornaments off my Christmas tree and clipped them onto a standard napkin ring. They looked like they were meant to be there!

6. Cake Stands Make Great Accessory Stands

A glass pumpkin displayed on top of a cake plate

One of the standard designer tricks for creating vignettes that look good is to use 3 items in a group.

Then vary the heights so that they form a triangle (small, taller, tallest).

This arrangement would look “off” if the glass pumpkin were sitting on the table because it would be about the same height as the turquoise pumpkin.

Raising it off the table makes everything look balanced.

If you’re trying to make an arrangement like this, and have the perfect accessory but it isn’t quite tall enough, a pretty cake stand can come to the rescue!

They are often the perfect height and size for an accessory stand.

And you can always use them for serving cake 🙂

7. An Upside Down Bowl Also Works

A ceramic gourd using an upside bowl as a stand

Similar to cake plates, upside down bowls make great accessory stands.

Especially if you own some bowls that are pretty on the outside, like these silver ones*.

Three ceramic pumpkins displayed on a table top

They fit into smaller spaces than a cake stand and aren’t usually as visible but still give you that extra height for your accessories.

There you have it…my favorite tips for re-purposing things you already own to accessorize your home on a budget. Hopefully, you’ve found some ideas that you can use to update your own accessories!

Have comments or questions about how to accessorize your home on a budget? Tell us in the section below.


Pin It So You Don't Forget It!

7 home hacks that will help you accessorize your home like a pro

[columns] [span4]

ways to accessorized your home you can do on a budget

[/span4][span4]

7 home hacks that will accessorize your home on a budget

[/span4][span4]

[/span4][/columns]

This post was originally published on October 17, 2017 but was updated with new content on February 12, 2024.


Sharing is caring!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6 Comments

  1. Karen Giles says:

    Beautiful table scape! Where did you get those peacock napkin rings

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Karen…they are actually Christmas ornaments that are clipped onto a standard round napkin ring. The ones I bought aren’t available anymore but you can find similar ones on Amazon (like these ones). Hope that helps!

  2. Rita Witmeyer says:

    Love this article! Where is a good source for the glass/glam pumpkins? Typically I don’t decorate my home in the fall with pumpkins as they are always orange and “country” style, but I love your glam pumpkins that you pictured!!!!!

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Rita…I’m totally with you (not into the orange & country style pumpkins)! I get most of them at Home Goods, but you can also find some at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.

  3. What are the best colors that coordinate with purple? I am looking for decor not paint color. Does yellow and purple go well together?

    1. Hi Pam…Yellow and purple do go well together (they are complementary colors on the color wheel). You can also go with greens and blues or pinks and oranges, depending on how much contrast you like.