Five hundred kronor may not sound like much when you dream of a wall full of art. But the truth is, your budget rarely determines whether a wall feels thoughtfully put together or cluttered – that comes down to the choices you make with your money. With the right size, the right design, and a few simple tricks, one well-chosen poster or a small group of affordable prints can elevate a room more than an expensive painting hung in the wrong place. This buying guide shows you how to get the most out of 500 kronor, what to prioritize when money is tight, and which mistakes waste your money unnecessarily.
Quick facts: The two most common standard sizes in Swedish homes are 30×40 cm and 50×70 cm – precisely because frames in these sizes are cheap and widely available, keeping the total cost down. A research study published in Scientific Reports in 2019, based on nearly 20,000 people, found that as little as two hours a week spent in nature is associated with greater well-being – a reason why even a small nature-inspired print on the wall can make a difference in everyday life.
Here’s how the options stack up when your budget is 500 kronor
The first thing you need to do is decide where to spend your money: on size, quantity, or a frame. All three compete for the same 500 kronor, and you can rarely have everything. A large 50×70 cm poster makes the biggest impact on a bare wall, but takes up a larger share of your budget and requires a larger frame. Several small prints in 30×40 or 21×30, on the other hand, let you create a small grouping, but each image makes less of an impact on its own. If you want an immediate effect and have an empty wall above a sofa, a single large design is almost always the smartest buy.
Also think about where the poster will hang before you buy. A room with lots of daylight can handle light, understated designs that might otherwise feel too subtle, while a dark hallway or office benefits from a design with strong contrast that stands out even in poor light. Choosing based on the space rather than a design you happened to fall for helps you avoid costly mistakes. Need help figuring out the right size for your furniture and wall? Our guide to choosing the right poster size is a great place to start.
"It’s not the price of the art on the wall that shows – it’s the care you put into choosing it."
Specific recommendations that offer the best value for money
If you can only afford one thing, go for a large print in a standard size and skip the frame for now. A frameless poster neatly mounted on the wall looks perfectly acceptable these days, and you can add a frame when your budget allows. That way, you’ve spent your money where it’s most visible – on the image itself and its size.
If you’re looking for designs that make a big impact at a low cost, there are a few reliable categories. Black-and-white photographic art has an expensive, editorial feel without costing extra, and works in almost any room. Botanical posters featuring leaves and plants connect with the very sense of nature that research highlights, and rarely go out of style. And minimalist posters with few elements and large, restful spaces create an expensive impression precisely because they don’t try too hard. You’ll get the most for your money if you also take a look at our sale, where you can often find full-price designs for a fraction of the price.
One more tip if you want a whole group on a small budget: choose three prints in the same color palette but with different designs, and stick to a single size, for example three 30×40 prints. A consistent size and shared color palette make cheap prints look like a thoughtfully curated series instead of a random collection. Our gallery wall guide shows you how to put together a group like this without it looking haphazard.
One thing that’s often overlooked when you’re on a budget is that different rooms have different requirements for how much a picture needs to cost. In a bedroom, where you rarely look at the wall up close, a calm, pared-back design does more than an expensive, detail-rich one. In a hallway or office, where you pass close by several times a day, you’ll appreciate a design with a little more to discover. By matching your ambitions to how the room is actually used, you avoid spending unnecessarily on details no one has time to notice. Your 500-krona budget simply goes further if you buy the right kind of picture for the right room.
If the poster is also going to be a gift, your budget may be especially tight, but the same logic applies. A single well-chosen design in a standard size with a simple frame looks more expensive than several cheap prints with no thought behind them. Think about the recipient’s room and colors rather than the number of prints, and you’ll find the right gift even if you keep it under 500 kronor.
What to avoid - and why it costs you money
The most common and costly mistake is buying a cheap poster in an unusual size. A non-standard size forces you to buy a custom frame, which often costs more than several posters combined. So stick to 21×30, 30×40, 50×70, or 70×100, and you’ll always have access to affordable frames.
The second most common mistake is spreading too few pictures across too large a wall. Three postage-stamp-sized prints in the middle of a broad wall make the room feel emptier, not fuller. If you have a large empty space and a small budget, it's better to put it all toward a single large print than to spread the money across several small ones that disappear. One striking picture is better than four modest ones.
