14 Cost-Effective Ways to Decorate Your Pop-Up Store

When opening a pop-up store, most of us don’t feel like splurging on expensive furniture, decorations and storage solutions. That’s because it’s more fun to upcycle found items, hunt for bargains and transform lost treasures into interior design gold!

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Here are 14 affordable ways to decorate your pop-up store.

  1. Stacked wooden pallets

Recycling connoisseurs are experts at reclaiming leftover shipping pallets, which are perfect for creating terraces, sofas, coffee tables, shelving, planters, wine cellars…or even, as in this Paris venue near the Seine, for a seating area.

Recycle them the next time you have a delivery, buy them from factories at affordable prices or inquire at your local department store.

  1. Recycled wooden crates

As for wooden crates, the possibilities are endless: wine crates transform into storage, apple crates into shelving and vintage ammunition crates into seats or even decoration.

  1. The feminine touch

If your client base is female, consider adding artificial flowers to your crates, for an overall look that is more rustic countryside than military.

  1. Greenery is golden

The go-green trend can also be applied to stores and showrooms: available in all shapes and sizes, hanging and micro-plants are coming to a venue near you. Generally speaking, succulents are the way to go, since they require almost no maintenance and grow at breakneck speeds.

  1. Time to go antiquing

Vintage furniture provides comfort, a sense of nostalgia and an overall look that is unequivocally stylish. Now is the time to flock to vintage fairs and antique markets or scour online ads for those perfect, mismatched metal chairs to go with your table, or to find postal sorting cubbies that can be used as shelving, a carpenter’s workbench for a console table or a schoolteacher’s desk for the store counter.

  1. Family-style furniture

Even simpler, ask Aunt Suzanne for her old sofa and drape some fabric over it. Pair it with other assorted decorations for a cohesive look, like in this Hong Kong showroom.

  1. Add wallpaper for a cozy atmosphere

Just like at home, we have a sofa, a storage shelf and…wallpaper. It is even used to cover the countertop in this Amsterdam pop-up store. The best way to welcome clients, like at a very exclusive private sale, is to make them feel at home!

  1. Statement rug and cool photos

Decorating your walls with prints will make the space more inviting, as will a statement rug added to your floor. Whether you opt for a Persian, Berber or Kilim rug or choose photos of landscapes, fashion or even your own collections, this technique will add a warm and friendly feel to your retail space without breaking the bank.

  1. Accents of color and flowers

Sometimes all you need are a few colorful accessories and your decorating is done. Here, multicolored glasses and a few flower bouquets on the table are enough to brighten up the space.

In this London space, a cheerful garland of artificial flowers covers an archway. It invites you to explore the next room, while others are used as an elegant way of identifying and decorating the staircase.

  1. Go for balloons and flags

For a festive or child-like atmosphere, the idea is simple: blow up balloons in a variety of colors, letting them scatter on the floor, and add flag garlands or multicolored string lights. You can also inflate your balloons with helium and let them rise to the ceiling!

  1. Upcycle ladders

Here wooden planks are inserted into a regular folding ladder, transforming it into the perfect display unit. You can also place small objects on the rungs of a step ladder or attach lightweight products to a ladder placed against the wall. It will also be a nice tribute to DIY fans, bookworms, and a variety of people who use ladders (painters, gardeners, clothesmakers, etc.).

  1. Transform everyday objects

In need of slanted display units for papers, CDs or illustrations? Why not try a folding dish rack? Look around you, get inspiration from everyday objects and think about how they could be put to use in your store. Need more ideas? A chair hung on the wall becomes a shelf. A suspended bicycle wheel for hanging lights, empty food cans for holding pencils, scarves or plants. Stacks of old magazines held together by belts turn into a seat. Bent forks become clothes hangers…

  1. Ideas from the world of sport and recreation

It’s not the first thing that comes to mind, and yet, gyms are full of objects that can be turned into decoration, adding a unique touch at minimal cost.

Wall bars, a pommel horse, a swing, a skateboard turned into shelving or even gym rings can be used to hold or attach products – or simply make your layout one-of-a-kind!

  1. No mannequins? No problem!

Play around with some simple yet creative ideas, like this store in downtown Amsterdam. A few hangers suspended from the ceiling at the right height will showcase your most beautiful clothes and truly customize your interior design. Others prefer lining hangers along the wall. Some people even use a tree branch suspended with two cords or held in place by vertical branches to make a clothes rack that can display many items at once.

Looking to generate some buzz with a pop-up store? Find your dream venue from among + 10 000 references available on our Platform!

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Anne-Laure Sizun
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