Photograph: Dan Eckstein

WINDOWS
Stylist Sarah Silvey started with a blank canvas—a friend’s recently moved-into all-white bedroom—and added color, thrifty finds and ingenuity to transform it. For the curtains, she sewed together two bedsheets (khaki twin, $5.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond, multiple locations, bedbathandbeyond.com; red twin, $5 at National Wholesale Liquidators, 623 Broadway between Bleecker and W Houston Sts, 212-979-2400), creating a color-blocked effect. Recycled San Pellegrino bottles (free) form an interesting windowsill tableau. The dramatic palm frond ($10, Union Square Greenmarket) was a splurge, but it will last a month. If plants aren’t in the budget, do a little “civic pruning.” (Yeah, it’s exactly what it sounds like.)

LIGHT
A paper lantern adds a cool Noguchi aesthetic for a fraction of the cost ($4.20 for the shade, and $9.50 for the wiring kit, both at Pearl River Mart, 477 Broadway between Broome and Grand Sts, 212-431-4770). Silvey fitted it with a red lightbulb (99¢ at National Wholesale Liquidators): “Pink light is universally flattering; you can change the entire look of the room by switching out a bulb.”

WALLS
Silvey offers this general rule for finding inexpensive decorations: “Keep your eyes open—and be comfortable dumpster diving.” But she didn’t need to go near a curb to create the “painting” above the bed. Instead, she loaded up on free paint swatches (at Janovic or Home Depot, multiple locations, janovic.com and homedepot.com), taped them together and then stuck the whole thing to the wall. “There are infinite possibilities in combining colors,” she says. “I felt like I was playing Tetris.”

BED
The room’s minimal white-on-white decor was calming, but didn’t register so high on the personality meter. To make the duvet more enticing, Silvey sewed on red ribbon ($3.99 for ten yards at the Container Store, containerstore.com) in an expanding square pattern. Then she sprinkled the bed with pillows covered with repurposed T-shirts (free from your own closet).

TOTAL $39.67

More ideas for broke-ass decorating

• Cover sturdy shipping boxes in decorative papers (from Pearl River; prices start at $2.50 per sheet), or use superdiscounted wrapping paper (from Jam Paper & Envelope, 135 Third Ave between 14th and 15th Sts, 212-473-6666) to create a bedside table.
• Screw moderation: When grouped in multiples, objects take on the look of a curated collection. Spray-prainted toy soldiers, found pebbles and even coffee mugs become objets d’art.
• Consider recycling interesting wine bottles, jelly jars, etc., as vases or cachepots for jewelry and knickknacks.