5 Tips For Living in the Big City on a Tight Budget — From Apartment Therapy House Tours

Re-edited from a post originally published 11.19.10 His living room is a pretty standard New York box with parquet floors, but he dressed it up by painting the walls (with Benjamin Moore’s «Newburg Green») and adding some patterned throw pillows and blankets to the daybed. High rents coupled with small budgets mean that they may not have a ton of money to spend… Their dining room shelves are made from Home Depot pipes and pine planks from a local lumber yard, and their apartment is full of other good DIY ideas — see the tour for more. A big percentage of their pieces were inherited from Maddie’s mom, grandma, and great grandmother, including a desk, several lamps, and a mirror. PERSONALIZE YOUR HOME WITH ARTWORK ACCESSORIESMatt lives in a 375 square foot studio in Queens, but the space constraints haven’t stopped him from individualizing his home. 2. After reading the Times’ article about young people spending a lot on small spaces in New York City, my first thought was, «Hey, that’s me (only I’m older), and it’s probably a good percentage of our readers!» From Manhattan to Miami, people come to Apartment Therapy looking for ways to make the most of their small urban apartments. The room’s focal piece — the sofa — is Room Board, but everything else in the living room is from IKEA, craigslist, Target, Urban Outfitters, West Elm…or it’s something they made themselves. 4. Time and again, the people who open their homes up to us have shown that it’s possible to live well on less in a New York City apartment — here are some things we’ve learned from them. An Albers-style painting in the bedroom is an inexpensive and easily DIYable way to add color, and the throw pillows add personality to a basic IKEA bed. Because the apartment mixes vintage and modern looks, the heirloom pieces feel right at home. MAKE YOUR GRANDMA’S FURNITURE WORKMike and Maddie work in public schools and live on the Upper West Side in a charming 500 square foot apartment. 5. He says the first thing friends comment on is his artwork. Their space looks expensive, but it’s really a combination of resourcefulness, DIY skills, and an eye for repurposing.