Decorating on a budget? Then you'll need to have a read through these tips if you're going to be successful at creating a great looking living room for your home, and not spend too much money on it either.

First decide what your budget is exactly and what it will cover, for example is it just to cover the decoration, or for the furnishings and accessories too? Being clear and concise on how much money you actually have will make the whole process much easier to control.

A living room is the heart of the house, although for some families it tends to also be the kitchen. It's the room the whole family can get together and catch up with each other's news and events of the day, dad can watch TV, mum sit and read her book, the kids do their homework on the table and, although everyone is doing their own thing, you are still all together.

It's no fun spending too much time in the bedroom by yourself, or locked away in your home office trying to work; even if you have something to do it can usually be done in the company of the family.

The simplest way, and quickest, to give a room a new look is to paint it in a new colour. Wallpaper is all very nice of course but can work out quite expensive as you pay per roll, and involves a lot more work too. Even if you only add some fresh paint to one of the main walls this can often be enough to transform the whole room, although you might find that once you've done one wall it makes the others look shabby so you'll have to do the lot anyway!

Invest in some new lamps, an assortment of stand-up lamps and smaller ones to fit on top of the sideboards, as they can give the living room a completely different look when turned on in the evenings helping create a really warm and cosy ambience that will encourage all members of the family to hang out there.

If you don't have the money to buy new furniture then consider how what you have already can be spruced up somehow to get a few more years wear out of it. This could be something as simple as buying a new throw to cover the old sofa, or new cushion covers in bright fresh colours to go with your latest paint work, or something that involves a bit more work such as sanding down old bookcases and giving them a brand new coat of varnish or even painting them white for a totally different look.

Rugs are always good value for money as they are cheap to buy and can cover a multitude of sins, if your carpet or floorboards in the living room are looking scruffy or scratched then this is a really cheap way to cover them up. They also help to define a particular seating area and are common in front of the fireplace, TV cabinets, or the sofa or as a place to situate the coffee table.

Coffee tables are practical and even if you don't have the money to buy a new one don't panic, simply throw a new tablecloth over it! Very easy and so economical and no-one will even think about what is hiding underneath.

Need decoration for the wall? Then ask your kids to make a painting or piece of artwork. You're guaranteed to have a talking point and an original piece for next to nothing. Kids can be really imaginative, just give them some bright paint and a blank canvas and see what they come up with. If it's really bad you can always make them hang it up in their own bedroom!