Are you curious about finding affordable modern home decor accessories as a first-time homeowner? Check out these home decor pieces below, that will have your guests ranting and raving about your space.
Buying your first home can be overwhelming yet exciting! If you’re anything like me, you have dreamt of decorating your place for quite some time now. But don’t worry, I will be giving you some affordable modern home decor accessories that will turn your house into a cozy home.
These affordable modern home decor pieces will be transitional pieces that can grow with you from home to home.
After understanding the basic products needed, you will be able to help your close friends and family when it’s their time to move.
This post is all about the top affordable modern home decor pieces every first-time homeowner should have in their home.
Best Affordable Modern Home Decor
1. Vases
When purchasing a home, you want your home decor to bring character to each space. One of the best ways to add affordable modern home decor would be by adding unique vases that become a conversation piece.
The vase above is top-rated on Amazon and has an interesting shape, that will have your guests asking for the link.
You are going to want to specifically look for vases that have an interesting shape or texture. Depending on the location, scale, and proportion are extremely important.
While shopping for your entryway pieces, you can add something pretty bold, because this helps set the tone of the entire house and helps translate your decor story. When shopping for the perfect coffee table vase, I wouldn’t go too tall.
If it’s too tall, it could impede your guest from watching television, or perhaps, your toddler may want to pull a stem out and toss it around. The best height for the coffee table would be smaller in stature but funky.
Best Places To Get Unique Vases:
- Amazon
- H&M Home
- Anthro Living Home
2. Decorative Objects
Decorative objects are, what I like to call, the jewelry of the home. These are the objects that have a story along with them. These pieces could be found all around the world from your many travels to right down the street at your local thrift store.
More people are choosing black decorative objects because they make a statement. The black decorative objects from above are fun to place on your coffee table, entryway console table, or bookshelf. This is a modern spin on bookends. Instead of standing your books upright, you could place fewer books on the shelf, rotate them out, and have these fun affordable modern home decor objects instead.
Looking for decorative objects for your home may seem overwhelming, but you want to choose pieces that speak to you and your personality.
Best Places To Find Decorative Objects:
- Amazon
- Wayfair
- Home Goods
3. House Plants
Click Here To Purchase At Ikea
Adding house plants to your home is one of the cheapest ways to purify and cleanse your space. They also bring life and energy to your space that paint or art cannot do alone.
Whether your home is more tropical or traditional, there are many plants to choose from. The Sansevieria Trifasciata, also known as the “Mother In Law’s Tongue is a classic house plant, that can be placed in any room or home, no matter the design style.
If you have a colorful or tropical vibe, the Bird of Paradise plant would be a fun plant to introduce to your space. They love light, so be sure to place it in a room with a good bit of natural light.
Best Places To Find House Plants:
- Ikea
- Home Depot
- Lowes
4. Curtains
Click Here To Purchase At Ikea
Introducing curtains to our space helps soften the hard lines from the different angles of a room. Most rooms are square or rectangular, so curtains help make your space feel less cold and institutionalized.
Curtains are a fun way of adding color and patterns to a space while allowing you to change them out once you get tired of them.
The goal is to look for drapery that is heavier and appears to be lined in the back. Ikea has a great selection because the majority of their curtains are made with linen or a linen blend which gives your home a more polished look and feel.
You also want to look for a curtain that has a pleat on top or has the appearance of a pleat, just like the Ikea curtains. This gives your space a more professional look.
Best Places To Find Affordable Curtains:
- Amazon
- Ikea
- Crate and Barrel
5. Rugs
Rugs and many other accessories tell a visual story and help your guests understand your design style.
For instance, if your rug has bold colors and graphic prints, one may say you have a bohemian style and in some cases, natural materials coupled with a design like the rug above can lend itself to the bohemian vibe.
However, if your style is more cottage farmhouse, you would look for rugs with a lighter tone with traditional patterns or natural materials without the design above. This would look more like a sisal rug with a border.
No matter which style you lean toward it is extremely important to purchase a rug pad for the longevity of the rug.
