Karate-chop your pillow: my budget-friendly décor tips for a cozy home

It’s important to me that my home be beautiful and feel welcoming, but I don’t want to buy anything I don’t truly need. Here are my affordable decorating tips!

1. Turn off the lights

I cannot overstate how important indirect lighting is, as it adds a glow to both the space and the people in it. In my opinion, overhead lights are only useful for cleaning—otherwise, you might as well remove them entirely. Make sure you have a task light where you really need it, like in your reading nook or on top of a hallway console. In the fall, I double the number of mood lights in my home by spreading string lights everywhere.

2. Give your pillows a smack (and reuse your old ones)

Throw pillows are a classic way to add softness and coziness to your home. I don’t think you need a ton of them (you still need room to sit on the sofa), but pillows look their best when they’re plump. You can achieve that fullness easily by placing two pillow inserts inside one pillow cover—old, flattened inserts work perfectly for this. It’s also important to give the pillow a karate chop with the edge of your hand so that it leaves a dent. Surprisingly, that makes them look even more inviting.

3. Dismantle your flower bouquets

It goes without saying that fresh flowers make any interior more beautiful. But eye-catching bouquets can be expensive! That’s why I rely on supermarket bouquets that only cost a few euros. Because the flowers at my local store can sometimes look a bit sad, I like to ‘dismantle’ them. I separate each flower and arrange them individually or in pairs in various vases. It instantly looks more elegant, and you can decorate multiple rooms with flowers from just one bouquet.

And you don’t necessarily have to pay anything for fresh plants. In the summer, roadside ditches are obviously the best flower shop, but in the fall, nature still offers great finds for your vases. You can pick pretty branches, twigs, and grasses. Always ask the landowner for permission. Plus, after a windy night, you can usually gather beautiful pine branches from the street.

4. Light a candle

Candlelight has a magical impact on any décor. I prefer white taper candles, which cost around 35 cents each. One candle in a beautiful candle holder on the coffee table is enough to set the mood. I also buy candles at flea markets whenever I see them. The cheapest deals on candles are usually in the summer, when it’s off-season.

5. Tidy up and reorganize

This is a boring tip—and truly the most effective. But you don’t have to hide everything away! If you’re into stacking, make neat piles of your belongings, clothes, magazines, or papers, and try organizing them by color or size. Symmetry is always beautiful.

Tytti Kontula is Editor-in-Chief of the Kotona website.