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We’ve helped thousands of clients and friends turn their homes into their dream space–  and have sifted through just as many anxieties that come up during that process. We’re here to give you two important reminders: there’s no need to rush, and there’s no need to break the bank. 

Whether it’s your first apartment or your family home, we want you to know that you really can decorate and furnish with less. That’s less confusion, less money, and less of a hurry. Think about it as slow decorating– an intentional and authentic process to decorating your space. 

Using our own personal history plus a few tips and tricks we’ve learned in this industry, we put together the following guide to help you decorate with less, while staying true to your personal style and story.

Question: What do you really need? Answer: Not a lot.

Nature abhors a vacuum, or so they say. It’s why you feel an irresistible pull to fill an empty room, cabinet, or counter space, very likely with things you don’t need or even like.

Any home, whether a studio or a mansion, consists of three areas: 

• a place to eat 

• a place to sleep

• and a place to be comfortable

In terms of essential furniture, you’ll want to look for:

• A bed

• A surface to eat on, like a table

• A sofa

• Somewhere to store your clothes, like a dresser.

(You’ll soon see that we’re pretty generous with these terms, such as what constitutes a bed.)

Don’t shop: curate.

You’re going to feel impelled to buy out of the big box store. And of course you will– it takes a lot of the decision making away from you. But you may also spend a couple hundred dollars on something you don’t like and then get rid of it. You may be saving some money in the short term, you’ll be wasting quite a lot purchasing items that you never truly loved.

That’s why we encourage you to slowly curate the items you really want over time. While we listed the above furniture as essential items in any home, you don’t have to buy them right away. In order to fill your home with pieces you love, focus on furniture and decor that you’ll want to keep forever. Don’t feel pressured to fill that metaphorical vacuum– take time deciding what that you want your space to look like, and what kind of pieces will get you there.

Even more importantly: you can make a lot of items you already have work for you in creative ways. (We'll explain how in a moment.)

Hold out for your dream piece

When Carol was a newly married bride, she and her husband had zero money and a house with a carpet they hated. They tore it out and cleaned up the unfinished longleaf pine underneath. They slept on the mattress for four years until they bought a sleigh bed that they’d dreamed of and saved for. For eight years, they didn’t put anything else in the room, and kept the sleigh bed right in the middle of the space, a centerpiece to their achievement. 

Getting Creative

While you’re waiting to find or to afford your dream bed, table, or sofa, work with what you have. What do you do if you can’t find your ideal bed frame?

• Find nice linens for your mattress.

• Stack books around your bedroom 

• Find a lamp you love (need some inspiration? Check out our selection of lamps.)

• Surround yourself with whatever matters to you: a bedside table, your childhood music box, a painting you love on the wall.

A few months ago, Carol stayed in a boutique hotel in New York City whose charm has continued to stay with her. Why? It worked with its tiny square footage. Their solution for clothes storage? Industrial hooks on the wall, from which they also hung a folding chair for extra seating. It was an affordable, unique, and practical solution to their limited space.

Don’t have space in your tiny closet for your winter coat? Hang it! 

Love everything you have.

And that may mean you have fewer things than you think you need. 

First, get rid of what you don’t love. That plywood bookcase you’ve been making do with? The old sofa your old roommate left behind? Give it all away. We don’t believe in having things we don’t like until something better comes along– we make space for something better.

You can stack books on the floor until you install your dream shelving, or use canvas cushions to sit on that you’ll use as throw pillows on your dream sofa. Whatever you do, execute it in your vision.

Asa and I recently moved into our first home, which we’ve slowly been decorating and furnishing. We made an exciting purchase recently: a kitchen island that we love. It also doubles as a desk for a home office, and takes the pressure off of finding our dream desk. We know we’ll find it when it’s time; for now, we love the functionality of a piece that we’ll use forever.

Save for your dream piece-then buy it!

While we encourage you to work creatively with what we have, get rid of what you don’t like, and decorate with less, all of these tips are a means to make our dreams a material reality.

The Neighbour fam loves a savings pot: we put in a dollar or two into any container until we’ve saved up for the piece we’ve set our heart on. A few months ago we had a customer come in who saved for the duvet cover she’d been dreaming of. She’d saved cash for an entire year to purchase it, and was so happy, proud, and excited when she did.

We love beautiful things, and want you to be surrounded by them. At Neighbour, we strive to create generation-lasting, hand-crafted furniture that you’ll love forever! Need some inspiration? We also source some of the most unique and sought-after antiques and vintage furniture from across Europe. Take a look.

We hope these tips helped you get closer to creating the home of your dreams! If you’re ever in Santa Fe or the Texas Hill Country, come see us in person!