Best Places To Find Affordable Rugs:
- Amazon
- RugsUSA
- Ruggable
6. Wall Art
Artwork is not only the jewelry of the home but it helps solidify your design style. Imagine you’re going for a coastal aesthetic for your space. You have the light blue walls, sheer linen drapery, and natural rug, but your artwork screams Bohemian with its bright colors and texture.
This confuses the user experience. However, you can say this about other pieces, such as the rug or pillows. Any time there is an opportunity to drive home your design style, you have to take advantage of it.
Even if you have an eclectic style, adding a soft, pastel piece of art would disrupt the energy you’ve already started with the bright tones and textures.
Best Places To Find Affordable Artwork:
- Amazon
- World Market
- High Fashion Home (Higher End)
7. Table Lamps
Table lamps can affect the visual mood of any space. If you notice how sterile the lighting is in the hospital, grocery store, or even your corporate office. The feeling you have in those spaces is the polar opposite of a speakeasy or your bedroom when you’re getting ready to go to sleep.
Lighting in general, can calm your mood or in some cases give you anxiety. It’s important to place the right table lamp in the appropriate area. For instance, I would almost always have a table lamp near your front door, in your entryway. This light could be a three-way lamp. Not only is it functional in case you need to see yourself on the way out of the door but it creates an intimate feeling upon entry, whether it’s for you or a guest.
The best times to use your table lamps would be in the evening when you and your family have already had dinner and put the kids to bed. This is the time to calm down and prepare for bed. The intimate lights help regulate your circadian rhythm.
The style of table lamps depends on your design style. There are so many to choose from, such as glass lamps for a coastal vibe, wicker for the bohemian girl, or even concrete that lends itself to the modern organic girly.
Best Places To Find Affordable Table Lamps:
- Amazon
- Ballard Designs
- Shades Of Light
8. Mirrors
Not only are mirrors for functionality, but they offer a sense of architectural detail to a space. There are so many different textures to choose from such as rope, metal, shells, and wood. Each textures offers an element of surprise and are just another character that helps tell your design story.
Unless you lend yourself to a clean modern contemporary aesthetic, this is the perfect opportunity to have fun and stand out from your friends. Choose mirrors with textures and interesting shapes.
By doing so, this creates a conversation and heightens the user experience even more.
Best Places To Find Affordable Mirrors:
- Amazon
- Overstock or Wayfair
- Shades of Light
9. Pillows
Pillows are the most versatile home decor item that can transform a space from bland to fun! With the many pops of colors or textures, you can not go wrong. The goal is to always have fun but allow pillows to tell your story.
For instance, if you are going for a Zen Wabi Sabi design, then you should stick with solid colors but with a heavy emphasis on textures. With this design, you are going for something that feels good to not only your body when laying on it but also your soul once you enter the space.
Some rooms are designed to make you feel happy or energetic which comes from the color choices. Other rooms are designed to make you feel at peace or rejuvenated. Softer tones and textures would help complete that design.
Best Places To Find Affordable Pillows:
- Amazon
- Ikea
- Ballard Designs (Wide Variety)
10. Candles
Not only are candles used for functionality purposes but they are great decor fillers as well, especially if the shell of the candle is decorative.
A wood dough bowl can be used for a catch-all bowl, once you’ve used the candle. Whether you choose to use the candle or not, the wood detail helps bring outdoor elements inside your home.
Always look for candles with a decorative shell, that way it adds to your aesthetic. There is nothing worse than having a coastal living room with a bright Fuschia candle sitting on the coffee table.
Although it may smell lovely, your guests’ eyes will automatically be thrown off by the color story.
Best Places To Find Affordable Candles:
- Amazon
- Target
- Home Goods
11. Books
Believe it or not coffee table books make for one of the simplest home decor. Coffee table books, which can be used in more places than the coffee table, can be used to help elevate your eyes and create dimension.
When you have all your decor items placed on a table and they’re on the same elevation, it creates a flat display. Adding coffee table books creates dimension and allows your eyes to look up, allowing that vignette to look more interesting.
Coffee table books are perfect to layer candles, figurines, or bowls.
Not to mention, coffee table books are great conversation starters. They help tell your guests who you are and what hobbies you’re interested in.
Best Places To Find Affordable Coffee Table:
- Amazon
- Barnes and Nobles
- Garage or Estate Sales