Why is furniture the biggest slice?

Hard-furniture costs (sofa, dining set, bed frame) almost always dominate a decor budget. Interior designers commonly allocate 30–40% to furniture for a fresh room.

What's the 10% contingency for?

Shipping fees, delivery surcharges, returns, or one item you fall in love with that goes over budget. A 10% buffer keeps the rest of your plan intact.

Can I add my own categories?

Yes — click "+ Add category" to add custom rows like "plants," "smart home," or "kids' decor." Set its percent or fixed amount.

What does "fixed override" mean?

Instead of "this category is X% of budget," fixed override means "this category is exactly $Y, regardless of percent." Use it when you already have a quote for one item.

How do I keep totals at 100%?

The percent-sum indicator at the bottom turns green when allocations hit ≈100%. If you go over, the tool warns you and refuses to calculate.

Decoration Budget Planner

Split a decor budget across furniture, lighting, rugs, and accessories with custom percentages or fixed amounts.

Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer

This interactive tool requires JavaScript. Read the formula and worked example below; you can compute the result by hand.

How to use this decoration budget planner

Enter your total decoration budget and pick a currency.
Review the default allocation: furniture 35%, lighting 10%, window treatments 10%, rugs 10%, wall decor & paint 15%, accessories 10%, contingency 10%.
Edit any row's percent — or override with a fixed dollar amount in the right column.
Watch the "Percent total" indicator to keep allocations at or below 100%.
Press Calculate to see per-category amounts and any unallocated balance.

About this decoration budget planner

The decoration budget planner takes your total budget and splits it across categories using percentages or fixed amounts. Defaults come from common interior-design guides (HGTV, Better Homes & Gardens) for furnishing a living room from scratch. The fixed-amount override is useful when you already know a single item's price (say, a $1,200 sofa) and want the remaining categories to scale around it.

Example: $5,000 budget with defaults. Furniture = 5,000 × 0.35 = $1,750. Lighting = 5,000 × 0.10 = $500. Window treatments = $500. Rugs = $500. Wall decor & paint = 5,000 × 0.15 = $750. Accessories = $500. Contingency = $500. Total allocated = $5,000.

If you override the sofa at $2,000 fixed, that line replaces the 35% slot, leaving $3,000 for the other categories — which will then sum to less than the original budget unless you adjust the remaining percentages. The "Unallocated" line at the bottom shows whether you're over or under your total.

FAQ

Why is furniture the biggest slice?: Hard-furniture costs (sofa, dining set, bed frame) almost always dominate a decor budget. Interior designers commonly allocate 30–40% to furniture for a fresh room.
What's the 10% contingency for?: Shipping fees, delivery surcharges, returns, or one item you fall in love with that goes over budget. A 10% buffer keeps the rest of your plan intact.
Can I add my own categories?: Yes — click "+ Add category" to add custom rows like "plants," "smart home," or "kids' decor." Set its percent or fixed amount.
What does "fixed override" mean?: Instead of "this category is X% of budget," fixed override means "this category is exactly $Y, regardless of percent." Use it when you already have a quote for one item.
How do I keep totals at 100%?: The percent-sum indicator at the bottom turns green when allocations hit ≈100%. If you go over, the tool warns you and refuses to calculate.