A third pitfall is chasing the absolute cheapest option instead of what you actually like. A poster you buy because it was cheap but never really like will sooner or later end up in the closet - and then, however cheap it was, it was a wasted purchase. Since art you enjoy is also linked to the well-being described in research, it pays to spend your 500 kronor on something you actually want to look at every day. If you'd like to explore that connection further, we've written about what research says about art and well-being.
A fourth mistake concerns the quality of the print itself. When prices are pushed to rock bottom, it's tempting to buy prints with low resolution or on thin, glossy paper that ripples and yellows quickly. It rarely works out cheaper in the long run, since you'll soon replace it. A good-value poster on sturdy paper, on the other hand, lasts for years and looks more expensive than it was. The difference between a print that ages gracefully and one that looks worn after six months is almost always in the paper, not the image.
How to stretch your budget even further
There are a few tricks that make a 500-krona budget go further. Buy the frame second-hand or look for it in a sale - a simple wooden frame in a standard size is easy to find cheaply, and you can put the money you save toward a larger or better print instead. You can also wait for sale periods if you're not in a hurry; the same print may cost significantly less a few weeks later. And it's better to start with a single picture you really want than to fill the wall straight away. A wall can grow over time, and that way you avoid the impulse buys that a tight budget can otherwise tempt you into. Patience is, somewhat unexpectedly, one of the most effective budget tricks there is. Collecting one picture at a time also gives you a wall that tells a personal story, since each print has been chosen thoughtfully rather than bought all at once just to fill an empty space. In the long run, such a wall is both cheaper and more personal than a ready-made collection bought all at once.
Tip: Do you rent your home and want to avoid drilling? Use adhesive picture-hanging strips. A pair of smaller 3M strips can hold around 0.9 kilos, while larger versions can hold up to several kilos per pack - more than enough for an unframed or lightly framed poster. That way, you avoid both wall-plug holes and spending money on filler when you move out.
Practical details: frame, size, and hanging
Once you’ve chosen an image, there are a few practical decisions that affect the final cost. Whether or not to frame it is the biggest one. A simple wooden frame in a standard size can elevate the look considerably and doesn’t have to be expensive, but if your budget is spent after buying the poster, an unframed picture is a perfectly good first step. You can always frame it later when you can afford to, and a picture you’ve already hung brings life to the room right away.
One simple way to elevate an unframed poster without paying for a frame is to create a mat-like effect: leave a small, clear space between the edge of the image and the wall color by hanging the picture on its own with plenty of space around it. That little breathing room makes even a cheap print look intentional and carefully chosen, much like the margin around a framed picture. It costs nothing and only requires resisting the temptation to squeeze the poster in close beside other things on the wall.
Consider the feel of the paper if you’re going without a frame. An unframed poster looks best on matte, slightly thicker paper that won’t ripple or shine distractingly in backlight. Attach it at four points rather than just two along the top edge, so the corners stay flat against the wall. An unframed poster isn’t suitable for a damp room like a bathroom - there, you need glass or acrylic for protection. And if you rent your home, you also can’t drill into the bathroom walls because the moisture barrier could be damaged.
For hanging it, the weight determines the method. An unframed poster weighs almost nothing and hangs nicely with adhesive strips or even discreet tape at the corners. Add glass and a frame, and it gets heavier, so you’ll want to either hammer in a nail or use stronger strips designed for that weight. If you rent your home, a reasonable number of small nail holes is usually considered normal wear and tear - but remember to fill them in when you move out, or you could be charged. To learn more about choosing a frame to suit the artwork and room, see our guide to choosing the right frame.
Frequently asked questions about art on a small budget
So you don’t need a big budget for a wall that looks thoughtfully designed - you just need to spend your 500 kronor on the right things: a format that doesn’t call for an expensive frame, a design you actually want to see every day, and a hanging method that suits your home. Start with a single striking design, add to it when you can afford to, and let the wall take shape at your own pace. Browse our affordable sale prints to see just how far your budget can go. Find out more about hanging things without damaging the wall at Riksbyggen, and double-check the weight limits for adhesive strips with manufacturer 3M Command.