Beauty
Decorator Gives Studio Beautiful Makeover For Under $500
This decorator proves that furnishing a studio apartment doesn't have to cost a fortune. The space she created is stunning!
Morgan Slimak
06.12.19

It doesn’t take a whole lot of money to revamp an apartment, demonstrated home editor Alexandra from YouTube channel Chatelaine. In a recent video, she showed viewers how they could give a studio apartment an awesome makeover on a budget and the results are stunning. You might be shocked at just how little money she spent giving the apartment its new look.

Her goal was to furnish the entire studio using only Ikea furniture for under $500.

She started with a totally blank slate. While the apartment did already have basic appliances installed, as far as furniture goes, the place was completely empty.

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YouTube Screenshot

One of the challenges with a studio is fitting everything you need into a tight space.

You want the apartment to be functional and pretty, yet not feel overly crowded. Part of that is choosing items that can serve multiple purposes. For example, the first item Alexandra found in Ikea was a small mirror. She planned on converting it so it also functioned as a light.

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YouTube Screenshot

Another stool she selected could function as both seating and a side table depending on the situation.

In order to save money, she also tended to select the most basic items she could find — that means going unfinished.

While the two pine chairs she picked up lacked any color or lacquer, she knew she could always paint them later.

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YouTube Screenshot

Alexandra also chose a minimalist bed with a metal bed frame.

While it wasn’t the fanciest bed around, it did have a headboard and she figured it could occasionally double as a couch.

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One surprising item that Alexandra went crazy over were sheepskins.

She bought tons of them. The reason? Sheepskins not only can serve as rugs or blankets, but they can also simply just be draped over couches and chairs for decoration. No matter how you use them, they look great!

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YouTube Screenshot

The money she was spending in the store quickly started to add up, but luckily, she shared some tips back at the apartment of how people could make do with less.

For starters, if you put a bed in a corner of a room and line the wall with bunch of pillows, it makes for a great lounge and seating area. Alexandra also demonstrated how carefully positioning a shelf in a room can divide up the space and make it appear as though there are multiple rooms.

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YouTube Screenshot

She also used a variety of lighting to give each section of the apartment its own distinct feel. Using white curtains instead of darker ones helped to brighten up the apartment too.

The end result? An absolutely stunning little apartment.

In the video, when Alexandra gives the final tour, it is hard to believe we are actually looking at the same space from the start of the clip.

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YouTube Screenshot

The transformation is pretty fantastic, but the real question is how much money did she spend? Looking around, you would never guess the furnishings cost under $500, but after tallying everything up, it was great news for Alexandra’s original goal.

All in all, she spent just $498.

The makeover was a total success!

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

Ultimately, she proved that furnishing a studio apartment doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

If you follow Alexandra’s tips, you too can create a beautiful, yet functional space, all for under $500.

Watch the full video of Alexandra’s stunning studio apartment makeover below.

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